The Model UN team explored Iceland's capital city of Reykjavik Monday. First on the list was a visit to the Icelandic parliament, the Alþingi (pronounced "all-thing-y"). As with the President's residence, we were all surprised by the friendly atmosphere at the government building. The main legislative chamber sported some unique traits, including random seating for members and a system of citizen communication with members of parliament.
Everyone put their ears to a piece of art in the building's new addition to hear sounds representative of Icelandic history and culture.
Our group moved on to the city center, where we walked along Reykjavik's main shopping strip. With Hallgrímskirkja, the city's famous landmark and tallest building imposing over us, we bought some unique Icelandic music, t-shirts, and souvenirs.
We visited the Reykjavik Harpa, the country's newly-opened concert hall. Stunning modern architecture greeted us before we even walked through the door; the glass panes of the exterior change colour in intricate sequences to create illusions of motion.
The interior of Harpa was perhaps even more stunning. Towering, glass-paned walls gave us an incredible view of Rekjavik's ocean coast and the surrounding snowy mountain range. Unfortunately, the main hall was off-limits to the public, but we still got a good idea of the building's architecture.
The team went to the Hallgrímskirkja just as the sun began to duck behind the clouds. The majestic church, Reykjavik's grandest structure, impressed all of us with it's vaulted ceilings and swept-back design, which is said to be inspired by Iceland's volcanic flows. The country's largest musical instrument, a 100-year-old organ, lies inside the building.
Finally, some fun photos from the Reykjavik thrift shop: