Reykjavik Open 2014 – First Impressions
After getting a good night sleep today I got a chance to take a stroll through the city. The first thing that struck me was the lack of traffic. Naturally, there are cars, but I had the sensation that it’s pretty empty on the streets, probably that’s why they cross them wherever they please. When in Rome, do as Romans do, so I followed suit.
One street I crossed was this one:
I wonder how many Jesus Streets there are in the world.
Following the street of their main God, I reached the Cathedral:
It’s pretty impressive on the outside and very simple on the inside:
And they use crystal to keep the Holy water. Unfortunately, it was empty:
It was time to go the playing hall to register, so I started in that direction. The first thing I saw when I exited the Cathedral was this:
I suppose they opened it for the lovers of the film Thor. But by now I realised they were very fond of their Gods, even the nastier ones.
Further downwards I encountered The Pond. I couldn’t help but wonder whether Tchaikovsky had been to Reykjavik:
One pair of swans was very much in love:
I had to leave them and continued to the playing hall called Harpa, the concert hall and conference centre of the city:
It is equally impressive on the inside:
Eventually I registered with the organiser and at 4pm was the opening ceremony, followed by Round 1. I won rather easily against a weaker opponent. Tomorrow is a double-round day, so it will be tough.
Time to rest now. More stuff from the north when I get more time in the following days.