Reykjavik: Day 2
Yesterday during my jet-lag coma, I was feeling a bit skeptical about Reykjavik and it’s eternal fog, cold weather, and Lana Del Rey cover bands. However, today, after 12 hours of sleep, a large Gull beer, and the official I Heart Reykjavik walking tour, I can say that I, too, now heart Reykjavik. Here is a brief outline about why Iceland is possibly the greatest place ever:
- You can paint your house (or anything else) whatever color you want.
In the country where I live, you can get in trouble with your homeowners’ association for having the wrong color of curtains. In Iceland, you can paint your house whatever color you damn well please. This creates a charming patchwork of multi colored houses, making every street look like this:
The way that Iceland allows for residents to be involved in the city’s built environment and physical space is just too cool. Iceland has the best murals ever, as evinced by below, and many of them are there just because residents of a building commissioned a mural or decided to paint their own. They even paint electricity boxes, parking garages, and really anything.
Iceland even allows for its children to get in on some of the spray painting action, which is apparently why this neighborhood is covered in graffiti. This came as a relief, as I was afraid that it was tagging from an Icelandic branch of MS-13. As our tour guide illuminated, “the spray painting children are the muralists of tomorrow.”
- Cats roam free, as the good Lord intended them to.
All the cat owners in Iceland apparently leave a window open so their cats can leave during the day, and then they just lean out the window and call them in at night. Tonight we encountered several cats hanging out in downtown Reykjavik, and nearly every Icelandic store features an appropriate amount of cat themed merchandise.
- You can wear mittens any day of the year.
As I mentioned previously, Iceland is freaking cold. I packed more for the three weeks I will be spending in balmy Amsterdam rather than the three days I’m spending in freezing Reykjavik, so today I wore both of my cardigans and was still far too cold. Luckily, my tour guide pointed out the Reykjavik knitting cooperative, and I was able to score some summer mittens.
- THE FOOD.
Iceland’s convenient, isolated location in the middle of the Atlantic makes it possible to have fresh seafood for essentially every meal. This means cold cuts of breakfast salmon, teriyaki glazed scallops, and fish & chips.
- Iceland [probably] cares about gender equality.
I don’t really know what this building is, but the architecture was awesome and they were holding a worldwide conference to discuss “bridging the gender gap.”
And now, I leave you with this image of a teddy bear massacre art exhibit, which alone makes the visit to Iceland completely worth it:
