Iceland- first impression

Just before we landed, the terrain looked like what I imagine the moon would, only darker, more earthy colored. The drive from the airport to the city is about 40 minutes, along the way we passed a combination taco-bell and KFC and the grad students laughed, remembering the ridiculous rap we listened to in Theory class in a lecture about non-place.

We stop at a bakery and get some fresh bread. What is it about travelling abroad and me becoming obsessed with bakeries? Maybe because that kind of specialty is kind of rare at home. Needless to say, we found it again when we went exploring later in the day, so we could come back.

The city itself is very charming, low to the ground, the buildings rarely get above 3 or 4 stories. Lots of gabled roofs and house-like buildings. Some of the roofs are painted bright colors, I imagine this helps liven up the place during the winter when its gray and cold. Our first, layover day in Reykjavik was gorgeous, a there was a little chill in the air, but it smelled so fresh and clean, a big change from NYC where I'd spent the previous day. The view from the Cathedral, a modest 8 stories tall was gorgeous, offering a complete 360 view. There is no tipping in Iceland, which I liked- though service is much more laid back, which as an American I unwittingly noticed. The language is mesmerizing, so different from any that I know, but I'm still able to recognize bits and pieces, mostly from English. Its full of hard r, k and ouhh sounds. The suffix -gata follows a lot of the street names.

The city hall building is equally interesting, with its piloti that go into the city pond, the concrete arch roofs, and green algae walls at the front. The spaces are nice inside, backlit staircases are a nice designer touch. The concrete is a bit brutal untamed as it is, dirty looking, but its I think a nice and raw contrast with the sleekness of the glass. The arch throws me off somehow, stylistically it reminds me of tropical buildings in South America. Many people had opinions about this building, and it took a long time to build and a lot of money. Even more controversial is the new music concert hall- HARPA. It is quite the iconic building, no plane of the exterior shell is a ninety degree angle, the glass honeycomb facade was designed in collaboration with an icelandic artist and structural engineers, and remains incomplete even though the building has officially opened to the public. They hope to have the final inauguration and building 100% complete by the end of June. The art designer who worked on the glass facade refused to be part of the opening in May because the facade was not finished, but the symphonic orchestra conductor insisted that it open in May even though it was not finished because it had been so far behind schedule. The conductor won. The building is important because its the first venue designed to meet the acoustical needs of a true concert hall. Music in Iceland is important, and there are some great musicians which the country has birthed; Sigur Ros, The Sugarcubes and Bjork to name a few. The music festival is heralded as a truly great time, annually in October its called Iceland Airwaves. Icelandic and foreign musicians play in Reykjavik's clubs for a week.

Olof, the girl that I'm renting an apartment from is so sweet, and her place is very nice, students live in really great sized studios I'm a fan, and excited I get to stay there for a month after our Scandinavian travels. Tomorrow is Helsinki...