REYJKAVIK

Reykjavik – Reykr = smoke and Vik = bay so it means – “BAY OF SMOKES”

We sailed into Reykjavik in the early morning and were going to have to take a bus to a Hilton Hotel. Of course we couldn’t check in at that time of the day so all of us trudged our belongs from the port to the bus to the hotel and stuffed them in a large room awaiting check in later in the afternoon. We then were able to take the Silversea bus to the convention center on the harbor to walk around while we awaited the beginning of our walking tour that had been set up in advance by our travel agent. We kept hearing about the Phallological Museum (affectionately known as the Penis Museum) and figured it was a must see – at least once!

It was a hoot albeit a little overwhelming by the end. This museum houses the world’s largest collection of penises and penile parts. The collection has over 300 penises from more than 100 species of mammals. It was established by an Icelandic college teacher in 1997, Sigurour Hjartarson and is now run by his son. When Sigurour was a child he was given a bull’s pizzle ((penis of a bull) which is used a a cattle whip – this item started his collection. He stated that “collecting penises is like collecting anything. You can never stop, you can never catch up, you can always get a new one, a better one.” Smirk – a new one – a better one??? What do the guys think?

The museum moved to their current downtown location in 2020. Their mission statement states they aim to enable “individuals to undertake serious study into the field of phallology in an organized, scientific fashion.” We had to have a sense of humor as we saw the artwork and the cafe’s offerings. We mostly heard English spoken and lots of American children. Better to be exposed to these as a natural human part that can be viewed and studied than to be told we don’t talk about those things! Of course I had to take a photo of the boar (think razorback) and a zebra. Great mascots!

We learned important facts (LOL) which included – the largest penis of all is the blue whale. One blue whale penis allegedly was just under 12 feet long. This measurement might have only covered 1/3 of the penis which exits the body during erections. Two thirds are always hidden within a slit. Despite having a large penis, they do not have the largest testicles as theirs weigh in at about 150 pounds per testicle. Right whales, a baleen whale which are now extinct in Icelandic water have the largest testicles with an average weight of 2200 pounds per testicle. I guess they were two ton testes whales.

Michael’s back was getting better using his poles and walking around so we were bound for the church walking uphill to meet our guide. Along the walk up, various colorful streets greeted us, Michael found a few benches along the way, and Larkin and I found a knitting shop. Iceland is known for their wool but after being in Peru with the softest Alpacas we didn’t find any yarn or sweaters soft enough to purchase. Both Larkin and I are allergic to scratchy wool.

More doors, colorful homes and vanity plates on cars, yes even in Iceland. I assume the owner of this one car is Margaret. The Hallgrimskirkja church is at the top of Skolavorouholt hill. It is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structure in the country. It is known for is curved spire and side wings It was named after the Icelandic Poet and cleric Hallgrimur Petursson. The building was started after World War II and was completed in the 1986. The state architect, Samuelsson designed the building in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland’s landscape which of course includes the columnar basalt formations.

We met our city guide, Guðmundur or Gui as he said they called him by the statue of Leifur Eiríksson in front of this very famous church of Hallgrímskirkja. We were told that Guðmundur would have a sign that says “Citywalk” so we couldn’t miss him.” HA HA HA – its a very busy tourist spot, we arrived a few minutes early, grabbed a bench and watched for the sign and see if anyone looked to be searching for a random group of three adults. He had no sign but we figured out who he was. Icelanders are a very tall population!

The statue of Leif erikson was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Althing Millennial Festival commemorating the 1000 th anniversary of convening Iceland’s parliament at Pingvellir in 930 AD. Iceland has a long written history but until the US came along during World War II they were considered just a poor European country. The Marshall plan gave many countries money to build and rebuild after the war and Iceland was blessed to be able to build an infrastructure and create a solid financial base. Iceland only has 375,000 and 65% of those inhabitants live in and around Reykjavik currently.

The Hallgrim church has a huge pipe organ which was finished in 1991. It has 102 ranks, 72 stops and 5275 pipes. We didn’t get to hear it but Gui mentioned he’s been in with visitors a few times when it was being played. – magnificent. Visitors can pay to go up a lift to see the observation tower and view Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains.

Gui was showing us around Reykjavik on a walking foodie tour. Our first stop was a restaurant right on the church square area called Cafe Loki. Cafe Loki specializes in Icelandic food. Between the three of us we had the fermented shark (imagine eating ammonia) with a Brennivin shot – something to wash the taste down, their Icelandic lamb soup which was delicious and Larkin had ordered the gratinated mashed fish which also has cheese in it. She remembered a dish like this in Scotland and wanted to try it. I had never had fish with cheese and it was delicious. Next up was the colorful building which houses the Braud & Co. bakery which is famous for their cinnamon rolls. My goodness for a woman who doesn’t want to eat sweets, those were delicious and I kept going back for more bites.

There is a lot of graffiti on many of Reykjavik’s buildings. Gui mentioned the government now has artists let the government know what they want to do and if it is approved, they can create art legally. Many buildings were actually incredible art, but otherwise we’re not sure how much of what we saw was actually legal. I found another “zebra”graffitied on a wall which means something in Iceland but I’m not sure what it is…I like a meaning I heard which means a woman who is free spirited and can not be tamed but I doubt that is what it means in Iceland.

Larkin and I both noticed Dillon…not a beach but nevertheless a Dillon!

In Iceland, heating and hot water simply exist, supplied by the government. The heat is circulated in your home and the only way to regulate the temperature is to open the windows…year around. Most windows open at the top like the ones above.

During the walk back down the hill we walked on more painted streets, noticed more graffiti, Larkin caught all the flowers and we enjoyed the architecture and its classic Icelandic windows.

Whether it was an art deco theater or the restaurant across the street from the theater, the design is in the little details!

At the bottom of the hill, we crossed a main road and headed to a hot dog stand. Our guide told us this was the famous Baejarins Beztu hot dog stand originally opened in 1937. The name actually means the bezt in town. One of its famous visitors was Ex President Bill Clinton who was known to eat three of their hot dogs on his trip to Iceland. The three of us shared one in the rain and thank goodness the line wasn’t too long. Their dogs are made from ground lamb with your choice of toppings. Toppings can include crispy onions, fresh onions, mustard and ketchup remoulade. Their Ketchup is sweetened with apples not glucose which makes it delicious. Bill Clinton kept his simple – mustard only. Servers get paid by the dog so service is very quick.

After the hot dog stand we walked toward the Parliament building on a square called Austurvollur. The Parliament building was under some sort of construction and one street we passed had yellow and blue flags flying in support of Ukraine. Our last foodie restaurant, Messinn was famous for its fish pans. We shared the arctic charr with cherry tomatoes, honey, almonds, lemon and plenty of butter. If I could have licked the pan, I would have, says a woman who can do with or without fish! After lunch it was still sprinkling and Gui took us to a taxi stand across the street. When we checked in at the hotel, our luggage was already in our room…and we needed to open the windows! Needless to say dinner was only drinks and appetizers at the Hilton. Next up…touring the Golden Circle and the southern part of Iceland.