Elding is the no.1 whale sighting tour company in Reykjavik, running boats from their harbour every couple of hours, you will likely be handed a leaflet at some point or another during your stay in Europe's most northerly capital city. Now unless you are a…Read More

Elding is the no.1 whale sighting tour company in Reykjavik, running boats from their harbour every couple of hours, you will likely be handed a leaflet at some point or another during your stay in Europe's most northerly capital city.

Now unless you are a fish, it's not every day you get to see a whale so despite being on a budget trip, we were willing to fork out whatever it costed to see one. At 45 Euros per person (I recall it being more when we did it in 2007 though) it's not too dear for a one-off lifetime experience.

We bought the tickets at a little kiosk and eagerly awaited the boat to arrive, like Russian babushkas at a tram people wanted to get on whilst the previous visitors were still getting off!

Finally on the boat,, everyone sits down and is gets a briefing and are told about the captain's system of alerting people where the whale is by saying 12 o clock (directly in front of the boat), 2 o clock etc, sea sickness tablets are handed out along with water. You then go downstairs and don a warm insulated lifejacket which makes you look like a spaceman, foolishly I dipped my hand in the pocket and found someones used tissue but apart from this they were pretty cool.

You then get out on the deck and fight for position, seemingly assuming you know where the whales will appear better than anyone else. There's a continuous spring of information coming out of the speakers (in English and German), commenting on everything from fishing trawlers, sea birds and generally giving you a bit of knowledge about the whales - nothing that you don't learn when you are about 8 at school though!

Finally Captain Bird's Eye spots something, informs the sighters some of which are heavily prepared with ammo (enormous cameras and binoculars), there's then a struggle to get to that part of the boat first - some people who didn't quite understand the clock system seem to do their own thing before rectifying it and arriving late on the scene. It's full steam ahead and the whale has moved, so everybody runs across deck again whilst the engines are turned down, it's then a game of cat and mouse as the boat tracks the whale. Regular updates are given by the announcer on the speaker, when the boat slows down, the words become a husky whisper like one of those perverted old men telephone calls (I imagine)

Before you know it, the tour is over - you've been out there chasing a whale for an hour and it's time to return to harbour. No sightings, you think - great I get another chance. However, the sighting of a small tail fin is considered enough apparently.

Happiness with a whale sighting service very much depends on whether you see a whale or not and whilst the tours can't be completely faulted for you not seeing a whale, I did feel that they "bigged it up" a bit too much on their brochures and was rather disappointed with the outcome. Husavik is a much better place to see whales, there are far more sightings and full sightings at that. The waters around Reykjavik are a little too busy and there's simply less whales out there. If you do see a whale in full, you'll be pleased with the service, if you don't - at least you get another chance but if you only get a glimpse of it's arse, it doesn't seem all that it's cracked up to be.   Close

The problem I find with travel reviews, in particular those you can find in guide books is that they rarely say anything negative about a place at all. Therefore you often have an idyllic view of somewhere before having gone there. Summing up Iceland's capital…Read More

The problem I find with travel reviews, in particular those you can find in guide books is that they rarely say anything negative about a place at all. Therefore you often have an idyllic view of somewhere before having gone there. Summing up Iceland's capital Reykjavik - I would probably call it an over-rated tourist trap that lives off its name as the world's most northerly capital.

On the up side - there is an alcohol shop! Having been to Akureyri on a Sunday when everything was closed and our previous sip of the golden juice dating back to the previous week when a can of warm Viking was gifted to us by some Czechs who had travelled about 200km to stock up on it, we were in dire need of a beer! Better yet, there's a lot of immigrants in Reykjavik - so the shop was filled with decent foreign beer as opposed to the Icelandic water!

There's nothing in the way of natural wonders in comparison to the rest of the country but one wouldn't really expect that from a capital city. Instead, you will find suburbs with wide roads and enormous jeeps often with personal number plates (with only 300,000 Icelanders - it's easy not to clash!) such as the humorous "Big Boy" I managed to photograph. The centre is less rigid, in its road design but doesn't impress with bland architecture and expensive but ultimately dull boutiques that makes its southerly neighbour capital Torshavn look like Paris.

