Below is a suggestion for a swell day plan in Reykjavik. Most of the places mentioned are not common knowledge among the tourists or travelers that come to Iceland. It is constructed by me, Sigrún, for you my fellow traveler friend :) I tried to keep the budget for the day low so some of these things cost no money and I try to keep the others at least as cheap as possible. I hope you'll enjoy. Click on the name of a place to see its location on a map.
09:00 - 10:15: Start the day early with a nice swim and soak in
Vesturbaejarlaug swimming pool. This thermal pool is very popular with the locals. At this hour there are bound to be a few older gentlemen talking about politics or the local news in the hot tub. Even though you will surely not be able to understand them you can still experience the very icelandic mood of this special ritual. Bring your own towel with you and don't forget to wash well with soap before you enter the pool or you'll get nasty looks from other pool guests.
PRICE: 360 ISK
10:30: Time for a nice light breakfast. Close to Vesturbaejarlaug pool there is a very nice bakery:
Björnsbakarí. Pop in for a bread role perhaps and a nice cup of coffee to go. Buy a
kleina for desert (icelandic sweet bread. Excellent with coffee).
PRICE: about 670 ISK10:30 - 11:00: Take a stroll through the
old cemetary (just across the street) while you nibble on your bread role and kleina. This cemetary is packed with local history and many influential people in Reykjavik are buried there. It was inaugurated in 1838 and the first person buried there was Guðrún Oddsdóttir. According to old belief the first person buried in a graveyard is its keeper; guards it and welcomes new souls to their rest. The keeper's body never decomposes and they never get the rest other souls do. Those who have spotted a keeper say that usually it is dressed in bright red or green and has a red face. Perhaps you can spot Guðrún the cemetary keeper as she guards her territory?
PRICE: FREE
11:30 - 12:30: Now would be a good time to feed the spirit with some icelandic art.
The Reykjavik Art Museum usually has some interesting exhibitions. Just drop by and see what's on. This will give you some good topics to talk about aswell if you start socializing with some of the locals later in the day.
PRICE: FREE
12:30-13:00: Now you are very close to a remarkable place: The greatest symbol of the financial crash in Iceland. This would be the unfinnished enormous glass concert and conference centre
Harpa. Stand in front of it and really take in the absurdity of this structure. Take a picture of yourself in front of it. Look to your right and you'll see a hill with a statue of the first settler in Reykjavik Ingolfur Arnarson. Behind the statue is a large, black boxy building. This is the central Bank of Iceland. Note that the windows are very small on the Central Bank building. One wonders if perhaps the officials did not notice the imminent financial crisis Iceland was on the brink of because they could not see anything through those tiny windows...
PRICE: FREE
13:00-13:30: Are you hungry yet? Well wether you are or not now would be the perfect time for an icelandic SS hot dog. The most famous hot dog stand in Iceland is just a few steps to your left:
Bæjarins Beztu. For the full experience order a hot dog "Med ollu" (with everything on it). That would be ketchup, sweet mustard, remoladi (icelandic mayo based topping), raw and dried onions. These hot dogs are extremely popular among the locals so you can expect there to be a long queue. Perhaps this would be a good time to chat with some locals?
PRICE: 280 ISK
14:00-14:30: By now you should really be getting into the Reykjavik mentality and experiencing the local atmosphere. It is time to get a bigger picture of this tiny "Big City". There's about a 15 minute walk from the hot dog stand to the tallest church in Iceland:
Hallgrimskirkja. The view over the city from the tower is quite impressive. You can see the old quaint town well from there and the screaming contradiction of the newer glass towers and steel palaces. It is a place where you can see old Reykjavik vs the new one and really get things into perspective.
PRICE: 500 ISK