Iceland in the Winter

Iceland is a beautiful and pristine country. It is small enough that you can spend less than a week in the capital, and still get a sense of Icelandic culture. Yet it is so charming, that it is certainly a place that you could stay for longer.

Iceland's chaotic tourist season is in the summer when there is 23 or so hours of daylight. In the winter, the sun rises at about 9 in the morning but you are able to observe a more quiet Iceland, and that is one I can appreciate.

Quick Tips:

Get to know the local culture by talking to the people that live there. Young Icelanders are very friendly and eager to engage in conversation.

Best Way To Get Around:

I was able to walk to most of the places that I wanted to go in the city. Reykjavik is one of the safest cities in the world. As a single woman, I never felt scared walking around the city at night.

When I went horseback riding or to the Blue Lagoon (outside of Reykjavik), I hopped on a bus.

Hotel Skjaldbreid is probably not the best hotel in all of Iceland but the location is what I most appreciated. Located on Laugavegur, it is on the main street of the shopping district, in which many coffee shops, restaurants and stores selling Icelandic sweaters were highly accessible. A five minute walk (up hill) could bring you to the majestic Hallgrimskirkja Church.

I have read some other reviews of this hotel, and some people have commented on the noise coming from the bars and clubs. Perhaps, because I went in the winter, the club scene weaned, and I never found myself with a terrible night sleep. The room that I stayed in faced a bookstore.

The room was on the small side, but functional. The one thing that I noticed was that there was no bed sheet between me and the blanket. I tried not to think about the fact that the blanket was washed before I came in.

There was also a small but clean bathroom with a standing shower. There was access to a blowdryer as well.

Although I don't think I'm selling this hotel very well, there were a lot of positive things about it. The hotel staff (all of them) were very helpful, there was free Internet access at the front desk, and free breakfast in a sunroom. The free breakfast included a variety of fruit juices, cold meats, breads, and pastries.

All in all, I would stay at the Skjaldbreid again.

FYI: When I first came to Iceland, I had no idea how to pronounce the name of the hotel, but I believe it is pronounced l"Skullbread."

I usually don't go to romantic restaurants, and on the rare occasion that I do go, I don't go by myself. However, I read a small review of Laekjarbrekka in my Iceland guidebook that touted the lobster feast, so I felt compelled to check it out.

The lobster feast consisted of a cream of lobster soup with cognac (a better version of a lobster bisque), grilled lobster en croute, and a dessert involving icecream and a waffle. It was amazing.

The ambiance of the restaurant would be romantic for any couple. There were candles lit at every table, and the wait staff was very attentive. The interior had a homey feeling. I remember a George Michael song playing in the background. With the exception of myself, there were two other couples, and a group of five women. It was a Monday night, so it wasn't too crowded.

Other meal choices included reindeer steak, puffin beast, and lamb. I couldn't bring myself to eat a puffin, but the lobster was quite good. They were small, not the big red lobsters one gets from Maine.

The waitress was very friendly and also took a few photos for me.

I highly recommend this restaurant, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Reykjavik Art Museum offers contemporary art by its locals, and has a permanent display of work by an Icelandic artist named Erro.

Erro's art is striking. All of water color paintings are in bold, bright colors, and some have a very strong political message, anti-Bush, anti-capitalism, etc. The collection of his work was called "The Forgotten Future." Much of his work was sort of "comicky" but it was definitely thought provoking, and gave me a more clear picture of what Europeans may think of the US and its political system and culture.

The Erro exhibit was the only exhibit I saw at the time, I believe another room was under construction.

The museum is open from 10am to 5pm. The price of admission is 500kr. Admission is free on Thursdays.

For some reason, whenever I travel to a new place, I always feel like its never complete unless I am riding on top of some 4-legged animal. I only stayed in Iceland for 4 days, but I went horseback riding twice.

Through Icelandair, I was able to pay for my excusions to horseback ride at Ishestar. What is great about going through Icelandair was that a bus would come to my hotel and pick me up, and then drop me off when the activity was done. It was very convenient.

The first horseback riding tour was called the "Midwinter Madness Lava Horseback riding tour." It was on a Wednesday morning, and the total cost was $45.

The second horseback riding tour, included an afternoon horseback ride, and then a ride over and admission into the Blue Lagoon. The total cost was $109.

In this review, I will mostly be talking about the morning horseback ride because it was more memorable.