Perhaps the two buildings of note (other than the aforementioned bottle shop) is the impressing and uniquely shaped Hallgrímskirkja. Perlan, another inventive building is a glass dome on 4 water tanks which looks good from a distance but is fairly tacky inside with an expensive bar/restaurant and the mandatory souvenir shop (or are they called artefacts these days?!) Tjornin "The Pond" is a relatively nice area of the city near the city hall and a handful of museums and is very much the quintessential duck feeding destination.

The whale sighting tours (which I'm about to review) aren't a patch on the ones in Husavik and the guides seem to be aware of this as they spend the majority of the time talking about sea birds instead.

There are some nice woolen goods and there is the attraction of getting tax back at the airport due to Iceland's non EU status but any other souvenirs are mostly tacky and Viking or puffin related.

Iceland's most boring destination by far and probably the least interesting capital city in Europe, I would say. Reykjavik's so-called amazing nightlife is also a bit of a lie, in my book - whilst the Icelanders do like to get tanked particularly at the weekend and particularly at home, pubs and clubs don't really get going until about midnight when the locals are already to drunk to have that much fun. There is an array of live musicians though who mostly play that melancholy arty indie sound not too distant from the country's success stories - Bjork and Sigur Ros.

Hotdogs are stunning value in Reykjavik and the backbone of a budget traveller's diet there, banks are also an awesome little adventure (or were until the crisis at least), they are a bit like five star hotels with free water, coffee, biscuits and internet!   Close

Everyone speaks English. I didn't want to be the type of tourist who assumes that everyone will speak English, so I tried to learn a few words, but I couldn't find any good pronunciation guides or phrasebooks. It didn't matter -- people were happy to cut off…Read More

Everyone speaks English. I didn't want to be the type of tourist who assumes that everyone will speak English, so I tried to learn a few words, but I couldn't find any good pronunciation guides or phrasebooks. It didn't matter -- people were happy to cut off my pantomiming by speaking English. By the time they graduate at age 16, Icelandic students must read, write, and speak Icelandic, Danish, and English.

I had more sunlight than I reckoned on. The sun came up around 7:00 a.m., and it stayed light until 8:30 p.m. or so. I was repeatedly told the fine weather -- cloudless skies, light though ever-present wind, and temperatures in the low 40s that felt warmer thanks to the brilliant sunshine -- was unusual for this time of year.

Because of the prevalence of hot springs all over the country, everything is heated geothermally (they even run hot-water pipes underneath the streets and sidewalks to keep them free of ice -- this means you frequently get whiffs of sulfur as you walk down the street), and nearly all their power comes from hydroelectricity or steam turbines. The bus system is terrific and the city seems to encourage walking (not that there aren't plenty of cars). The countryside has very few trees, because in medieval times, the Vikings cut down the birch forests and never replanted them. Now, planting trees is a popular activity for company picnics, family outings, and teenagers' public service projects.

Reykjavík's architecture is not especially... what's the word... good. Their primary building materials are corrugated tin and concrete. The corrugated tin that covers private houses and other small buildings can actually look pretty good (when it's not rusted through) -- they paint it in vibrant, saturated colors and add attractive trimmings. But the large buildings are godawfully ugly -- depressing, Soviet-style blocks with no character.

Finally, on your flights to and from Iceland, I recommend asking for a window seat. On the way over, I saw the aurora borealis for the first time, through the airplane window. On the way home, I saw stunning, rugged mountains and glaciers in southern Greenland and beautiful lakes and mountains in northern Canada.

I slept longer than I meant to (after an overnight flight, landing at Keflavik airport at about 6:30 a.m.), so I didn't get to downtown Reykjavík until 3:00 p.m. On the walk from my hotel to downtown, I passed the Icelandic Phallological Institute, a.k.a. the…Read More

I slept longer than I meant to (after an overnight flight, landing at Keflavik airport at about 6:30 a.m.), so I didn't get to downtown Reykjavík until 3:00 p.m. On the walk from my hotel to downtown, I passed the Icelandic Phallological Institute, a.k.a. the penis museum. It's like the Mütter Museum crossed with Spencer Gifts -- one side of the small, one-room museum contains jars of dismembered members floating in formaldehyde; the other has various penis-related tchotchkes that range from a joke 3-foot-long condom to handcrafted items that could nearly be called art.

