One of my favorite places to visit is Iceland. This small island nation has some of the friendliest people, the best mocha and waffles ever (Cafe Mocha in downtown Reykjavik), the Blue Lagoon (talk about a relaxing experience!), some great record and book stores, good beer and lots of different kinds of outdoor activities. They also have European style bakeries. Yummy! There are interesting museums, beautiful parks (even a Graffiti Park) and then, there is the Harpa. It is a relatively new concert and convention hall. It has steel framework and geometric shaped different colored glass panels.

One of our visits was planned around the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. It’s usually held around the end of October/early November. Musicians from all over the globe come and perform live. Venues are set up all around Reykjavik for these shows. The highlight for me was, experiencing Sigur Ros live in Iceland. It was unbelievably amazing, a show like no other!

Of course, there were many different concerts set up at “The Harpa”. The Harpa is one of the most fascinating buildings I’ve ever seen. It is immense, almost all glass windows and has fantastic acoustics. The building is right on the water, and sparkles like a million diamonds in the sun. At night, it is illuminated with different colors which slowly move across the Harpa’s facade like a wave.

The interior is bright in the day light with all these glass windows. Very high ceilings, wide staircases leading to the very top and the changing lights give the inside a magical feeling.

The evening of the concerts, this glass castle was alive and pulsating with music; people from all over the world taking in the atmosphere, with the colorful glass walls shining like a beacon, that cold November night.

Harpa

Harpa inside

Harpa, Iceland

Harpa sparkling in the sun

Inside the Harpa at night

Inside the Harpa

Iceland Airwaves at the Harpa