Iceland. Hello.

Happy Easter!  We have arrived in Iceland and hit the ground running.  After touching down at 6:20 AM local time and catching a shuttle to our hotel, we caught a quick catnap before heading to Hallgrimskirkja (Hallgrimur's Church) for the 11:00 AM Easter service.  It's named for Icelandic poet and clergyman Hallgrimur Petursson.  Icelanders are mainly Lutheran and this is the largest and most iconic church in Reykjavik.

My Icelandic is a little rusty, but we were able to follow the service and the music was glorious.  Hallgrimskirkja has the largest pipe organ in Iceland with four manuals, 72 voices, and 5,275 pipes, and they certainly pulled out all the stops.  The choir had about 60 voices and were excellent, filling the cathedral with a very rich sound.  The service was heavy on music including Widor, Handel, Schutz, Handel, and the French composer Louis Vierne.

After the service, we went to the top of the bell tower and were treated to sweeping views of Reykjavik and the surrounding areas.  Even though we didn't necessarily understand the spoken word, the light of Christ was present and I couldn't think of a better way to start our Icelandic journey.  Hallelujah!  Christ is Risen!

Central Reykjavik and surrounding mountains as seen from the Hallgrimskirkja Bell Tower.