The "scientific" side has 100 "penises and penile parts" from Icelandic mammals (no human specimens yet, although three are pledged, and one future donor thoughtfully included a cast of his donation for display). Many of them are so decomposed that they're barely recognizable. Others -- like the whale penises mounted on the wall -- are downright scary in their extreme pointiness. The museum's brochure mystifyingly notes that "phallology is an ancient science which, until recent years, has received very little attention in Iceland, except as a borderline field of study in other academic disciplines such as history, art, psychology, literature, and other artistic fields like music and ballet." Phallology is a field of study in ballet?

Visitor tip: Certainly a worthwhile stop, especially since it will take you about 15 minutes to view the entire collection, and that's if you read all the little identifying cards. Besides, telling people you've been to the penis museum generates envy and amazement the likes of which few other attractions can provoke, except possibly South of the Border.

Though I held out little hope that anything the rest of this trip could top the penis museum, I continued to the downtown area. Reykjavík is a very walkable city. Not only do they provide walking paths everywhere, even along highways, but it's on a small, intimate scale. Plus, when you push the button at a traffic light that triggers the "walk" sign, it changes almost immediately. People I'd spoken to made it sound as though my hotel was miles away from downtown, but I walked there in about 20 minutes. The city has a fine municipal bus system, which I rode frequently, but you really can walk everywhere. At first blush the city looks confusing, but it's quite easy to get your bearings.

Visitor tip: Stop by the tourist information center and buy a "Reykjavík card" -- it gives you free admission to most of the museums around town, plus free rides on the bus system.

Iceland's Government House (the prime minister's office), ridiculously small, sits across from the tourist information center. Further down the main road, Lækjargata, is the Tjörn, a small lake ("tjörn" is Icelandic for "lake") that the tourist brochure describes as "bird-infested," which I thought was a strong term until I actually saw the swarm of ducks, swans, and geese. The city hall is a modern building cantilevered over the north end of the lake. It was not open.

I walked down to the natural history museum. It was closed for renovations. Over to Norse House, a building designed by Alvar Aalto, meant to recall a Viking ship. Closed. On to the Árni Magnússon Institute, said to have an amazing collection of the ancient saga manuscripts. Closed 15 minutes before I got there.

Visitor tip: Get to all the museums you want to see before 4:00 p.m. Most places seem to be open 10:00 to 5:00 at the latest, at least during the off season.

So I headed up the hill to the Hallgrímskirka, the giant cathedral that dominates the city. It's meant to evoke the basaltic lava columns you can see all over the country, but it comes off a little too Albert Speer for my taste. Out front is a heroically posed statue of Leifur Eiríksson, who discovered (and, some claim, settled) North America centuries before Columbus. The elevator to the spire of the cathedral was -- you guessed it -- closed, but as I walked through the church, a wispy young woman in scruffy jeans started singing underneath the impressive organ pipes, played by her accompanist. She had an amazing voice, and it lent a marvelous atmosphere to the church.

It started out innocently. After sweltering through an incredibly warm vacation on the west coast of France in August, I had specific instructions for planning spring break: someplace where it wouldn't be hot. Surfing the web, I found something that would fit the…Read More

It started out innocently. After sweltering through an incredibly warm vacation on the west coast of France in August, I had specific instructions for planning spring break: someplace where it wouldn't be hot. Surfing the web, I found something that would fit the specification by definition: Iceland. A package called Midweek Madness would allow us to leave Minneapolis late Monday, arrive in Iceland early Tuesday morning and return home Thursday afternoon for under $400 per person, including hotel and breakfasts. Midweek madness indeed.

