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Late June: One thing we didn't mention in our earlier travel report from the West Fjords: Flatkaka (flatbread, plural = flatköker) we saw in a shop up there looked different from the sorts we get in Reykjavík. We tried some (below left), but the texture wasn't that different from what we are used to down South (below right).
In our flat there are some woolen bunnies that Ásta's brought back from Mongolia - it's a very friendly place, and Usako & Kousa are happy here :-)
9 July: Another bright sunny day, we had some errands to run in the town centre, and we deicided to have a little walk around at the same time. (Which turned out to be a bad idea - it was too warm, and Akiko was soon sweating away and exhausted!)

We found these cute little flowers outside a house along the way.
Usako & Kousa by the sea, with the harbour in the far background.
11 July: At the Hallgrímskirkja, the church towering over Reykjavík, they have a season of organ recitals every summer, with various guest organists from Europe and USA, and we always enjoy attending these concerts. Tonight it's Christian Schmitt, a young organist from Germany performing...

Outside the church, there are strange sculptures of silver & wooden figures, either standing around like tourists, or sitting down on some of the benches (right).
And during the concert, we realise that there is another on of those silver figures sitting down on one of the pews (can you still call them "pews" when they are padded and quite comfy, not the usual wooden sorts??), looking in the "wrong" direction. (Right: I witnessed someone placing a leaflet on its lap on her way out - so it's an interactive piece :-)

The programme was interesting - esp. the piece by the Icelandic composer Jón Ásteirsson. When the organist came back for an encore, he said "I see there are quite a few people from Germany here tonight, if you'd like to wait 5 minutes after the concert, I will be happy to demonstrate how the organ works." (Yes, there are always tonnes of German tourists at these organ recitals :-)

So about 50 people stayed, and since no one reacted to his question of "should I talk in English as well as German?", he gave us a detailed demonstration (left) of what each part of the organ (right) does, etc., all in German! It was fun, and wonderful to be able to watch someone play a real church organ right up close.

To be continued...

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