To fill our day, we started with a walk to the Perlan Museum. Along the way, we saw numerous street signs in Icelandic, all of which appeared to be something the Swedish Chef would utter. This sign translates to Airport Road.

The Perlan Museum was a bit pricey and I was concerned it was going to be touristy and kitschy. Instead, we found it to be very informational and worthwhile. The Geldingadalir Lava Show is a fantastic video presentation of the 2021 eruption that was visible from Reykjavík and where individuals could walk right up to the still-moving lava flows. The ice cave exhibition was a manmade version of ice caves that can be found inside glaciers and was suitably chilly. The Northern Lights Show recreated aurora borealis on a 360° domed screen and, while not quite as good as the real thing, was still beautiful to watch. The observation deck provides 360° views of Reykjavík; we walked around it but didn’t spend much time there given the cool drizzly day. The facility also includes a revolving restaurant that we didn’t visit since it was too early for lunch.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take a picture of the facility but the following photo looks much as it did the day we visited. Perlan sits on the highest point in the area, so apparently the large tank-like structures hold geothermally heated water for the city below.

Departing Perlan and heading back toward central Reykjavík, we stopped at the Einar Jónsson Museum across the street from the Hallgrímskirkja. Jónsson was Iceland’s first prominent sculptor. His work was based on German symbolism, which unfortunately leads to some similarity to Nazi imagery that came later. His best-known work may be the statue of Ingólfr Arnarson in central Reykjavík we visited previously, a model of which is in the museum and depicted in the right photo below.

In return for the Icelandic government providing him a home and studio in 1909, Jónsson agreed to donate all his work to Iceland upon his death. That studio became this museum and you can see the apartments where Jónsson and his wife lived. Before we visited, I wasn’t much interested in visiting this museum, but I’m glad we did as Jónsson’s works are bold, and where he fits in Icelandic art history is interesting. Those with a desire to see more of his work should explore the museum’s website.

After the Jónsson Museum, we walked to one of those check-the-box tourist places to grab lunch. This particular place was Bæjarins Beztu Pyslur which translates to “the town’s best hot dogs.” Hot dogs aren’t a particularly Icelandic dish, yet this company has been in business since 1937, serving simple hot dogs quickly to those looking for a quick bite, likely construction and office workers back in the day, and perhaps even today. The hot dogs are somewhat unique in that they are made from lamb rather than beef or pork. The choice of toppings is straightforward: onions, ketchup, mustard, and remoulade. Bæjarins Beztu likely would have continued to fly under the radar if not for former president Bill Clinton, who, not one to miss too many meals, purchased a hot dog in 2004 while in Iceland for a UNICEF conference.

When we arrived a little after midday, we encountered a short fast-moving line of patrons. The line was substantially longer by the time we left as highlighted in the photo. It was fun to buy and try a hot dog each as a typical kitschy tourist might, but the hot dogs themselves were unique but not spectacular.

What do you do after eating a weiner? Why, head to the Icelandic Phallological Museum, of course! Described as “the worldʹs only genuine penis museum,” the collection began as a running joke for its founder, Sigurður Hjartarson, as friends and colleagues gifted him penises from various animals.

One thing I don’t intend to do is post photos of the various exhibits – you can visit the museum’s website for that! However, the museum also included some phallus-themed items to purchase, including Moby Dick Pale Ale, so I had one of those.

Walking back to our hotel, we passed once again the entrance to the Icelandic Punk Museum (Pönksafn Íslands in Icelandic). This facility looks like the entrance to some subterranean maintenance access stairwell but originally was a public restroom built under the square. In 2016, the facility was converted into a punk rock museum.

I’m not one for punk rock music nor for exploring dark underground lairs. But, the cost of entry was only about $11 each and we had some time to kill so we took a chance. It was definitely an experience. The person taking money at the entrance was a full-on punk rocker who probably was in a punk band in the 1970s. Each stall of the former restroom was full of photos and text describing the history of Iceland’s punk rock scene. There are some musical instruments to try out, punk outfits to try on, and headphones to listen to some punk music. Once you’re back home, they even have an Icelandic punk music playlist on Spotify you can cue up to reminisce.

Back in our hotel room, we were reminded of a problem: our room was hot. Even with windows open and outside temperatures in the 40s, our room temperature approached 80°F, even at night. I thought it might be the sunshine nearly 24 hours a day, but our window faced north. I finally figured it out: our bathroom had a geothermal heated tile floor. It was a wonderful thing to step out of the geothermal heated shower onto that heated tile floor each morning, but there was no way to shut it off; that heat was radiating out to the rest of the room. We finally made it somewhat better by remembering to close the bathroom door at all times, trapping the heat inside there for the most part.

We closed out the evening with dinner at Matarkjallarinn Food Cellar. We had reservations which as mentioned previously was so important during this busy tourist season. Reykjavík is a foodie nirvana and our meal this evening once again did not disappoint. I was amused that when the bill came, it was labeled The Damage.