Reykjavík on Perambulare

Week Ending August 7 2026

Samer Farha — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:13:50 -0400

Some pictures from around Reykjavík last week!

The cat keeps breaking into my apartment. The dog lives around the corner and is so friendly. “Grief” is the name of the sculpture by Einar Jonsson.

Pride Woman

Samer Farha — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:26:27 -0400

One of my favorite pictures, taken at Reykjavík Pride in 2024.

Woman in front of police before the start of Pride Parade

Pool People

Samer Farha — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 05:52:24 -0400

From Reykjavík City

I wrote an Apple Shortcuts app script that gets the current number of people at any given Reykjavík pool.

The city of Reykjavík provides this info on a website that’s sometimes a little slow to load. But the real driver for me is that I always wanted to ask Siri “how many people are at the pool?”

You can download the shortcut from iCloud. You’ll need to allow it to run, and you’ll need to let it have access to the web.

By default, it loads Vesturbæjarlaug as that’s my local pool for this summer. You can edit it in the Shortcuts app and change the first Text block to the pool you want (it must match exactly the names from the comment — I suggest you cut and paste).

If you don’t like the name, you can rename it to something better for you: “pool” or “swim time” for example. For Siri to call it, you’ll need to make sure the name is unique.

Lastly, if you’re on Android or want to drive some other device or display, the API is at: rsconnect.reykjavik.is/gestafjoldi_api/nuna

It returns a JSON array with all the pools and their info:

[
  {
    "sundlaug": "Árbæjarlaug",
    "klukkan": "2026-08-06 10:05:00",
    "fjoldi": 36,
    "hlutfall": "15%"
  },
  ...
  {
    "sundlaug": "Vesturbæjarlaug",
    "klukkan": "2026-08-06 10:05:00",
    "fjoldi": 63,
    "hlutfall": "27%"
  }
]

Happy coding/swimming!

Week Ending July 31 2026

Samer Farha — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:46:31 -0400

I took a lot of pictures last week, and here’s my favorites.

The sun and moon pics are me figuring out settings for the upcoming eclipse. The plane was seen at RKV after a report of a DC-3’s tire exploding on landing. You can see the missing tire if you zoom in on the Basler BT-67. The ice cream is the gamla ís with a licorice shell covered in shaved chocolate from Ísbud Vesturbæjar.

Greykjavik

Samer Farha — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 18:24:51 -0400

Reykjavík has a ton of great street art. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but on sunny days I find myself gravitating towards this one.

‘Greykjavík’ by Siggi Odds

Maybe it’s the irony of only ever taking pictures of this mural when it’s sunny, but I kinda love it.

A Sunny Evening

Samer Farha — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:18:26 -0400

Sun came out and gave us a bongó evening, so I went for a wander and got some pictures.

The moody Great Auk shot was taking using Night Mode on an iPhone with a solar filter.

Solfar and the Aurora

Samer Farha — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 21:08:07 -0400

September 2024

Sólfar, a sculpture of a Viking ship, sits illuminated while green aurora are overhead.

I’d been after this shot for a decade or more. I’ve always liked Sólfar, and had hoped to one day see the northern lights dancing above it. One weekend in September of 2024, I was at Microbar when a few tourists came in excited to have just seen the aurora. I stepped outside, but saw nothing. Later in the evening, I decided to walk home via Sæbraut instead of down Laugavegur. It was around 1a when I saw this. I think I took 90-something pictures. It was cold, I was carrying my leftover food, and a bit tipsy. Just a few pictures were in focus.

Reykjavík

Samer Farha — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 17:09:03 -0400

Eating in Reykjavík is a thrill.

Every visit brings me new restaurants to experience, and wonderful new chefs and dishes. Below are some of my favorites. These places range from the sublime (and Michelin-starred) to the lowly pylsa—the Icelandic hot dog. There’s something for everyone here. Dig in.

Pylsa at Bæjarins Bestu Pylsur

Reykjavík on Perambulare

Week Ending August 7 2026

Pride Woman

Pool People

Week Ending July 31 2026

Greykjavik

A Sunny Evening

Solfar and the Aurora

Reykjavík

Special Occasion
#

Evenings Out
#

Casual
#

Pizza Joints
#

Burgers
#

Middle Eastern
#

Bakeries, Sweets, and Ice Cream
#

Bars
#

Outside Reykjavík
#

Some Notes
#

Reykjavík on Perambulare

Week Ending August 7 2026

Pride Woman

Pool People

Week Ending July 31 2026

Greykjavik

A Sunny Evening

Solfar and the Aurora

Reykjavík

Special Occasion #

Evenings Out #

Casual #

Pizza Joints #

Burgers #

Middle Eastern #

Bakeries, Sweets, and Ice Cream #

Bars #

Outside Reykjavík #

Some Notes #

Special Occasion
#

Evenings Out
#

Casual
#

Pizza Joints
#

Burgers
#

Middle Eastern
#

Bakeries, Sweets, and Ice Cream
#

Bars
#

Outside Reykjavík
#

Some Notes
#