Iceland has a unique Scandinavian culture and history, but it is easy for a North American to operate without suffering any culture shock. The people are friendly and well-educated. The social glue of the place is something akin to a large family -- 95 percent of the people are even nominally the same religion (which is Lutheran, by the way). In fact, the population of Iceland is so homogenous that it provides an attractive test group for various studies where genetic variables are best minimized. Adding to this 'family' feeling is that essentially everyone in Iceland is on a first-name basis. The 'last names' of native Icelanders are formed by adding 'son' to the father's first name for male children and 'dottir' to the name of a female child, for example: Leif Pettursson or Gretchen Pettersdottir. In this system of 'patronymics' women do not change their names if they marry. (Have you ever seen a telephone directory arranged by first name?).

An illustration of the "family-like" culture? Well, they do have a prison in Iceland for the occasional incorrible individual to contemplate his deeds and a couple of years ago, they noted that several individuals had escaped. Suffice it to say that this prison is not exactly Alcatraz and making a break for it is not exactly the same as in other locations. If you escape in Iceland, the chances are very good that you will soon run into someone you know. In evaluating this escape problem, the wise Icelanders came up with a solution which was implemented and subsequently cut down on the escapes dramatically. They hired a new cook for the prison.

Students generally become fluent in at least two languages in addition to their native Icelandic, the ancient Norse tongue which they frequently use between each other. It's a culture with some interesting history, heroes, folklore and superstitions -- yet it is, above all, a modern, Western society with a higher percentage of internet and cell phone penetration than the U.S. Although the seafood industry remains a dominant part of the economy, the employment situation is consistently far better than other European countries.

Iceland is a comparatively young land mass and it is the most geotherally active place on earth. Earthquakes, hot springs and the occasional volcanic eruption are all part of the environment in the place that sometimes calls itself 'The Top of the World.' The landscape is sometimes bleak, but it can be breathtakingly beautiful as well. Trees are scrubby in the few places they're found and vast lava fields seem to stretch endlessly. Much of the interior is uninhabitable and inaccessible, but if you enjoy the prospect of a natural hot spring spa, a fabulous display of the Northern Lights and a look at more stars than many city dwellers ever thought were in the sky, then a trip to Iceland will be an adventure you will cherish.

The capital city of Reykjavik and its immediate vicinity are home to the majority of Iceland's populution, which totals around a quarter million people. On the shortest day of the year, the sun rises around 11 a.m. and is setting by mid-afernoon. But the days lengthen rapidly; we had 14 hours of daylight by late March, with hours-long twilight periods prior to sunrise and sunset tacked on as a bonus.

The air is incredibly clean, not only because of the small population, but also because the great majority of the buildings are warmed with geothermally heated water from the earth, eliminating the need to burn heating fuels. This resource is piped around Reykjavik and it is truly a remarkable asset for homeowners and businesses alike. (You can see some ingeniously designed water storage tanks for this purpose on a hilltop across from the Hotel Loftleider. They form the exterior of a shopping center that also houses the Pearl Restaurant). Geothermal energy also generates the electricity. A half-dozen outdoor swimming pools are open to the public year-around and there are many other places where Icelanders enjoy a dip in the mineral-rich, warm water. (Pick up a guide in town and the pools will be clearly marked).

Despite being within 300 miles of the Arctic Circle and having some propensity for high winds and rain, Reykjavik's climate is not really all that extreme. To compare it to the weather in the north central U.S., add around 20 degrees of warmth to our lowest average winter temperatures and then deduct about the same from the warmest average summer temperatures. a typical winter day in Reykjavik would see the high temperature hover near or above the freezing mark in the mid-30s, with the night time lows only a few degrees colder. Mid-summer might find the mercury struggling into the low 60s. Even though little snow accumulates in Reykjavik during the course of the winter, the clicking of studded tires through the shoulder months is a constant reminder that weather conditions can change rapidly here.

Reykjavik is filled with wonderful restaurants and interesting shops. Dining can certainly be pricey, but service standards and quality levels are high, as well. Seafood and mountain sheep are two excellent choices. As for ethnic specialties, be very sure you understand what you are ordering. (For example, one dish that the locals are known to enjoy is putrified shark meat...) Breakfast at your hotel is likely to be a little different than many people are accustomed to as well, with many meat and cheese specialties. A morning Icelandic dish to certainly try is skoor, which is something on the order of yogurt.

