Iceland & Greenland Cruise (August) 2024: Touchdown Reykjavik, part 2

This is a continuation of our first day in Reykjavik, see previous post.

HALLGRIMSKIRJA

Hallgrimskirja was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson in the Gothic Revival style. Although designed in 1937, construction didn't begin until 1945 and wasn't completed until 1986. As the structure gradually took shape, parts of the church became usable, starting in 1948 when services were first held in the crypt. It is an Evangelical-Lutheran church and is a part of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Iceland. Hallgrímskirkja is one of the most visited places by tourists in Iceland.

Taken from across the street.

Once the church visit was over (we didn't take the paid visit to the top of the church via elevator), we decided to walk around the neighborhood. It turned out that the streets across from the church comprised of the downtown. We were particularly interested in seeing the Rainbow Street.

In Reikjavik, the "rainbow road" typically refers to Skólavörðustígur street, which is painted with the colors of the rainbow. This colorful street symbolizes Iceland's commitment to gender equality, diversity, and inclusivity, particularly its support for the LGBTQ+ community. It's also a popular tourist attraction and a vibrant part of Reykjavik's cultural scene.

At this time, we were getting closer to the cruise check-in time, so we decided to start walking to the port. Per earlier research we learned that the port is walking distance from downtown. What we did not know was that just outside of the downtown area, just a block away is the bus stop for a free shuttle to the cruise port. On one hand, it was nice that we got to explore this area on foot, because everything feels so fresh and organic here, even though we were cold and the wind feels like a cold slap on the face. On the other hand, the presumed walking distance was a lot longer than we anticipated, especially when we decided to take another path away from the waterfront (because it was too windy and cold).

Stjórnarráðshúsið, or Government House, houses the Prime Minister's Office and originally built as the first penitentiary of Iceland in the middle of 18th century.

Harpa Concert Hall

I believe this is a bank headquarters.

Sun Voyager is a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason.

I love this photo of me walking the distance taken by my husband.

Let me share this unfortunate accident that I encountered about 3 yards away from the port. By this time we have been on our feet for about 4 hours or so and walked so much in freezing cold weather. It's only mid 50s but the windchill made it a lot colder and the wind was so strong that made the walk a lot tougher than normal. Anyway, as I was stepping off the curb to cross the street, I stumbled (uneven pavement) and both my luggage and I ended up on the dirt. I fell big time and the damage was done on my right hand incurring two major cuts and a big chunk of skin came off, blood was everywhere. The first time I have experienced an accident before a cruise. I was determined that this will not in any way affect my enjoyment of this long-awaited once-in-a-lifetime bucket list dream.

After check-in, we roamed around the ship (have taken this same ship before), went for late light lunch and got cleaned up.

Videy Island, just outsdie of Reykjavik.

We were on Northern Lights watch the entire cruise, but spoiler alert there was no sighting of the Northern Lights at all. As I'm writing this, my friends who are currently on an Iceland and Greenland cruise have already sent us Northern Lights photo. How lucky they are!