What do you think of when you hear the name Reykjavik? Glaciers, geothermal pools and good-natured locals who survive winter darkness with alarming emotional stability? Yep, it’s all there. But what you might not know, is how weird Reykjavik is.
It doesn’t shout about its quirks, this little city. It hides them underground, on side streets, and in unexpected buildings, as if daring visitors to discover them. Over the course of one happily strange day, I visited two museums and a place to sleep that absolutely counts as sightseeing.
Here we go: three places that will convince you Reykjavik is one of Europe’s most wonderfully eccentric cities.
1. The Icelandic Punk Museum: creativity in unexpected spaces
Ambling along Bankastræti, one of Reykjavik’s shopping streets, I suddenly spot a sign saying Pönksafn Islands, above what looks to be the stairway down to a public loo. Now, I know Safn means collection. And pönk, well, that’s self-evident.
This must be investigated. I descend the seedy stone steps, with a mix of apprehension and curiosity.
And wow! If punk rock has a spiritual home in Reykjavik, it would absolutely be underground inside a former public loo. This little museum embraces its setting with some serious commitment. It’s tiny, chaotic, and oddly charming, and I am reminded that Iceland was not always all about ancient sagas and spa culture. Sometimes it was teenagers, loud guitars, and satisfying defiance.
Recognise this girl?
Downstairs, I wander through the old toilet stalls, now filled with vinyl records, battered instruments, photographs, handwritten lyrics, faded newspaper clippings, and gig posters above urinals.
The graffiti radiates the rebellious energy of Iceland’s late-1970s music scene. I listen to scratchy punk tracks through headphones, just like we did in HMV or Virgin in the old days. I feel like I have stepped into Reykjavik’s teenage diary. Or perhaps my own.
This little place has captured a time when Icelandic youth traded calm for mischief, and frozen it in time. It’s strange, funny, and full of character. A peak Reykjavik experience!
2. The Phallological Museum
This one you might have heard about: the Penis Museum. You might even have wondered if it really exists.
Well, it does!
Reykjavik’s most famous museum is dedicated solely to phalluses, penises and male bits, more than 300 of them, from a tiny bat penis to a humongous sperm whale one, and there is even a human one. Preserved in formaldehyde or dried, catalogued, and presented with the seriousness of a national archive, which somehow makes the entire experience even funnier.
As I enter, I promise myself I will approach the experience with maturity and intellectual interest. That lasts approximately twelve seconds. Expect equal parts curiosity, awkward laughter, and genuine fascination.
You would think this would be a novelty attraction, but instead this little museum gives an informative look at biology, folklore and a healthy dose of Icelandic deadpan humour.
Left to right: elephant, polar bear, sperm whale, and killer whale
The museum manages the impossible: being scientific, slightly surreal and oddly wholesome. Scientific seriousness is nicely balanced with quiet absurdity.
I leave, knowing far more marine mammal anatomy than I ever planned to. It is that rare attraction where you arrive giggling and leave surprisingly educated. And actually, that’s a pretty good museum outcome.
3. Galaxy Pod: sleeping like an astronaut
After all these, erm… unconventional experiences, I feel I have chosen just the right accommodations, equally unconventional. Galaxy Pod looks less like a hostel and more like mission control for an interplanetary expedition. Think glowing lights, private cocoons, and futuristic minimalism.
The reception area looks deceptively normal(ish)…
… so do the hallways.
But then…
…rows of futuristic sleeping pods glow softly in the dark, each one a private sci-fi capsule.
Climbing into one feels slightly ridiculous at first. For a few seconds, I’m wondering if I have inadvertently volunteered to be cryogenically frozen or something. But once inside, it is cosy, comfortable, and delightfully strange. Seems Reykjavik believes sleep should be an experience, not just a necessity.
I pull down the shade, and immediately cease to be a tourist. I’m now an astronaut prepping for launch. On a budget.
Reykjavik’s delightfully weird side: 2 cultural curiosities and a space-adjacent sleep is a post from Sophie’s World