Iceland works hard to develop its tourism and you will easily find many guides, maps and resources available to you around Reykjavik and the hotels. Despite that, tourism does not dominate the local scene the way it does in some popular destinations. Thousands of people visit Iceland each year -- but not millions.

For those whose idea of a good time is a night on the town, you will find plenty of company until all hours on a Saturday night in downtown Rekjavik. Icelanders are known for their hard work and hard partying -- perhaps an aspect of their isolated, island life but an undeniable part of the culture. Like many places in Europe, people tend to dress up a bit more for an evening of dining or visiting clubs. Don't miss the opportunity to meet the wonderful people of Iceland -- but if you care for something a little less rigorous, you will find many people in the coffee shops as well.   Close

Several times, I've visited Iceland on the way from New York to Europe, staying for 2 or 3 nights in Reykjavik. For a first-time visit, that's usually enough to get an idea of what Iceland and Icelanders are like.If you're on a stopover, there will…Read More

Several times, I've visited Iceland on the way from New York to Europe, staying for 2 or 3 nights in Reykjavik. For a first-time visit, that's usually enough to get an idea of what Iceland and Icelanders are like.

If you're on a stopover, there will be a free busride to your hotel. Most people stay at the Hotel Loftleidur or the Hotel Esja, although you can usually choose several other hotels too. The Saga Hotel is very central and extremely nice, although the Esja is also a good place.

Reykjavik's city center is very small, and most of what there is to see is just a few minutes walk from place to place. The first spot to visit is Austurvollur Square. It's quiet, considering the national parliament and Iceland's cathedral face the square, but both are quite small. The square has a lot of character. The Hotel Borg is a beautiful building on one side of the square, and there are several cafes nearby.

Behind the square, just to the south is the Tjornin. This is a small lake, and the very modernistic Reykjavik City Hall is built right in it at its north end. A scale model of the entire country is inside the lobby. It's very interesting to see just how empty Iceland is, as well as mountainous.

Tjornin is very pretty, and along the west side of it, are some of Reykjavik's beautiful old houses, mostly built in the first part of the 1900s. On the east side of the pond is the National Gallery, and behind it are several streets with many characteristic Icelandic-style houses with painted corrugated iron exteriors.

Austurstraeti, Bankastraeti, and Laugavegur are essentially all the same street which runs east from the city center. It's the main shopping street in Reykjavik. At Bankastraeti 2 is the city tourist office in handsome old wooden buildings, with lots and lots of useful brochures.

Laugavegur is full of interesting shops. To get an idea of the scope of Icelandic culture (i.e. that a country of 270,000 people can be so prolific), take a look inside Mal og Menning bookstore at Laugavegur 18. It's stuffed with books, almost all of them in Icelandic. A little further up the street is Skifan at Laugavegur 26. This is Iceland's largest cd store. Browsing it you'll discover that Iceland has dozens of rock bands, all with CD contracts, it seems. They generally sing in Icelandic, mostly.

It won't take long to realize that Icelanders are extremely proud of their culture, especially their language. It's in no danger of dying out despite the fact that nearly everyone in Iceland speaks excellent English too. Icelandic has been around a thousand years, and hasn't changed very much. They invent new words for everything modern, and the grammar is incredibly intricate, to say the least.

Laugavegur is full of restaurants and cafes. All of them are expensive, but the service is always good (if a little slow), and the food can be really good. There are a lot of ethnic restaurants in Reykjavik nowadays, and I've had excellent Thai and Chinese food there.

A hint of the Iceland's uniqueness comes on the day-tour organized to show you a bit of the countryside around Reykjavik. It's called the Golden Circle tour, and it's touristy, even kitschy. It's not to be missed though, if only because they take you to Thingvellir. This is one of the most beautiful spots on earth, I think. It's just incredible. It's of great importance to Icelanders historically, not just scenically.

