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ReykjavAk
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The world's most northerly capital,
ReykjavAk
has a sense of space and calm that comes as a breath of fresh air to travellers accustomed to the bustle of the traffic-clogged streets of Europe's other major cities, and often literally so. Although unrepresentative of the majority of the country for its relative urbanization, a visit here is a good place to obtain as true a picture as possible of this highly individual, often apparantly contradictory society, secluded on the very edge of the Arctic. While it's true, for example, that Friday- and Saturday-night ReykjavAk has earned the place a reputation for hedonistic revelry, with locals carousing for as long as the summer nights allow - despite the legendarily high price of alchohol here - the pace of life is in fact sedate. The tiny centre, for example, is more of a place for ambling around, taking in suburban streets and cornerside cafA©s set against mountain and ocean scenery, rather than being somewhere to hurtle around between department stores and designer-clothes shops. Similarly, given the city's capital status, ReykjavAk lacks the grand and imposing buildings found in the other Nordic capitals, possessing instead apparently ramshackle clusters of houses, either clad in garishly painted corrugated iron or drearily daubed in grey-brown pebbledash as protection against the ferocious North Atlantic storms. This rather unkempt feel, though, is as much part of the city's charm as the blustery winds that greet you as you exit the airport, or the views across the sea to glaciers and the sheer mountains that form the backdrop to the streets. Even in the heart of this capital, nature is always in evidence - there can be few other cities in the world, for example, where greylag geese regularly overfly the busy centre, sending bemused visitors, more accustomed to diminutive pigeons, scurrying for cover.
Today, amid the essentially residential city centre, with its collection of homes painted in reds, yellows, blues and greens, it is the HallgrAmskirkja , a gargantuan church made of white concrete towering over the surrounding houses, which is the most enduring image of ReykjavAk. Below this, the elegant shops and stylish bars and restaurants that line the main commercial thoroughfare of Laugavegur , busy with shoppers seemingly undaunted by the inflated prices of goods - import taxes and cuts by middlemen are to blame - are a consumer's heaven, even if window-shopping is all you can afford. With time to spare, it's worth venturing outside the city limits into Greater ReykjavAk , for a taste of the Icelandic provinces - suburban style. Although predominantly an area of dormitory overspill for the capital, the town of HafnarfjA¶oA°ur , is large enough to be independent of ReykjavAk and has a couple of museums and a busy harbour, though it's for the summer Viking Festival that the town is perhaps best known. Alternatively, the flat and treeless island of ViA°ey , barely ten minutes offshore of ReykjavAk, is the place to come for magnificent views of the city and of the surrounding mountains - there are also some enjoyable walking trails here, which lead around the island in an hour or so.
The city also makes a good base for excursions around ReykjavAk, including to three of Iceland's most popular attractions: the site of the old
AlA?ing
at A?ingvellir
, the waterspouts and waterfalls of
Geysir
and
Gullfoss
, and
SkA?lholt
church - all within simple reach by public transport - or, more expensively, on day-long guided tours from the city. Also worthwhile is the
Reykjanes peninsula
, a bleak lavafield that's as good an introduction as any to the stark scenery you'll find further into Iceland, and home to the mineral-rich waters of the
Blue Lagoon
- the most visited attraction in the country. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Iceland,
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