The cold that I developed has gotten worse, so on Thursday we decide to take it easier and just see the city center of Reykjavik. Following breakfast at a French bistro we walk down the main shopping street in search of a pharmacy and some cold syrup. (The people at the grocery store near our hotel have explained that the only place to buy cold products other than Halls and Kleenex is a pharmacy). I speak with the pharmacist and learn that he can sell me a nasal inhaler, but any type of cough medicine or other form of decongestant requires a doctor's prescription. What a difference from Ecuador, where you can buy many US, UK and Canadian prescription medications simply by walking into the pharmacy - no doctor's order required! I decide a nasal inhaler is better than nothing.
We're half-way to the Hallsgrimkirkja, so in the cold rain we press on. The church was constructed from 1945 to 1986 and features a huge organ consisting of 5,275 pipes. We go up the steeple for some good views of Reykjavik.
Enough of the sight-seeing - I'm thinking about a little shopping then plopping myself under some warm blankets for a few hours. William agrees it's a good plan. He'll catch up on some E-mail while I hopefully sleep off some of this cold.
As I awaken I notice the rain has stopped, the sun is out and I am feeling better. We decide to walk down to the square and get some hot dogs to tide us over until dinner. The small hot dog stand has only four stools inside, but an interesting menu of different style dogs. We both decide on the Frenchie. The woman behind the counter begins her magic. She starts by toasting an unsliced hoagie roll. Once it is warm she holds it vertically and presses it down on a pointed copper rod, creating a hole through the center 95% of the length of the bun. The condiment(s) are then squeezed into the hole - in the case of a Frenchie mayo is used. Lastly she slides in the hot dog, leaving perhaps a half-inch hanging out the top. We agree we don't want to think about what Freud would say, but the hot dog is delicious.
We take our hot dogs to go so that we can enjoy the sunshine and a stroll to the National Museum. At the National Museum we learn more about the history and culture of Iceland.
We take our hot dogs to go so that we can enjoy the sunshine and a stroll to the National Museum. At the National Museum we learn more about the history and culture of Iceland.
Thursday evening we splurge with a delicious dinner at Kjallarinn. 6:30 pm is a early for Icelanders and most tourists to dine so we have the restaurant to ourselves. We start with a foe gras appetizer, followed by a steak for William and a local whitefish for me. Both are incredibly good. Since we are splurging we also share a slice of in-house made cheesecake for dessert. It comes with warmly toasted granola and berries artfully scattered on the plate. This is a very good meal - 5 stars out of 5 is our review on TripAdvisor.
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