On a two- to three-day visit, one day for the Golden Circle tour, and the rest of the time in Reykjavik is time well spent.

It's a surprise to many that Reykjavik has a very lively nightlife. On Friday and Saturday nights no matter what the weather, the under-30 crowd comes out for pubcrawls along Laugavegur, getting extremely drunk and randy in the process. This is a 'tourist sight' all by itself and worth looking at if you're in Reykjavik on a weekend. No matter what the weather, thousands of people crowd the city center, socializing and picking each other up. Icelanders tend to be a little shy, but not once they've had a few beers! Fortunately they are also very peaceful, and even though the crowds are noisy and rowdy, the worst you will see are passed-out young people strewn about here and there. The ones who can still stand up will queue for late night bus service or race for taxis, since getting caught driving even a little bit tipsy in Iceland is punished with enormous fines.

Even a short visit to Reykjavik will make a convert of many people to the 'cult of Iceland-lovers'. They are people who get a little misty describing their time there, and many (of us) go back again and again. It's a unique place, uniquely beautiful, with a wonderful culture that's surviving just fine even though Icelanders are plugged-in to global influences.

After arriving in Reykjavík, our tour group boarded the Reykjavík Excursions motor coach for a 2-hour tour of the capital city. Reykjavík, is a colorful city with brightly colored roofs. There are no skyscrapers but it has an active harbor due to an economy heavily…Read More

After arriving in Reykjavík, our tour group boarded the Reykjavík Excursions motor coach for a 2-hour tour of the capital city. Reykjavík, is a colorful city with brightly colored roofs. There are no skyscrapers but it has an active harbor due to an economy heavily dependent on fishing (and whaling at one time). The further we moved away from the harbor, the more the city looked like a U.S. city. There were many recognizable businesses such as MacDonald's, Pizza Hut, Toyota, IBM, etc... There were many Icelandic businesses that I cannot even begin to spell or pronounce.

Our city tour took us by the parliament building, several museums, the university, a large outdoor heated swimming pool, the harbor, and several other landmarks. We made several stops along the way. This was good because jet lag really had a grip on us. However, whenever we stepped off the bus into the arctic windblasts, we woke up right away. We did not have the opportunity to visit the National Museum that contains artifacts from the Viking days because it was closed for renovation.

One of the highlights of this tour was the Hallgrímskrikja Church. This huge Lutheran church (around 90% of Icelanders are Lutheran) is the largest building in Reykjavík and can be seen from just about anywhere in the city. Apparently, there was some controversy when its construction was completed in 1974 because people complained it looked like a lava flow. To me, it looks like a chapel with a gigantic rocket attached to it. Outside of the church is a statue of Leif Ericsson, which was given to Iceland by the U.S.. Leif Ericsson was born in Iceland and is credited for being the first European to set foot in North America in 1000 A.D.. We were allowed to enter the church and look at its 5000-piped organ. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to hear it. Ordinarily, this tour allows visitors to go to the top of the bell tower and get a lovely panoramic view of the city. For some reason, our tour guide informed us that we were not going to be doing that on this tour. Instead, she said we would be making a stop at Perlan (The Pearl) to get our panoramic view of Reykjavík.

Perlan is an upscale restaurant and museum that sits high on a hill and atop six water towers. It has an observation balcony on the fourth floor. We went to the balcony and got some nice views of Reykjavík, but we didn't stay out there very long. That arctic wind was vicious!!

As our tour bus left the city we were overwhelmed by the vastness and stark beauty of the landscape. We quickly realized why Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice, as the vistas changed around every hill and curve. At times, there…Read More

As our tour bus left the city we were overwhelmed by the vastness and stark beauty of the landscape. We quickly realized why Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice, as the vistas changed around every hill and curve. At times, there were miles upon miles of open, green rolling hills and valleys. Then suddenly as we rounded a curve, we saw a massive pristine glacier gleaming in the sunlight. Over the next hill, we steam was escaping from underground geothermal seawater through ground vents. Fire and ice in the space of a few minutes.

