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Showing posts from September, 2024

Aurora on the last day of August

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We had a chance to watch the Northern Lights in the early morning of August 31, 2024. It wasn't as spectacular as some of the previous ones I had witnessed but I am always mesmerized with this phenomenon.

Hallgrímskirkja - The largest church in Iceland

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On my first full day in Reykjavik, Iceland, I visited Hallgrímskirkja or the Church of Hallgrímur. It is a Lutheran church located in the centre of Reykjavik. It is named after the most renowned sacred poet of Iceland, Hallgrímur Petursson. At 74.5 meters (244 feet), it is the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest structures in the country. The construction was started in 1945 and was completed after 41 years in 1986. The basalt-column motif soaring skyward is an ode to modernism and reminder of the Icelandic landscape. It has a carillon of bells at its top that rings every hour. In fact, when we arrive there, we got to hear the charming sound of these bells. The statue of Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson stands in front of the church. It was a gift from the USA to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the convening of Iceland’s parliament in Þingvellir in 930 AD. Erikson was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot in continental America, a...