Incredible Iceland #5 – Miscellaneous stuff

One final post about Iceland…for now. It’ll be short and simple. I am sure I can write on and on about this beautiful country but five posts in this series is pretty good for the moment. This one will be about some miscellaneous fun stuff that I encountered in Reykjavik that I haven’t written about previously.

When I saw the back of the white polar bear from afar, I thought it was a huge dog…my eyes must be really bad 😦 Anyway, the focus of this photo is on the Icelandic flag, which like the flags of all other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway) has a cross on it. The three colours on the flag each represents one defining natural feature of the country: red for the volcanoes, white for the glaciers, and blue for the sea surrounding the island (source: bus guide Erlingur).

Gentlemen, I present you with the wall of ties! If you’re not sure how to properly tie a tie, perhaps it is time to learn here, step-by-step 😉 (It would seem like this wall is an ad for a clothing store in Reykjavik…hmmm.)

This fire hydrant isn’t like any other around the area – it has quite a personality!

“If you are racist, sexist, homophobic, or an asshole…don’t come in.” What a way for a bar to make a statement and to welcome (or NOT welcome) its guests.

I really liked this little cafe in Reykjavik, and I stopped by twice during my visit, just sipping some cappuccino and writing in my good ol’ journal as time passed by peacefully. The atmosphere was very cozy and the staff was very friendly. I’m sure the lady at the front desk had a special liking for Fred Flinstone 😉

A recycling station in the shape of a gigantic plastic bottle – I wonder if people would be more happy to recycle if things like these exited in more cities.

I pointed my camera toward the sea during the night without knowing what I was shooting at, and this was the unexpected result. The mountains in the distance looked like volcanoes here, with white smoke rising in the form of evening clouds. I liked the effect!

And this row of buildings lit up brilliantly during the night – they really do look like toy houses!

To prove that Icelandair is a cool airline, here is one of the things that they did to make the customer’s experience an enjoyable yet amusing one. In addition to pillows with folk lullabies printed on them and random facts about Iceland being shown on the aircraft, the words printed on the napkins also teach us a thing or two about Iceland. Not sure I really want to try to pronounce it…let me just stick with “napkin” or “serviette”.

And I couldn’t resist getting an Icelandic beer or two as my last memory of the country, as I was leaving on the aircraft. Shopping like a viking indeed, HECK YEAH!