The hotel provides a free breakfast buffet for guests so we decided to try it out. They had a really decent spread of hot foods, cereals, toast, and fruit. We loaded up on fruits. I also gave in and had some of that delicious bacon. It was as good as I thought it would be.
The previous day I had noticed that my computer wasn’t charging. I tried a variety of different plugs but soon realized that the problem was my combo step-down transformer and adapter. I came to the conclusion that it had bitten the dust. We walked to the nearest computer (tolvu) store to see if they had a replacement. Nope. They suggested that I go to the Kringlan Mall the next day.
So, after breakfast we caught the bus to the Kringlan Mall. It was pretty easy to find the bus stop, get the bus, and know when to get off. However, after we got off the bus we turned left when we should have turned right, and ended up walking around the ass-end of the mall until we found an entrance. We quickly found the Sony Store, where the clerk sing-songed “Yes, we have no transformers” and suggested I go to another store, the name of which I can’t even type, let alone say. The store had the weirdest selection of stock, sort of like a cross between Radio Shack and Toys R Us and Arlene’s. They had adapters, but no transformers. The clerk was an absolute doll, however, and gave us the addresses of two “electronics” stores that might have transformers. We chose the closest one, Byko, which he described as a large department store.
We caught a cab to Byko. I was a little unsure that we were at the right store because as we turned into the parking lot there was a Byko lumber supply yard to the right, a Byko garden center straight ahead, and an Ikea-like Byko home center to the left. The driver dropped us in front of the home center. Inside we asked where the computer electronics area was located and the clerk waved vaguely to the left. We went to the left, and stopped dead in front of a vast Home Depot-like household lighting department.
We wandered to the left some more, then some more, and eventually swung round to the lighting department again. I girded my courage and decided to go in. A very affable young sales clerk asked what I needed and I told him I was looking for a transformer and adapter. He looked confused at first, then led us to a rack and pulled out three options. One was clearly not suitable for large electronic devices. The other two looked like they might do the trick. I settled on one but as we walked away I got a sick sense that it wouldn’t work and stopped to read the label one more time. The problem was that the label was in German and French. No English. Mom and Simone tried to read the German but struggled with the technical terms. I tried to read the French but my vocabulary was just a bit too rudimentary. We went back to the clerk and after deciphering a bit more of the German it became clear it wasn’t supposed to be used with computers. Sigh.
That left the third option. I picked it up again and was trying to read the label when I noticed that the list of supported devices was illustrated on the box. There, beautiful as the sunrise, was a drawing of a laptop computer. Success! I won’t tell you how much I paid for the transformer/adapter, but let’s just say it was a generous contribution to the Iceland economy.
We caught a cab back to the hotel and then prepared to go to the island of Vithey for the afternoon. However, when I double-checked the Lonely Planet I found that the wharf from which the Vithey ferry sailed was several kilometers from town. So, we scrapped that idea and decided to walk around town again. Again, we went down Laugavegur. All of the shops were open this time and we went into a few of them. One of the shops we visited was a Christmas shop. The owner told us about the Yule Lads, a group of naughty blokes who steal things, slam doors, peek in windows, etc. in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. My favorite was the spoon licker. I don’t know why – the image just appealed to me!
Laugavegur street:
At the end of Laugavegur we wandered up Bankastraeti, and then Austerstraeti. The area was hopping with tourists, bars, restaurants, and tourist shops. I knew that the famous Reykjavik flea market was nearby so we navigated to a somewhat abandoned-looking area and then followed the crowds of Reykjavikers into the flea market. It was like any flea market, full of crap, but near the end was a food market where you can buy fish, meat, cheese, breads, vegetables, fruits, etc. Simone was attracted to a bread merchant who was selling bags of flatbreads faster than you can say “carbohydrates.” She talked to a girl in line who explained that that bread was a particularly tasty local treat. Simone picked up two packages for us to try.
At the end of Austerstraeti:
Buying flatbread at the flea market:
Line up at the hot dog stand outside of the flea market:
From there we tried to find our way back to Bankastraeti but got a bit turned about. By the time we found it, Simone was famished, so we poked our heads in a couple of places before she and I settled on a “cheap” lunch buffet. (Again, the cost of eating out in Reykjavik was intimidating.) Mom went next door to the bakery for a cookie and a coffee.
After lunch we did some more window shopping before heading down to the harbor for a walk along the water. We found some interesting public artwork, admired the harbor, and then pondered the significance of an old-looking white house that the city map identified as the location of the historic peace meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. We finally found a plaque that identified the house as the traditional residence of the members of City Hall.
View of the footpath along the harbor:
Interesting statue on the harbor:
The coolest public water fountain I've ever seen:
Tonight we bought groceries for tomorrow’s road trip to Saeberg – apples, grapes, bananas, three bags of addictive Icelandic potato chips, chocolate, and water. We started out with such good intentions, but…oh, well. We’ll all have a shower, repack our bags, and hopefully get another good night’s sleep.
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