You’ve probably been looking at my posts from Iceland and picturing that there’s countryside everywhere in Iceland. Actually, about two thirds of the population of Iceland lives in and around the capital, Reykjavik. It’s a very happening city, with all sorts of resources from around the world. Check out some of my photos that will show you the hip side of Reykjavik.

The smallest skateboarder I’ve ever seen

The Chuck Norris Grill looks great behind this awesome bicycle gate

I’m not sure what this is… an advertisement for ties?

Someone made a spot for lost single gloves — how funny!

The Laudromat Cafe, with color organized books

The Boston Restaurant!

Shopping street with neat bicycle gate

My favorite building in Reykjavik, the most funky of all, was the concert hall.  Its really unusual architecture makes it stand out on the harbor.

Reykjavik isn’t the only city in Iceland. We also got to visit Akureyri, the Northern capital. It’s built right on a fjord, which makes it quite beautiful.

In Akureyri, I got to check out a big festival, with live music and kids’ activities. It was for an Icelandic holiday called “Commerce Day” which celebrates the merchants. It’s kind of like our Labor Day, and lots of people get off work and go camping with friends.

Of course, there was a lot of shopping in the cities! Overall, Iceland is an expensive place to travel. For example, I didn’t buy myself a souvenir t-shirt, because they cost about $35! There were some really nice things in the shops, and also some silly touristy items.

A public art piece at the airport — it’s a map of Iceland made up of all their classic souvenirs!

This is the perfect name for a wool sweater shop in Iceland

A lot of stores cater to tourists. For instance, here are jars full of rocks and dirt and other silly things, that you can buy for lots of money.

We ate at several really nice restaurants, but there are some cheap ones too. The Curry Inn in Akureyri only had 2 seats. It’s mostly a take-out place. And the hot dog stand in Reykjavik is famous! People come from all over to try these hot dogs. I tried one– it was indeed quite good. I think the secret ingredient might be lamb…

One of my favorite parts of being in the city was seeing how Icelanders seem to care deeply about natural beauty. There are a lot of beautiful gardens, and in Reykjavik, you don’t need to go far outside of the city to spend a few hours on the water.

A garden right in the city

Awesome building, right?

The coast near Reykjavik

The city of Reykjavik is growing, and they are constructing new buildings all the time. One local guy told us he’s never seen so many cranes in the city! However, Icelanders are thoughtful about building. When a company built this ugly rectangular eyesore near the coast, they decided to build a public art grassy mound next to it, to make the coast look more beautiful.

Overall, people in Iceland were really nice. After we went through the security at the airport, we saw this machine to log your experience:

I really enjoyed visiting the cities of Iceland. Though the scenery isn’t quite as glamourous, it was fun to learn about the culture and get a taste of how people live. Reykjavik has a little bit for everyone — lots of museums, good food, and natural wilderness at your fingertips if you’re willing to endure a short ride out of town. It’s a truly exceptional place to visit!

And if you want to take a photo of yourself with a giant troll… you can totally do that too.