Imagine this

No sun until end of January. Yikes. I've been to this desolate place in August where the Puffins nest.

During breakfast the sound of people moving about, the studded tires, the hustle of the tourists off for an Icelandic adventure of pony riding, the Golden Circle, or points elsewhere. And it's still dark outside at 0930.

After breakfast and the sun has risen, I'm on my way to town at 1130. Workers are chopping the ice along Tjornin Lake to prevent it from destroying the walk way around it. School kids are playing among blocks at their lunch break. I spend some time at The National Gallery. I mail some postcards at the Post Office, convert some money, and stroll the colorful and active streets of Reykjavik. The store windows are eye catching. It is cold here as I am glad for my Mad Bomber hat and insulated pants.

While walking I stop in different stores as I plan my Christmas shopping for my return next week. I stop at Svarta Kaffi for their famous soup in a bread bowl and a glass of Christmas beer. This place always offers a great place for people watching as today's soup warms me up. I save the cut out bread and left over bread of bowl that I haven't eaten for feeding to the swans at the lake. After more walking and a visit to the Hallgrimskirkja Cathderal on my way home, I took a nap as it is dark at 1630 when I got home.

I woke at 1830 and eventually started out by 1900 for dinner and a night of football at the English Pub. I had decided on sushi tonight. It was raining lightly as I strolled down to town. I stepped into Osushi and found a seat along the train that serves the sushi to the customers.  The counter was double sided and a conveyor belt (the train) moved the plates of sushi. I ordered a saki and studied the guide provided that explained the prices of the plates that were colored and designed in a way to designate the price. I recognized the traditional plates. I asked about whale, char, and puffin. No whale tonight, out of char and they never served puffin. There were some things I didn't recognize. I discovered they were horse, chicken skewers for the kids, and chocolate cake. I tried the horse. Slowly the restaurant filled up. When I was done, I took my plates up to be counted, like dim sum in Chinatown in NYC, and got a card which was punched. When I fill in the other eight circles, I will get a free Take Away. The sushi was very good. I wondered how long it will take me to fill the card.

 

When I left Osushi, I merely walked across the street to the Pub. When I walked in, I was greeted with a goal by Gareth Bale, the second one for the Spurs after 21 minutes who were hosting The Reds, who are my least favorite team because they are owned by the Boston Red Sox. The Spurs happen to be my favorite team. I found a spot at the bar and ordered a stout. On the screen to my left was the ManU game hosting West Ham. ManU was up 1-0 after 7 minutes. Lots of West Ham supporters here. I discovered that was because an Icelander wuho made his money during the financial surge. As the fan explained to me the fate of the club followed the financial fate of Iceland.  Down at the other end of the bar was the Everton Gunners game with the Gunners up 1-0. The bar was full and very loud and rowdy as reactions to each of the games drew attention. The evening games ended in my favor: The Spurs and the Red Devils won while the Toffees came back to tie as The Blues had a scoreless tie with The Cottagers. It was a good night for the Lilywhites as they climbed to fifth place.

I strolled down to the water to pay my respects to John Lennon. The light was peeking out at about 200 feet for about 100 feet. It was just a dash tonight. I noticed a hot dog stand across the street. It was busy as cars kept pulling up emptying the passengers and people swarmed from the adjoining streets. I ventured over to get in line and ordered a dog with fried onions and mustard, no sauerkraut for 320 kronos which is $2.54, more than I would pay anywhere else, but this is Iceland. It turns out the hot dog stand is very popular.

The rain stopped, the evening was mild, and the wind had died. A full moon lit my way as I made my way home past the lake. The birds were gathered waiting for food. I decided to get the bread I had saved from the soup in a bread bowl restaurant to feed to them.

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