sightseeing...

... in the capital and most populated city in Iceland: Reykjavik. On the southwestern coast, not so far from where we got off Iceland Air last Friday morning. Plenty to see and do, poke around, walk the streets, look in shop windows, ponder eating options. We drove into downtown and parked to go to the big  cathedral that can be seen from most any vantage point in the city. Then wandering down the thoroughfare, ostensibly in search of the 'posthaus' to mail the kards I wrote yesterday. The kards needed stamps: when I asked at the gift shop in the church, she actually had postage, which I bought after asking about where to drop them. Hoping they would be delivered to addressees in the US before my return next week.

Meandering along, we found a little hole in the wall cafe, and ordered lunch that, when served, also served to improve attitudes markedly. We purchased tickets for entry to various points of interest, and began to try to get our money's worth out of those fifty krona passes. Back to our wheels that might have been parked illegally, and off to a 'historic' village sited on an old farm, with houses that had been moved from closer in town to preserve the buildings. Lots of displays, evidencing history of changes over time, growth of the town post-WWII (population boom of 70%: we know what they did for recreation!) and economic impact of modern conveniences, imported products from Europe and the US.

A few of the buildings from the time this preserved area was a family farm: built of stone and sod, in a nation with a surfeit of rocks. Some were built with sod on the roof, like you see on postcards and calendars. I've pondered, and made some thoughtful conclusions: that a house that has a lower roof line is going to be warmer in a country where the wind never stops blowing. A house using the most available of building materials, earth, for the roof is going to be well insulated. That roof covered with living grasses, growing interwoven roots, is going to be more stable and secure when the wind blows unceasingly.

Noticing as we toured the old farm house, in between each layer of stones where you could see the assembly/mechanics in the interior: an actual layer of sod about an inch or so thick, dirt and grass roots. Adding stability as the rocks are hand stacked with nothing else to help cement/secure the layers together. Yes, there was a constant need for sweeping for the compulsively tidy, like those settlers on the plains in America who lived in 'soddies', the only building material available being dirt and grass with no trees for miles around.

We did not get to the museum that has all the info about Vikings and marauders. Maybe tomorrow. There was a big bronze statue to Lief Erikson, dressed in fur and the classic hard metal viking helmet with horns on a tall granite pedestal in front of the cathedral, marking the 1000th anniversary of his arrival. A gift from the USA...