The House of Collections:

One item that Iceland is well known for is their hot spring pools, some outside, some inside. We went to a public bathhouse this morning. It had 6 outdoor pools and 3 indoor pools ranging in temperature from 14 degrees (circulating to keep it from freezing) Fahrenheit to 107. The pools are heated with thermal springs and well attended. I certainly enjoyed the contrast of the below freezing pool to the 107 degree pool. Quite invigorating! No pictures of the very bland bathhouse, but it is across the street from the Hallgrimskirkja church, home of the highest steeple in Reykjavik, one picture.

Every time we walk to and through the city we discover new neighborhoods that enhance my appreciation of  of Reykjavik.  I figured to have worn some people out with pictures of sculptures yesterday. That should have been enough, but today just before we got to the church we discovered a magnificent sculpture garden. My first thought was, no more sculpture pictures. I am reconsidering now and may return to the garden tomorrow. Here are two pictures of the mid city Reykjavik “pond” I showed yesterday. Two more because I am hoping they will give a better perspective of the size of this body of water.

After soaking we were on our way to a museum, the House of Collections. Sheila wanted a beer or glass of wine first. We were looking for somewhere that looked active and interesting. Something caught our eye, but it was not a bar. What it did have was good looking Fish and Chips, with sweet potato fries, for less than three quarters the price of some other restaurants we had seen; and cheaper than anywhere else we had seen. For the first time in Reykjavik we ate out. Excellent crispy fries and fish. Sheila never got her beer or wine, but we did find the museum.

The House of Collections is a museum unlike anything I had visited. It is a combination of Icelandic folklore (fairies, trolls and elves are a big part of Icelandic lore), history and a heavy dose of science. In addition to paintings, drawings and sculpture; there were a lot of science and art demonstrations and explanations. Many of them are related to the development of Iceland’s unique topography, but also to the devastating effects of climate change on this unique country.

Art and science have long crossed multidisciplinary lines. That appears to be a major theme in this museum. Physics is utilized in demonstrations of sound and light as art. Vibrating strings, chaos theory and wave theory are utilized to demonstrate the magnetic field of the planet and how it determined much of the topographical and biological development of Iceland. The demonstrations are enhanced by the art of Iceland’s artists.  It is a melding of creative and analytical thinking showing how art and science are part of a bigger picture that is influencing both the development and the destruction of the world as we know it. Science inspires artists, art may influence scientific perspectives. The laws of nature are a big topic here, and as I said the House of Collections made a gigantic impression on me.

There was an added bonus to entrance to The House of Collections, It also gained us entrance to a second museum we want to visit, The National Gallery of Iceland. We ran out of time today. Tomorrow will be another museum day, hopefully more than one. We had planned on at least one out of the city excursion, but at this point I do not know if that will happen. The city has turned out to be more dense and interesting than I expected.

People here appear to have quite the interest in cairns. Almost all of them are small but they litter the beach on the edge of downtown.