worried
We walked up the hill to the Hallgrímskirkja Church in Reykjavik and the Leifur Eiríksson monument.
We stayed at this hotel on our last trip here. The construction that was going on here last time is finished, and they've been able to expand their restaurant. But nothing can be done, I think, to deal with their too-small rooms with no storage space and minimal tiny bathrooms, so we had to spring for the more expensive City Centre.
While we were up at the top of the hill, I indulged myself by purchasing a cinnamon-cream waffle from the Waffelwagen that still plies its trade across from Hallgrímskirkja Square. I reckon that one such waffle every two years or so is okay, and we did still have to walk down the hill.
Reykjavik's Pride week was earlier this month, and there are still signs of it around the city, including this rainbow-painted street.
We looked at many of the stores in the area, hoping to possibly find new jackets, but besides the fact that most of jackets only came in sizes too small for both Lisa and I, they also were mostly made in China (and "designed in Iceland," which doesn't count in our book). There were some made in Iceland products, though. Lisa is still considering an Icelandic wool scarf. One exception to the Chinese-made jackets were the Canada Goose arcticwear, which looks solid, and probably actually too heavy for our winters in Fernley, which rarely get colder than -10°C. Also, the prices were too much for us, too. I had to confirm that I wasn't misreading the number of decimal places in the price. They cost the equivalent of around $1000, and even with a VAT refund, they were too rich for our blood.
One walk up and down the hill was enough for Lisa, and the rain that had been falling lightly turned heavy, so we returned to the hotel, stopping at a 10-11 store (think upgraded 7-11) for some small groceries that could fit in the 'fridge. At the hotel, Lisa took another dose of cough medicine, and went back to bed. I got partially caught up on messages. Later in the afternoon when she woke back up, she sent me out to get her some take-out fish and chips from across the street. I had a couple of Icelandic hot dogs from the shop in the downtown square. It's midweek, not the high point of the tourist season, and it's been raining and chilly, so it's not particularly busy and the queues are short or nonexistent.
Lisa fell back asleep after dinner. The sun isn't setting until 9 PM or so, and I was restless and a little bored, so I went for a walk.
The Althing (Icelandic legislature) is visible from my hotel room. I took this picture, then walked through the small garden behind the building.
From what's on the construction hoardings, it appears that a new hotel is going to be build on the site of the older buildings being torn down. This view is across the square with the Statue of Jón Sigurðsson, the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.
Walking around the pond around which Reykjavik clusters, I took this picture looking back up toward the Hallgrímskirkja.
Continuing around The Pond (Tjörnin), I looked back toward downtown, which is growing construction cranes like so many of the places we've visited on this trip.
Looping back and forth to the concert hall before heading back to the hotel when the rain started again, I grabbed this shot of the Prime Minister's office. I continue to be fascinated that the country's legislature and leader don't have to be barricaded up behind armed guards and walls. It was nice when my country's government didn't have to be like that.
Lisa still isn't feeling well, and she hates spending most of her time in bed coughing and hacking and generally feeling miserable. I don't really know what else to do, though. I hope it's all based on something non-infectious she picked up in Ireland, and that a little more rest will help.