All the
flights to Iceland from the U.S. are redeyes, so we arrived in scenic Iceland
at around 6:30 in the a.m. We more
or less walked through customs - they're not too worried about security up near
the Arctic Circle. We were pretty
tired after the long flight, so it didn't immediately register that Iceland's
international airport is in Keflav’k,
52km outside of Reykjav’k. The
lone taxi outside the terminal away from the crowds of people boarding shuttle
buses should have given us a clue, but like I said, we were tired, so we hopped
in the cab. 10,000 kr—nur and one
scenic drive later, we were in front of hotel, the Skjaldbreið on
Laugavegur street, the main shopping street in Reykjav’k. That 10 grand we dropped on the cab
fare? About $140 American. Oops! Well at least you never have to tip
in Iceland.
Only one of
our rooms at the hotel was ready, so we checked in, freshened up, grabbed some
continental breakfast, and headed for a public swimming complex at Laugardalslaug. The pools were only about 2 miles away,
but my mother has a pair of bad legs, so walking that far was out of the
question. After the 10,000kr shock
of a few hours ago, we thought it was time to give public transportation a
try. We walked down a block to the
nearest bus depot, and after a conversation with the clerk and a look at the
map, we decided on bus #5. Sure
enough, it dropped us out right in front of Laugardalslaug for a mere 220kr
each. We went inside, paid, took
the obligatory nude showers (Icelanders don't put tons nasty chemicals in their
pools, so washing before entering is important), and quickly headed for the
nearest hot pot, as the outside air was quite chilly. There were four hot pots,
basically oversized Jacuzzis, of various temperatures, along with a large pool
and a kiddie pool. After a few hours,
we hopped on a bus back to our hotel.
By the time we
got back, it was in the early afternoon, so we were able to check into the
second hotel room. Then it was nap
time for me, as I was pretty much unable to sleep on the plane the night
before. Later in the afternoon, we
regathered and took a short cab ride over to Reykjav’k's main
water storage facility. Why
would we want to go there? Well
Reykjav’k's water is stored in six huge 4,000,000 litre tanks, topped by the Perlan, a domed, revolving
restaurant, one of the major landmarks of the city. Also inside is the Saga Museum, a wax museum
depicting scenes from medieval Iceland which, thanks to the multiple-language
guide CDs available, was quite informative. After our walk through the museum, we headed upstairs for
dinner in the Perlan. The views
are truly spectacular from the restaurant, allowing to look down upon pretty
much the entire
city, as
well as watch the small planes land at Reykjav’k airport,
adjacent to the center of the city.
The dinner was excellent, albeit expensive, as all dining in Iceland
tends to be. Soups and appetizers ranged
$10-15, which entrees were $30-40.
I had plaice,
a kind of fish I was previously unfamiliar with - although now I've learned it
is in fact sole - along with a seafood soup. My parents opted for lobster tails and monkfish. Everything was phenomenal. After dinner, we were pretty beat, so
we headed back to the hotel. I
walked around downtown for a couple hours and checked out a couple local bars that had live music. They were nice, but not too busy as the
Iceland nightlife doesn't really get started until after midnight. More on that later.
Planning for
jetlag, we arranged for a late start today. In the morning, we headed downstairs for another continental
breakfast. The Skjaldbreið
continental breakfast consisted of rolls, bread, ham, cheese,
"chocolate" Danish, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles,
some weird salsa-like stuff, crummy OJ, crummy apple juice, whole milk, and an
extra-thick, milk-like substance (perhaps skyr). It was okay, but certainly grew old by
day four. After breakfast, my dad
and I walked down the hill to the downtown area (about two blocks away) and
wandered around a bit. We also
stopped by the 66¡ North store, where I
picked up a nice Polartec(r) fleece for a mere 13,000 kr—nur.
After that, it
was time to head back to the hotel to be picked up for our tour, Close
Encounters with Iceland, at 11:45.
Here's a description of the tour, which I'm providing here only because
our tour only resembled this description in the vaguest of senses.
Start
with a visit to the lava-laden nature of Heiðmork Park with its brushy vegetation,
strange lava formations and caves. This area is popular for walking, and you
can enjoy a scenic hike (optional). Afterwards, head to the Riding
Center and meet the famous Viking horses of Iceland. Enjoy an entertaining
riding demonstration featuring the unique gaits of Icelandic
horses. Experience it yourself on a 30 minute riding tour.
Now it's time to step into the realm of the mysterious! Visit the "home of the hidden folk" in Hafnarfjordur town where elves and trolls are reputed to live - and where modern architects design roads to avoid disturbing magical dwellings. Learn about the role elves and trolls play in the ancient Saga tales before visiting a Viking Restaurant for coffee and traditional Icelandic refreshments. There may even be some Vikings there to teach you a folk song or two!
