Land of Fire & Ice

It has been a minute since LuLu and I took a trip (at least one that didn't involve watching our two favorite volleyball players) and since we missed seeing the Aurora Borealis when they were in the lower part of the US last fall, we decided to take a trip to Iceland.  Unfortunately Delta doesn't fly to Iceland in the winter (or at least not in February) so I started looking for flights on IcelandAir and was surprised when I saw the deals they had on their IcelandAir Vacations!  We got a fabulous deal for flights, hotel (we opted for the Iceland Parliament Hotel Hilton Curio Collection so we could be in a really good location), private airport transfers and two excursions (Northern Lights and Blue Lagoon).  Interesting fact: when you fly to Reykjavik, you actually are flying into Keflavik (KEF).  The airport in Reykjavik is for domestic flights and flights to Greenland and Faro Islands.  Keflavik is a 45 minute drive to Reykjavik so I definitely recommend a private transfer or taxi otherwise you have to take the FlyBus to City Center and then either walk to your hotel or take another bus.

After arriving at the hotel and getting settled in, we headed out to meet our guide for our Reykjavik Food Tour...must keep moving after overnight flights so you avoid jet lag. I came across Wake Up Reykjavik's YouTube channel when researching Iceland and it has tons of great information on Reykjavik and Iceland.  We went to 5 different restaurants and tried everything from arctic char to lamb hot dogs to fermented shark (hakarl) to Icelandic beer (to wash down the hakarl) to rye bread ice cream.  Everything was very good (okay the shark was not our fav but it is a salute to the Viking history of the island) and we definitely did not leave hungry!

Arctic Char on Chickpea Bread & Lamb on Flatbread

Arctic Char baked in honey, butter & lemon with cherry tomatoes and 

almonds (on the left) and Plokkfiskur "cod and potato mash" (on the right)

At our third stop, we got to try the famous Icelandic hot dog from Baejarins Beztu Pylsur (this stand has been in business since 1937).  What makes it so famous you ask...unlike the hot dogs in the US, it is made from lamb and is very light.  Under the dog is raw onions and homemade crispy ones and it is topped with a sweet mustard, Icelandic ketchup (which uses apples so there's a little sweetness) and remoulade.  While in NYC it is perfectly acceptable (and almost illegal if you don't) just order your dog with mustard, it is a MAJOR don't in Iceland!  When Bill Clinton visited Reykjavik, he made the big faux pas of ordering his hot dog with only mustard and the country was appalled. It was so bad they actually named it "The Bill Clinton" and it has a stigma attached to it to this day.  Be a good visitor and just order your dog all the way! 

LuLu loves her hot dogs and gives two 

thumbs up to the Icelandic Hot Dog!

Next stop was a traditional Icelandic pub where we tried beer (very tasty), a traditional Icelandic meat stew (forgot to get a pic but it was like beef stew) and Hakarl.  Dagur (our guide) said that when you get it in a restaurant it is more like what your average Icelander will eat at a special feast in January.  This version is milder and while it does have a bite (no pun intended), it is not as strong as the shark fermented for over a year.  Apparently that version is so smelly they can't serve it in restaurants as the whole place would smell.

Last stop was rye bread ice cream!

Our group in front of Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral

We did our usual Hop-On/Hop-Off loop of the city to get a lay of the land our first full day in Reykjavik.  While you don't expect a top notch tour on a HOHO, you do expect the bus to show up reasonably according to their schedule and heat on a bus in Iceland in February!  I don't know that I would recommend the HOHO in Reykjavik as not only did we have to wait over an hour for our pick-up and we didn't have heat, there is a lot of down time on the commentary and it would have been great to get some Icelandic history.  Nonetheless, we did get to see a lot of the area without having to walk all the hills...Reykjavik has way more hills than I realized!

Harpa Concert Hall & Conference Center

Hofdi House is the site of the famous meeting with Ronald Reagan 

and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986.  This meeting eventually lead to the 

end of the Cold War.  I can still remember watching the news when 

President Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall".

