{"id":14381,"date":"2024-12-22T14:24:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T21:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/?p=14381"},"modified":"2024-12-22T15:29:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T22:29:06","slug":"icelandic-tales-reykjavik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/2024\/12\/icelandic-tales-reykjavik\/","title":{"rendered":"Icelandic tales – Reykjav\u00edk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Urban scene overlooking bay and mountains <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We spent some time in Reykjav\u00edk, the capital and largest city in Iceland. When encountering a new city, I don’t realize at first what will become my landmarks. There’s always something I use to find my way around. This little red shop with the green roof became one because there was relatively easy parking nearby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two colorful houses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The houses in the neighborhood where we stayed were neutral in color: browns and beiges, blacks and whites – but there were some colorful buildings in the city. I think it would be cheering in the long winter to have color surrounding you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Studded snow tires!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the first things we noticed that was really different from home were the studded snow tires on this scooter. The Icelanders in Reykjav\u00edk use scooters and bicycles all year round, regardless of conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Music – DVDs – Games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I thought the marquee of this store was charming. It’s not a very good photograph. I liked the homemade look of it, the slanted roof below, the old fashioned typeface. There are drawings placed there too, characters that I don’t know, but they are probably pop culture references. Google Translate gives me “CD-ROM drive” for the translation. Maybe it’s a used CD store? Clearly, you can get Music, DVDs, and Games there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shop window 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I liked these shop windows a lot. The simple banner – this would be a very nice thing to make as a holiday decoration. The pillar topped with candles must have taken some time to create. And the next photo shows a display of felted soaps in different colored wool. Very fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shop window 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Family skating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was ice skating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Black Cone, by Santiago Sierra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The plaque says “The Black Cone – Monument to Civil Disobedience.” More details about it here: Atlas Obscura article<\/a>. I have a vague memory of Icelandic financial crisis and the public protests back around 2010. There was a definite anti-capitalist slant, and I admired the people for their peaceful revolution at that time. Not sure how this would play out today when the oligarchs seem to be winning worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My first view of the Christmas cat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas Cat! I had never heard of this legend before, so I was baffled by my first view of this giant cat sculpture from behind. As we got closer, I could read the sign that explained the legend. Seems like a ploy to get children to appreciate new clothes for Christmas! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Probably too small to read<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The cat\u2019s menacing claws and red eyes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Figure on the wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At night, there were projections on the walls of some buildings. I think these were also legendary figures. The cat featured again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Busy streets, cat on the wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The cat, tree looks like it\u2019s tickling his belly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We ate at a ramen place one night, a hole in the wall which turned out to be unexpectedly perfect. Another night we ate at Mama’s plant-based restaurant. We mostly found it possible to eat vegan food in Iceland, although it’s definitely not their national cuisine. That involves a lot of meat, including horsemeat, and fish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mama\u2019s sign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Graffiti <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A graffiti that I enjoyed near Mama’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shop window 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A poncho that I coveted in a shop window. Waxed canvas? I love the ruffle and the hood that covers the neck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lights behind booths<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We intended to visit a number of Christmas markets, but we only made it to one small one. It was fun to talk to the artisans in the booths. (Almost everyone we met spoke English.) I bought a few small things. And behind the very small Christmas market, there was a beautiful display of lighted trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lights, better view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We spent some time in Reykjav\u00edk, the capital and largest city in Iceland. When encountering a new city, I don’t realize at first what will become my landmarks. There’s always something I use to...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[525],"class_list":["post-14381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-iceland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14381"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14414,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381\/revisions\/14414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gemtactics.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}