ICELAND DAY THREE: Reykjavik, Harpa Concert Hall and Hallgrimskirkja Church

Our third day in Iceland landed on a Sunday, so most places didn't open until 12pm and even then there were a lot of shops/cafes/restaurants shut. Obviously a lot of the attractions in Iceland are outdoors and therefore don't have opening times as such, making it great for a long weekend. A few years ago my husband and I went to Barcelona for the weekend, only to find out when we got there that barely anything was open to see or do on the Sunday.

From our airbnb we could walk into Reykjavik city centre, so we headed towards the Hallgrimskirkja Church in the morning. This was a mistake because there was a Sunday service going on for a couple of hours, so no visitors were allowed to enter. It is such an impressive building though, very striking architecture. We headed into the shopping area while we waited for it to open, but again most places were shut until 12pm. Here's the lesson - on a Sunday...have a lie in! If you don't have children that is. After stopping for a hot chocolate we finally managed to do some shopping. The shopping in Reykjavik seemed to consist of a lot of very stylish clothes shops and then tourist shops selling everything related to a Puffin you could ever imagine. We did find a Tiger (though a lot more expensive than it's British counterpart, of course) and a Dunkin Donuts believe it or not. In fact that's something I wasn't expecting in Iceland, but does make sense. There is a big American influence there, not only in the menu choices found in restaurants, but also the shops too.

Then we headed down to the waterfront where the incredible Harpa Concert Hall can be found. This is one breath-taking place to visit; the angles and thought that has clearly gone into creating such a beautiful structure is inspiring. It is essentially an event hall, but is mainly filled with people wandering around in awe. I think the pictures talk for themselves when it comes to how outstanding the Harpa Concert Hall is.

For lunch we stopped off at a highly recommended place called Laundromat Café, on the way back up to the Hallgrimskirkja Church. It was a bit of a strange place to start with because they don't seat you, you just have to kind of hover around waiting for a table to be free. This wasn't the easiest task because Isabella was in the back carrier and space was limited, however after about 15 minutes a table was cleared. We both went for burgers, mine vegetarian of course. It was tasty, but I think the most popular dish there is the brunch. It's essentially an English breakfast combined with an American breakfast, topped off with a Continental breakfast.

Finally we returned to the Church, paid in the gift shop to go up in the lift and see Reykjavik from all new heights. It was a bit of a wait in the queue because the lift could only take 6 people up/down at a time, but so worth it once you're up there. The views are incredible and there were lots of people with pretty fancy photography kit up there making the most of it.

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x