Nice building indeed but nothing to write home about. PIC travphotos
A mong locals the Borgartun street is jokingly called Wall Street as an unusual number of local financial companies are located here. The same companies going bust en-masse in 2008. But it is not those that stand out should you wander by.
That honor goes squarely to a rather weird standalone building in the middle of the street easily found by ridiculous and rather unimpressive giant all-grass garden.
Welcome to Hofdi. A former residence of a great local poet and a foreign ambassador which has not changed a bit since 1909 when it was built. That is pretty old by Icelandic standards but is that what all the fuzz is about then?
But this place has had more famous folks than Reagan and Gorbachev
Well, it might be argued that is was also here that the horrible Cold War started winding down. This is the location of the Reykjavik summit in 1986 when Mikhail Gorbachev of Soviet Union and Ronald Reagan of United States met here for talks about bringing that stalemate to a close. Which it did soon after when the Soviet Union effectively broke down into pieces.
But this place has had more famous folks than Reagan and Gorbachev. During World War II both Marlene Dietrich and Winston Churchill stopped by here when temporarily this place was used by the British ambassador.
Hofdi, or Höfði as written in Icelandic, is close to the Reykjavik center. A 10 minute walk from Hlemmur square should suffice. Take a look but one cannot enter since this place is closed except for fancy ceremonies.
From summer of 2015 an extra treat has been found here. Parts of the famous Berlin Wall were set up by Borgartún street by Hofdi house. It is unclear how long that exhibition will last.
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