Downtown Reykjavik Again

Iceland Information

 
It's 8PM when I finally dragged myself out of the pool and set out for city center again. Enjoying high latitude, Reykjavik at 8PM looked like Baltimore at 4PM. It's all light outside. Besides, Reykjavik is a safe city. Random murders are unheard of and muggings are few. Locals claim that even muggers seem to have the decency not to attack tourists. All these made more sense to my night visit.
The big attraction I had yet visited was the Hallgrimskirkja, the biggest church in Iceland, and the most imposing structure in Reykjavik. This immense church featured an exterior resembling a mountain of basaltic lava, which could be seen miles away. In front of it was a statue of Leifur Eiriksson, nicknamed Lucky, the Icelander who visited America 500 years before Columbus followed his lead. It was all quiet when I ambled on the square. Hallgrimskirkja looked like a handsome but lonely giant gazing at the blue sea.

What attracted me more was the life of common Reykjavik people. Right beside the square, a man in his early thirties was climbing up a ladder leaning against his row house. Apparently he was going to do some cleaning or painting. Below him, three or five kids were romping around, laughing out loud. My heart trembled. It was a quiet square. It was cold. It was cloudy. It was getting dark. But, but, but, it was all cozy. Was the man a father? Were the children brothers? It somehow reminded me of my own childhood, remote but warm.
I decided to get lost in the residential area, exploring more of common life. Though I can not point out where I was exactly, they must be some city blocks west of the church, and east of the Tjornin lake. Mum-and-dad shops, tiny snack bars, winding cobblestone streets, barks ...... it must be some unique experience to have a family in Iceland: You would never lose contact with other parts of the world, and yet you would never feel disturbed by other parts of the world.

However, I couldn't help wondering, what would the streets look like when the tourist season is over? Would they feel lonely because of my departure? Would the kids there feel scared when they know they live in the heart of the ocean?

 
It started drizzling and I walked back to a main street which you could see through to reach the sea. It might bear a name Klapparstigur, but I'm not sure. Placing my camera on a car, I set the timer for an automatic shooting.

"Do you need any help?" A car door opened 10 meters away, and a lady got off and smiled at me.

That's the beloved Reykjavik people. You don't even need to ask for help. They volunteered for help. It was a cold night, it was rainy night, but the lady went out of her way to help me.

With neon lights here and there, and their reflections on the wet ground, the street took on another magical look, as colorful as it had been in the morning, but all the colors were floating around now, glittering now. Along the street where the lady's car had stood, there was a little video shop. It's by no means of the size of Blockbusters, but by no means that impersonal either. Light in red, poster of Blue, shelves with Hollywood classics...... just your regular video shop next door in your neighborhood, but all the same with a quick stop it can melt your heart.
 

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