Reykjavik, Iceland

It's been a pretty good day today so far. I woke up to a text from my friend Amy, asking me if I'd like to meet up with her as she was around. ..so we went to Wolverhampton and had yummy hot chocolate and tea in Starbucks. She's such a lovely person, it's always great to meet her. It doesn't happen often enough, though, because she lives in Walsall and then there's daily life in the way. I definitely need to go see her in Walsall at some point, though, and we were talking about possibly having picnics this summer. Mmmmm, that would be nice! She also told me she's going to go to Iceland this May for a few days. I'm so jealous! Iceland is one of those places I've always wanted to visit, it seems so fascinating and distant (but also ridiculously expensive :(). I'm looking forward to seeing Amy's photos! ..and I think I'll have to be cheeky and ask her if she could send me a postcard... hhhmmmm... I don't have too many postcards from Iceland, the most recent one I had is this one from last year that I received through the postcrossing forum.



Here you can see Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. At 74.5 metres, it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland. The church is named after the Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614 to 1674), author of the Passion Hymns.

State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. It took 38 years to build the church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986, the landmark tower being completed long before the church's actual completion. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings were completed in 1974. The nave was consecrated in 1986. Situated in the centre of Reykjavík, it is one of the city's best-known landmarks and is visible throughout the city. It is similar in style to the expressionist architecture of Grundtvig's Church of Copenhagen, Denmark, completed in 1926.