The locals often pay artists to paint the sides of their buildings to 

add a little color to the city...comes in very handy during the long and 

dark winter months when some days you only get a few hours of sunlight.

Waiting on the HOHO...it was cold...high for the day was 28!

Gas prices are pretty hefty here

214.2 ISK per liter = $7.04 per gallon

Iceland signed their constitution in 1944 after gaining their independence from Denmark.  They have a parliamentary government with a president as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government.  The Government House (left) is where the prime minster's office is located.  The Parliament House (right) is where the 63 members of the legislation (Althing) gather.  The President is elected by popular vote every four years, the Prime Minster must maintain a majority of support from the Althing and the Althing is elected every four years.  

Throughout the city, you see a lot of houses and buildings that 

look similar to this with regards to the corrugated metal siding and 

roof.  The winds here can be pretty brutal...fortunately we did not 

experience them during our five days.  By using the corrugated 

metal, it protects the wood buildings.

LuLu is always willing to try anything and thankfully lets me take pics as 

she experiences things even when she knows I'll post them for everyone to see!  Our hotel had two shots on the breakfast bar so of course we had to try them.  Day One (right) was a ginger and lemon shot...definitely an eye opener! Day Two (left) was Lysi (cod liver oil)...a sip was enough to know she didn't want anymore!

We do love churches around the world and Reykjavik has several large ones (not bad for a city of 116,000 inhabitants...there are a little over 400,000 inhabitants in all of Iceland) and we set off to visit two of them.  One of the most iconic places in Reykjavik is the Lutheran Hallgrimskirkja which is the largest church in Iceland.  The design is meant to look like basalt columns which are found all over the island.  They have a lift taking  you up eight floors and then you walk up the last floor for a 360 view of the city.  We were fortunate it was a clear day and we could see very far.

There is a statue of Leifer Eriksson who discovered North America around 

1,000 AD in front of the church.  The statue was a gift of the United 

States to the people of Iceland on the 1,000 anniversary of the Althing.

A short walk from our hotel is the Catholic Landakotskirkja, Christ the King. Catholics make up just under 4% of the population in Iceland and this is the only Catholic cathedral in the country.  Of course we found our old friend, St. Anthony.

Just like gas is expensive in Iceland so is everything else.  

Fish n' Chips and a beer was $42.00 per person!  

From what I've heard housing is insanely high here as well. 

We couldn't come to Iceland without trying one of their famous geothermal spas so off we went to the Blue Lagoon.  The pools are about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik...a lot of folks will stop on their way from the airport or back to the airport.  Personally would not recommend before heading back to the airport as the waters are very salty and the showers at the Blue Lagoon are more for getting the top layer off so not sure you want to fly 5+ hours dry and salty.  LuLu does not like the water so when one of the lifeguards saw me holding on to her they asked if she would like a donut so she could float...she is such a trooper!  As part of your admission, you get a silica mask and a non-alcoholic drink (we opted for the carrot, apple, orange and ginger juice which was very tasty).

Late September/Early October through Late March/Early April is the best time to see the Northern Lights in Iceland.  In order to see the lights, you need darkness (these are the months where Iceland has the shortest days), very little cloud cover, good Aurora Borealis activity...and luck. On the night of our excursion, we had the darkness and mostly clear skies and low level activity and were able to see some amazing lights. Before we left town, we got a glimpse of some light which is surprising given all the light pollution in town.  It was a VERY cold night (temp was 15 but feels like temp was 7) so the wise LuLu went back on the bus after about 10 minutes of standing in the cold...yours truly was a popsicle after two hours! Interesting fact: the naked eye will see white and maybe a slight green light but when you look through your camera, that is when you see all the colors.   

All good things must come to end and so ends our five days and four nights in Iceland.  I'm so blessed to be able to spend time with LuLu traveling the world and watching her discover new things and face some of her fears...she really is an inspiration...and provides hours of entertainment!  We are already talking about our next adventure so stay tuned!