Grandi is the former fishing district of Reykjavik, a short walk from the technicolour strip of Rainbow Street, and the alien-gothic spire of Reykjavik’s iconic Hallgrímskirkja. In recent years the area of Grandi has undergone serious redevelopment, and is vying to become Reykjavik’s centre of art and culture. Artisanal shops have taken up residence in the old shipping buildings, workshops and warehouses. Opposite this new stretch of businesses sits the Reykjavik Maritime Museum, charting the history of the harbour in a motley collection of hooks, hammers, anchors and diving gear. The hardy industrial machinery and steel-hulled ships of Grandi harbour provide a tonal match for the bracing cold and snowy landscapes which hug the dark water of the North Atlantic.
The effect is dichotomy: the otherworldly coastal scenery and mechanisms of the area’s fishing industry, contrasted with the cosiness and modern comfort of chocolate, coffee and candles.
Beyond this short approach of specialist shops stands a monolithic cylinder; grey and reflective against the winter sky, and housing one of Grandi’s newest showstopper attractions: FlyOver Iceland.
FlyOver rides have been popping up in destinations across the world: Vancouver, Las Vegas, and now Iceland, providing guests with the feeling of flight in an immersive ride format. The effect is sold through by stunning footage, capturing views of cities, landscapes and sites of natural beauty. Iceland, then, fits the bill perfectly for the FlyOver treatment.
That monolithic cylinder? It is in fact a dome, which houses the ride’s seating, a curved, 20-meter screen and other immersive elements, all of which combine to convince riders that they are soaring high above (and sometimes mere inches from) Iceland’s landscapes.
Upon taking your seat in a row of other riders, strapping into the rollercoaster-style harness, the experience begins, not with the bombast of aerial footage, but with the soft hiss of hydraulics, lowering the floor away from your feet. Next, the tilt of your position, and the drifting of gentle mist as you ‘take to the skies’. The illusion works, and as seems to be a running theme with Grandi, FlyOver Iceland eschews empty spectacle for a crafted approach.
That isn’t to say that once the ride gets going there aren’t thrilling scenes. Upon reaching a cruising altitude in my seat (five feet from the ground but it may as well be 5,000) the FlyOver experience begins proper; a curated aerial tour of the mountains, rock faces, plains and coasts of Iceland. On this evidence the country could be categorised wholesale as a beauty spot. With glaciers, the scars of an tumultuous and ongoing relationship with volcanoes, and the meeting of verdant vegetation with uncompromising basalt, Iceland is deserving of FlyOver’s spotlight.
The film captured for the FlyOver Iceland project was shot by Sherpas Cinema, who specialise in mountain projects and aerial cinematography (it shows) led by a local daredevil helicopter pilot: Jón Kjartan Björnsson. The skill of Björnsson and the team at Sherpas Cinema is writ large on-screen. The presentation is filled with grandiose moments, executed with precision; the rounding of Iceland’s highest peak to capture a climber reaching the summit, the hair’s width the helicopter-mounted camera apparatus comes to the helmets of two kayakers traversing the Aldeyjarfoss waterfall. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff.
The presentation took over a year and a half to shoot, and pays tribute to some of Iceland’s most remote locations. This is likely the best view of Þrídrangaviti, a lighthouse which perches on a rock six miles from shore in the Westman Islands, most of us will get. More accessible fare makes the cut, too, like the centrepiece of Reykjavik, the towering blade-like spire of Hallgrímskirkja, which is in fact a short stroll from FlyOver Iceland itself. As such, the ride seems the perfect way to bookend your Icelandic visit, whether as a kick-off to your adventure with a birds-eye tour, or to wrap up everything you’ve seen with a high-flying and high-octane whistle-stop recap.
For more information about FlyOver Iceland and to book your tickets, visit: www.flyovericeland.com
