Outskirts of Reykjavik
Typical housing blocks. All quite neat, tidy and functional with large windows to make the most out of the light during the darker months.
Functional architecture, Reykjavik
Many buildings in Iceland are not known for their aesthetic appeal. Functionality plays a greater role in their architecture.
Functional housing, Reykjavik
A row of basic form housing off Stangarholt Street with the Hateigskirkja Church in the background.
Reykjavik
Building off Brauterholt, Reykjavik
Hallgrim’s Church and basic housing block
View of Hallgrim’s Church around a housing estate.
Reykjavik
Commercial building in Reykjavik
Alcoa aluminium plant
Huge aluminium plant between Reykjavik and Keflavik. Aluminium-processing from bauxite requires a large amount of energy.
The Blue Lagoon
The restaurant at the Blue Lagoon.
The Blue Lagoon
For a small fee, you can bathe in the therapeutic pools of this manmade lagoon heated with excess geothermal energy from the nearby geothermal plant.
The Blue Lagoon
And yes, I was careful so as not to drop the camera into the pool!
The Blue Lagoon
Ah! This is the life!
The Blue Lagoon
Enjoying a manmade waterfall.
The Blue Lagoon
If you’re really keen, you can smear this whitish mud all over your face! Suppose to clear bad skin complexion.
The Blue Lagoon
Running half-naked from the Blue Lagoon in the wind, I took this shot of the surrounding landscape. Keflavik Airport is actually very near to the Blue Lagoon.
The Blue Lagoon
Looking down from my viewpoint by the lava fields, you can see the Blue Lagoon in its entirety.
Is this a fish shop?
I liked how spartan this shopfront looked. It reminded me, somehow, of some of the Welsh villages I grew up in.
A little bit of Art Deco
Plain grey building in the Art Deco style.
Office building, Reykjavik
Spartan office premises with an octagonal frame structure.
Rustic old building, Reykjavik
Corrugated building with severely weathered wooden balconies and window frames.
Traditional building, Reykjavik
Note the strange cutaway for the window on the corner of the building.
Reykjavik Harbour
Cold grey waters from the bay can be seen from Reykjavik’s harbour front.
Reykjavik Harbour
A well-weathered sea trawler in Reykjavik’s harbour.
Reykjavik Harbour
Reykjavik Harbour seemed rather cold. The ‘cafe culture’ has not made it to the harbourside, but bear in mind, that I was there in June!
Reykjavik Harbour
A surprising number of warships were docked in the harbour.
Reykjavik Harbour
About the closest thing Reykjavik Harbour will be to becoming a ‘cafe culture’.
Reykjavik Harbour
The vast majority of boats in Reykjavik Harbour are either fishing vessels or war vessels.
Reykjavik Harbour
Great black fishing trawlers at dock.
Reykjavik Harbour
Contrasting colours to corrugated housing gives Reykjavik that much-needed colour.
Reykjavik houses
Detail of typical house with its corrugated roof.
Reykjavik houses
Completely corrugated housing.
What a name!
Almost as bad as Welsh!
Pretty house in Reykjavik
One of the prettier corrugated house designs.
Catholic Cathedral, Reykjavik
Forboding and colourless cathedral has a particular style of ambience to it.
Next to the Catholic Cathedral
Adjacent to the Catholic Cathedral is what seemed to look like some sort of a church school.
Catholic Cathedral, Reykjavik
Very plain but effective stained-glass patterns from within the gloomy Catholic Cathedral.
Town Centre, Reykjavik
Bright yellow exterior of the Reykjavik Cafe.
Town Centre, Reykjavik
Flower shop near the centre of Reykjavik.
Austurvoellur, Reykjavik
Central square in the heart of Reykjavik.
Austurvoellur, Reykjavik
In the central park in Reykjavik.
Rustic wooden exterior
Wonderfully rustic wooden exterior of a building off Austurvoellur, Reykjavik.
Hotel Borg, Reykjavik
Reykjavik’s most prestigious hotel in the heart of Reykjavik facing Austurvoellur square.
Tjoernin Pond, Reykjavik
Place near the centre of Reykjavik where you can feed the ducks and swans.
Houses off Tjoernin Pond
Attractive old housing off the Tjoernin Pond near the centre of Reykjavik.
Petrified people on a bench
To give the impression that there are plenty of tourists hanging around Hallgrim’s Church, they’ve added a few bronze sculptures to their park benches!
Hallgrim’s Church
More strange sculptures outside the entrance to Hallgrim’s Church.
Hallgrim’s Church
They say you either like it or you don’t. Although the concrete looked a little weathered, I though this church had a great design. It symbolizes Reykjavik’s skyline. As with one of my other articles, it reminds me of the creepy pyramidal Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang!
Hallgrim’s Church
Close-up of the church making the most of the late evening sun.
Hallgrim’s Church
Large spacious interior. Most of the time, there was nobody else and you could hear a pin drop as it was so quiet.
Hallgrim’s Church
Beautiful organ at the Hallgrim’s Church.
Hallgrim’s Church
Even the wooden ends of the pews are shaped appropriately to match the exterior shape of the church.
Grass roof in Reykjavik
Not really normal in the towns, but this is right near the centre of Reykjavik.