{"id":17187,"date":"2022-08-16T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T14:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17187"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:25:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:25:46","slug":"picky-picky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17187","title":{"rendered":"Picky Picky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published August 10, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Reykjavik, Iceland from Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 <\/em>Limited days and limited energy coupled with almost unlimited daylight, how do you divide that? Sam and Kayla only have three nights in Reykjavik \u2013 meaning two full days, plus the time they are awake today, and most of Thursday, as our flight to Washington DC doesn\u2019t leave till 6. A list of possibilities, three people. Strategy: each person picks three things they REALLY want to do. The other items remain in the pot, to be picked at random as time allows. Eating and sleeping are givens.<\/p>\n

The airport. About 1.5 million people a year come through, five times the population of the entire country (Iceland 364,134, Reykjavik 122,853<\/em>). Keflavik International holds the \u201cBest Airport In Europe\u201d award; it\u2019s modern and easy to get around. It\u2019s also easy to get where \"\"<\/a>you\u2019re going next \u2013 every time a flight arrives, a shuttle bus is waiting to take passengers directly to their hotel downtown! By the time we finished our 45-minute ride to our rooms at the Hilton Nordica, I knew I was in for a busy day. They weren\u2019t tired, and they both had already picked their three! The hotel. A family executive suite with access to the lounge-with-a-city-view for complimentary breakfast, and access to the spa any time; plus, windows that OPEN. Fresh air! Within walking distance of everything downtown; they can get out and go with ease.<\/p>\n

My own agenda is simple: I want to explore the town, because it is a capital city, and I want to explore the countryside, because of the geysers. I want to see Parliament Building, and I want to take Kayla and Sam into the US Embassy, because just by stepping inside the door, you are technically \u201cback on US soil\u201d and I want them to experience the concept of political boundaries. When we get to Washington DC I intend to do the same with the Iceland Embassy there. Back in Iceland again!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Another must do for me, Hallgrimskirkja Church. This Lutheran church is one of the most recognizable buildings in Iceland; something you might see in Lord of the Rings<\/em>. Modern art inside, an elevator to the top, awe-inspiring panoramic views of the city. Every night, lights illuminate the church and the statue of Leif Erikson (he\u2019s credited for discovering America almost 500 years before Columbus, you know).<\/p>\n

I also want to get a hot dog at the place every famous person who goes to Iceland eats — B\u00e6jarins Beztu Pylsur<\/em> (translated best hot dogs in town); its signature hot dog called \u201cein me\u00f0 \u00f6llu\u201d hot dog (the one with everything) is a lamb-based hot dog covered in ketchup, \"\"<\/a>mustard, fried and raw onion and remoulade, a sweet mayonnaise dressing. And I want to order H\u00e1karl somewhere; that is fermented shark \u2013 shark meat cured with a particular fermenting process, then hung outside to dry for four to five months. At least I want to poke at it with my fork.<\/p>\n

What choices did Sam and Kayla make? These cousins are both 18; he likes sports and swimming and she is a poetry-loving mountain hiker; she is interested in astronomy and he is interested in the way things are built; he\u2019s a meat eater and she\u2019s a vegetarian. I think they both like music. This should be fun! Here\u2019s the list, minus my picks; great variations in time and planning needed.<\/p>\n