Riding a horse in the winter time is an interesting experience. My guide outfitted me in a big, evergreen jumpsuit, and I secretly thanked myself for bringing my hat, gloves, scarf, and heavy boots. It was snowing as we rode through the lava fields, but it was unforgettable. The lava fields looked like something you would see on Mars. With the first tour, I was fortunate enough that noone else signed up for the tour, so it was just me and two instructors. One of the instructors was just learning the ropes. I felt like we were in another world.

The name of my horse was Blackbeard. He still holds a soft spot in my heart. He had a very gentle and mellow personality.

There are about 70,000 horses in Iceland, and are believed to be brought to Iceland from Vikings. An interesting note: Once an Icelandic horse leaves Iceland, he can never return.

At one point, my guide directed to me to get off my horse, and walk fifty feet with his apprentice, to "a big hole." I can only surmise that it was a mini crater. It looked bottomless.

We rode for a good hour or so, and I quietly soaked in the scenery. As a New Yorker, I don't see lava fields very often. Horseback riding in Iceland was one of my favorite activities.

The website for Ishestar is www.ishestar.is

Ishestar offers tours year round. People can ride for one hour to a full day.

The Blue Lagoon is definitely a tourist attraction, but it is a tourist attraction that one must go to if ever in Iceland.

I can imagine that going to the Blue Lagoon in the summer would be a different experience than going in the middle of February. While on the bus to the Blue Lagoon, I got shivers just thinking about putting on my bathingsuit.

There is a building that you must enter in order to get to the blue lagoon. Inside is a souvenir shop where I picked up a magnet, and a cafe selling drinks,icecream and sandwiches.

When you get to the Blue Lagoon, you must shower first. There are locker rooms that offer free soap and shampoo, and there is signage that interesting shows which body parts need most attending to. In addition, you can rent towels for a small fee. After you are squeaky clean, you are able to venture out into the cold.

The Blue Lagoon was foggy and windy. I shivered violently as I took off my pink flip flops that immediately blew away. I would find them later.

The water was hot, especially in some spots. You could see blurs of heads bobbing up and down in the water. My feet felt a clayish type of sand on the bottom, which I later discovered was silt. Many people were putting it on their faces including myself. Along the lagoon are boxes of the silt that you could scoop up. The air had a very strong, sulfuric smell.

There was also a sauna that you could run into to keep warm, but staying in the water was your best bet. There was also a cave, which you could go under and a waterfall that felt therapeutic as the water hit my face and body. It was particularly relaxing since a few hours prior, I was horseback riding.

The whole experience was eerie yet serene. I highly recommend the Blue Lagoon.

For more information:

www.bluelagoon.com

Swimming pools and hot pots are abundant in Iceland, and going to one of the city center swimming pools enables the tourist to get a taste of authentic local life. Many go to the hot pots after work to decompress.

Three of the main swimming centers are Lugardalslaug, Sundhollin and Vesturbajarluaug.

I went to the Sundhollin center on Baronsstigur because it was the most accessible from my hotel. It is a quick five minute walk, and it is located very close to the Hallgrimskirka Church. Going to one of the swimming centers is very affordable, the price is about 2 or so in US dollars. With that, you get a towel and a key for your locker.

Similarly to the Blue Lagoon, you must take a shower before entering the swimming pool or the hot pot.

Unlike the Blue Lagoon, there was a clear local vibe. It didn't have a touristy feel, and I appreciated that. At one point, I was sitting in a hot pot, (the hot pots are located outdoors on the roof) with four or five Icelandic men in their sixties. One had a tattoo that said "Iceland forever" on his arm. This seemed to reflect a very strong love and Icelandic identity that I picked up on throughout the trip.

The hot pots are indeed hot. There is a clock located on the outside wall, so you are able to keep a watch of how long you're in there for. There were a few times, where I had to jump into the pool to cool off, before resuming sitting in the hot pot. It felt invigorating.

Besides the two outdoor hot pots, there is an indoor swimming pool that is 25 metres long. Around the perimeter are different weight machines. I thought that was sort of an unusual sight.

The phone number for the Sundhollin is 551 4059. The center is opened for a longer period of time in the spring and summer seasons.

Ash Wednesday aka Oskudagur is uniquely celebrated in Iceland.

Serendipitously, I was in Iceland on Oskudagur, and I found many adorable Icelandic children dressed in costume. It felt like Halloween!

I bumped into a group of Icelandic children with their mother, who explained the tradition of pining an "ash bag" furtively onto someone's clothing. She demonstrated by pining me with one. Unfortunately, I lost the ash bag but I got some great photos. The children were off to collect some candy from the local markets.