At 12:15, a
van showed up and the driver rolled down his window. We asked if this was our tour and he kind of shrugged, so we
got in the van. The van pulled
away and we confirmed with the other two occupants that this was the right
tour, and that the driver didn't speak much English - a rarity in Iceland. We drove out of the city for about 20
minutes, and eventually, the van stopped in the middle of the field. We asked the driver if we were supposed
to get out here, and he nodded, so we did. There was a small cave-like thing in the ground, and that
was it. We stood around looking
perplexed for a couple minutes, and then the driver conveyed to us in his
broken English that he'd be leaving, and another van would pick us up in a few
minutes. Given that it was in the
fifties and raining, we weren't overly pleased with this plan, but we went back
in the van to gather our belongings.
As we did this, it really started pouring, and we managed to talk the driver
into waiting until the next driver arrived. Instead of doing that, the driver took us to meet up with
the other van, and we traded vans with another tour group about 5 miles down
the road. Sadly, our new van
driver wasn't any more talkative than the last.
After another
short drive, we arrived at the Riding Center. We went inside and eventually were introduced so a
college-aged girl who would be our guide here. She showed us a poster of the five different gaits of Icelandic horses. I'm not a horse person, but apparently
that's one more gait than most horses have. Actually they have two extra gaits, since canter and gallop
are combined into one. Next, we went
outside to see the horses and the "entertaining riding
demonstration." The demonstration
took place in the parking lot/alley behind the horse center. Our guide told us that she was going to
go down to the end of the alley, and that when she came back, her horse would
be trotting. Then she went down
again and came back in a gallop/canter.
Now it time for the grand finale: The "tšlt". It was so exciting, I can't even find
the words. And then the show was
over. The attentive reader may
recall that Icelandic horses have five gaits, and that the show only contained
three. Well the "walk"
doesn't really count and we were told the fifth gait, the "pace" is
only demonstrated at large shows.
Oh well. That one sounded
pretty cool too because it's the only gait where the horse sometimes leaves the
ground completely.
After the
"show", it was time for our 30-minute ride. The rain had died down, but we donned florescent orange
raingear anyhow, since the horses were wet. The ride was nice, and very scenic, although our guide
really didn't talk much during it.
After the ride, we hung around the center for a little while, having
been told that our ride would arrive in 20-25 minutes. There was an optional buffet lunch too,
but it had Icelandic pricing (over $30) and Icelandic food, so we took a pass. Before long, a taxi pulled up front to
take us to our next destination.
Our next stop
was the town of Hafnarfjordur, where
many elves and trolls
- "hidden people" - were purported to reside. Wonder of wonders, when our taxi
arrived, there was actually a tour guide there to take us around the town. We walked around Hafnarfjordur for
about an hour, as our guide regaled us of tales of elf sightings and showed us
various rocks in which elves and dwarves were purported to live. It was actually quite entertaining and
a lot of fun.
After the
walking tour, we ended up at the Viking Restaurant,
which was a really cool looking wooden building
surrounded by wood and stone carvings.
We went inside and while there were no Vikings to teach us a folk song
or two, they did bring us some coffee and a tasty snack. That concluded the tour and it was back
to our hotel to prepare for dinner.
Dinner time in
Iceland is late. Most restaurants
don't even open until 7pm, and pretty much anyone showing up before 8 is a
tourist. My parents aren't night
people, though, and we had nothing else to do, so at around 7, we left the
hotel and walked down two blocks to L¾kjarbrekka restaurant offering lobster,
lamb, and reindeer. Sadly, it was
Friday night and while the restaurant was empty at the 7:00 hour, all the
tables were accounted for. They
offered an extremely tasty looking seafood buffet in an adjoining building, but
having had seafood the past two nights, we declined and made a reservation in
the restaurant for the following night.
Instead, we walked across the street to a book store and asked a clerk
for a restaurant recommendation.
The recommendation was þrir Frakkar (Three Overcoats), a small, bistro-style
place on the other side of town (about 6 blocks away). This was one of the few restaurants in
town offering whale steak, but none of us were feeling adventurous enough to
try that. I had the pan-fried cod
with shrimp gratin, which was very good (and, it being Iceland, very
expensive). After dinner, we
walked back to the hotel and called it a night. I was beat, so checking out the weekend nightlife would have
to wait for Day 3.
Day 3,
Saturday, was a free day for us, with no tours planned. After another tasty continental
breakfast, we first stopped at a small store across the street from our hotel
that sold cards, games, and currency from many other countries. Somehow, I managed to resist purchasing
a Danish version of Clue, but we did end up with a bunch of decks of cards. As we were leaving, I joked with my
parents that they had Slovenian money available, and the owner, apparently in a
generous mood, gave me a really sweet 100-dinar note
from the Central Bank of Iraq.
