I feel like going east against time zones into the polar north and flying through the night next to a toddler gives me a bit of leeway when it comes to starting late into the first day of vacation. In my defense, it was pitch dark at 8:00am when I checked into the AirBnB and sunset is at quarter til 5, so there’s an adjustment period to circadian rhythms. Nevertheless, the meager amount of daylight was burning and I had traps to tourist the hell out of so I stopped at my first destination: the Pearl. This is a combination planetarium and natural history museum with fantastic views and strong messages regarding the shrinking glaciers. This included a model ice cavern, seen below, as well as a real-time display of mass loss in the next two centuries.
Following a tip I heard getting off the flight this morning, I bought a wristband for the renowned Icelandic Airwaves music fest and headed down to the harbor area of downtown to kill time before the show. Moored next to tugboats floated an impressive destroyer (I think? I always lost at Battleship) and what appeared to be a time-displaced sloop from the Age of Discovery fighting the impending storm gales. I took a few brief shots of both along with the Harpa Music Hall and the Sun Voyager – a monument to the Viking ancestors of Iceland.
Still well ahead of schedule, I stopped at the Cathedral of the King for a few magic-hour snaps and finally arrived at the venue for the concert: a literal gymnasium converted for the show. The natives and outlanders alike made great conversation as we waited for the five-act sendoff to this year’s event. I’ll be posting this under a separate post since there’s so much to unpack there. Overall, not a bad start!
Ice's Travels 