This was not my first trip to Iceland. Nor was it my second. Instead, this marked my third time passing through the volcanic island nation at the center of the North Atlantic. This summertime arrival in Reykjavík greeted me with an airport that seems to have quadrupled in size and offerings — not to mention a vibrant, expanding city center with new restaurants and shops around every bend.

Port in Reykjavík.

A newly opened Joe and the Juice at Keflavik airport that I recalled my

Bergsson RE — a lovely second outpost of a café by the name of Bergsson Mathús which offers my favorite breakfast in the city. This one is housed in a beautiful office complex that houses companies related purely to oceanic products, be it salt, fish oil supplements, or fish skin leather. Since 2017, a new food hall, Hlemmur – Mathöll has been added to this stretch of dockside buildings.

last time through in January 2017, had grown by three and was dominating patron curiosity.

Many of the cranes I’d noticed on the water a year-and-a-half earlier had since erected new constructions.
Many of the cranes I’d noticed on Reykjavíks’s port a year-and-a-half earlier had since erected new constructions. Even Keflavik is under construction with new hotels soon popping up.

In my earliest stay in Iceland, I was struck by the simplicity of hotel rooms or apartments—understated and adequate.

The common space at Hilton Canopy – Reykjavík.

 

With its international attention and draw, there appears to be a newfound luxury, like the very beautiful Hilton Canopy, which we saw both under construction, and now, open to the public.

By the same token, there seems to be an inspired curiosity and pride in Icelandic and Nordic design and even, maybe especially, its cuisine. Here is are a few snaps of Reykjavík from this most recent trip in August 2018: a city in the midst of growth and expansion, but still a natural wonder and full of warm hospitality.

 

 

A city under construction.
View onto the city from the Hallgrimskirkja clock tower.
The charming Stofan café upstairs. A place for delightful sandwiches or sweets, and coffee, while keeping dry from the wet weather that passes through ever routinely. A mainstay since my first trip in 2015.
In the heart of the city, not far from the infamous Lebowski Bar.
How Iceland does the smoke break.
Maritime statues.
Local architecture built to withstand wind and rain.

Icelandic humor at its finest:

Feminine art.

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