After
shopping, we walked a few blocks up the street to Hallgr’mskirkja Church, which, along
with the Perlan, is one of the defining buildings
of the Reykjav’k skyline. While
not really my type, it certainly was an interesting looking building, and it
was even nicer on the inside. After the church, we went around the
corner to sneak into the Einar J—nsson sculpture garden. The museum was closed, tourist guide
we picked up in the hotel claimed that one could sneak into the garden through
a gate in the back, and sure enough, it was open. After that, we hopped in a cab and headed for the brand new National Museum. WeÕd heard much about this museum from
the locals: apparently, it had closed in 1997 for some construction and due to
a number of logistical problems with the work, it remained closed until just a
few days before our visit. The
museum lived up to the hype, and proved to be extremely informative about
IcelandÕs history from its first inhabitants all the way to the present. A few interesting tidbits about IcelandÕs
history:
After the
National Museum, we walked over through the City Hall, and
then stopped for a bite to eat at CafŽ Paris, in Reykjav’kÕs main square. The food was good Ð I had something
resembling an omelet, which cost a relatively affordable $15. After lunch, we headed over to the
mouthful known as the þj—ðmenningarhœsið,
or the Culture House. This is
where Iceland stores a collection of medieval
manuscripts, which for whatever reason, Icelanders are particularly
obsessed with. It was nice, but
not being able to read Icelandic, I found it less exciting than most Icelanders
probably do.
After the
Culture House, we headed back to our hotel to rest up and relax before
dinner. Dinner that night was at
the aforementioned L¾kjarbrekkaa. I opted for the Òlamb feastÓ which
consisted of a smoked lamb appetizer, lamb chops, and dessert. I didnÕt care for the smoked lamb at
all Ð I prefer my meat cooked, and the lamb chops were okay, but rather fatty
(a side effect of the cold climate, IÕm guessing). My dad had the puffin feast, a similar menu, but with puffin, a local seabird,
instead of lamb. The smoked puffin
was positively revolting, while the cooked variety was okay, albeit a bit
gamey. All in all, I think this
was our most disappointing meal so far (not counting the lousy continental
breakfasts at the Skjaldbreið.
After dinner,
we did a little bit of shopping and returned to the hotel. My parents called it a night and I read
for while, then decided to explore the Reykjav’k nightlife. After Thursday nightÕs adventure, I
knew it would be a good idea to get started late, so I didnÕt head out until
almost midnight. This was still
early by Icelandic standards, and the bar I ended up at was pretty empty until
a little after 1. IÕd gone to see
Icelandic rap artist XXX
Rottweiler, but I gave up on seeing him at around 4am when what I think was
the third opener came on. On the
weekends, Icelanders party until dawn, or even later, but I had things to do
the next day and IÕm too old for all nighters. So at 4, I left the club, stopped by a local hot dog stand
for some late-night dogs, and headed back for some sleep. Sure enough, when we got up at 8am the
next morning for our tour, the bars were still hopping, finally closing up at
around 9.
Today was
another tour day, this time the Golden Circle tour,
which hits most of the major sites around Reykjav’k. Fortunately, this tour was infinitely better organized than
FridayÕs tour, and proved interesting and informative. Our first stop, though, Eden, was neither of the
two. Purported as a place to see
geothermal greenhouses, the excellent book Waking Up in
Iceland puts it best:
The misleading names given to Greenland and Iceland were nothing compared to this place. It had been called after the biblical garden of paradise due to the fact it contained some garden plants that had been grown in geothermal greenhouses, but the plants were stuck at the back of a horrible little mini-mall undoubtedly invented by Beelzebub himself. Japanese businessmen played on fruit machines and Space Invaders while a store offered tacky postcards and gifts and a cafŽ sold sandwiches containing unrecognizable ingredients.
Fortunately,
the tour greatly improved after Eden.
Our next stop was a large meteorite crater,
followed by the Gullfoss
waterfall. IÕve seen a lot of
waterfalls in my day, since theyÕre so awesome, and this was definitely one of
the best. Many pictures were taken.
After
Gullfoss, it was off to Geysir, the site of the original
geyser after which the rest are named.
Geysir itself no longer erupts, but nearby Strokkur,
every 5-10 minutes, and it, along with the other nearby geothermal oddities,
was worth braving the cold rain.
After seeing the geyser, we had lunch Ð a mediocre buffet for around $30
Ð and returned to the bus to drive to the national park of þhingvellir, the original site of
the AlÞing,
IcelandÕs national assembly dating back to 930. There wasnÕt much to see other than the beautiful landscape,
but this was also the only place where one can see the Atlantic continental rift,
where the North American and European tectonic plates meet. After that, it was back to the hotel to
freshen up and prepare for dinner.
Tonight, we
decided on a (relatively) early dinner at Ap—tek, a more modern restaurant
purporting to server fusion cuisine.
I donÕt remember exactly what I ordered other than that it was some sort
of fish, but it was phenomenal.
After dinner, we walked two blocks to Restaurant Galileo, an Italian
restaurant, for dessert.
Today was our
last day in Iceland, our flight due to leave at around 4pm. We didnÕt have to worry about another
$140 airport cab fare, as weÕd arranged for the Blue Lagoon tour, which leaves
from Reykjav’k and ends at the airport in Keflav’k. We checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus, which took
us to the hot springs at the Blue Lagoon. The lagoon itself was
huge and extremely relaxing. After
a couple hours in the water, we got dressed, had a light lunch at the cafŽ, and
reboarded the bus for the airport.
Since everyone was timely, we even had the chance to stop off at some boiling
mudpots and s scenic lighthouse
along the coast,
before getting to the airport.
After that, it was on the plane, bound for Boston in the good ole U. S. of A.