A brief stop at the famous Blue Lagoon made us wish we had brought swimsuits and had the time to enjoy the restorative skin benefits of bathing in the naturally heated waters. A combination of "good" blue algae, mineral salts, and white mud bottom give the lagoon its incredible aqua color and provide natural healing benefits. There’s always next trip.

There were two favorite stops on our tour. The first was the geysers ( known as geysirs in Iceland) in Haukadalur. Although the Great Geysir is virtually inactive at this time, there was plenty of action all around. Strokkur, known as the "churn," erupts about every six to ten minutes reaching heights of 60-80 feet. It is an impressive event.

At first, it appears relatively benign, a simmering pool of super-heated water with a strong sulphur smell. Then it begins to boil and a large dome-shaped bubble covers the surface. Seconds later a thunderous massive cone-shaped tower of steam and hot water shoots high into the air. As quickly as it happens, it ends. The pool drains completely and begins to refill immediately. In the thirty minutes we observed Strokkur, it erupted four times. In between shows, we walked around the geothermal park among smaller pools and mudpits, hissing, bubbling and belching steam. All too soon, it was time to move on. As we drove away, we were treated to a farewell eruption from Strokker. We put this one on our list of "return trips" for future travels.

Our next stop was Gullfoss, the Golden waterfall. The icy Hvita River cascades over an enormous two-tiered drop into the narrow canyon below. It is so violent that the air is filled with a fine mist. Sunlight filters through the mist creating a distinctive rainbow across the cataract. What an exhilarating sensory experience! We felt the power and beauty of Mother Nature at her finest.

As we made our way back to Reykjavik, the sun was beginning its descent below the horizon. A purple haze hung over the hills and the sky and sea were filled with a kaleidoscope of colors that took our breath away.

Soon we were sailing away from Reykjavik. Instead of feeling "tour-tired" I was energized and could hardly wait to take pen in hand and record the memories of this special day.

Reykjavik was a bit more chilly than it was when we left the States, but it was not unbearable. Even though it rained the first day, we managed to take in some sightseeing. We stayed in an apartment in the city (which you…Read More

Reykjavik was a bit more chilly than it was when we left the States, but it was not unbearable. Even though it rained the first day, we managed to take in some sightseeing.
We stayed in an apartment in the city (which you can rent for about the same price as a very small hotel room). I think everyone between the ages of 18 and 25 came out and drank all night long. I was surprised that during our entire stay, I only saw one event that came close to an bar incident. (I admit I judged by NY/NJ standards). We visited a couple of the pubs. I was not impressed as I was probably way too old, and everybody smoked.
Although it was really kitchy, I did enjoy the Viking bar. My daughter was "kidnapped" by the Vikings. Everybody was friendly and the meal was not too bad.
We hired a private guide to drive us out to the glacier. Of course we saw all of the waterfalls, and we rode the Icelandic horses through the beautiful countryside.
We ate some hot dogs (they're very proud to tell you that Bill Clinton ate them) We even tried some "Black Death" and rotten shark. I would recommend that only if you want to say that you did it. We never got to see Bjork, but we did spot Bobby Fisher. Of course we stopped at the Blue Lagoon before we went home. I loved it, even though a lot of people think it's over-rated.
I think it's best to stay in the city, and pay somebody to take you out to the sights. I would definitely stay in an apartment rather than a hotel. That way you can shop at the supermarket and make some meals. (they have some strange frozen stuff). Food is good, but very expensive. Believe it or not, they have some pretty good Japanese and Indian food. Try the skyr. It's yummy. Except for the trolls and elves to check out, I think little kids would be completely bored here.
For the adults, the Church is really pretty and you might want to visit the penis museum. The Perlan is sort of like our Ripley's Wax Museum, with an Icelandic twist.
I didn't get a chance to see the north, but I heard that there are lots of seabirds, whales and beautiful places to visit there.    Close

The first thing I thought when we got off the plane was how modern and empty the airport felt. The floors were all honey-colored hardwood and the stairs were lined with metal banisters and glass sheets. Once we recovered our baggage, we hopped on the…Read More

The first thing I thought when we got off the plane was how modern and empty the airport felt. The floors were all honey-colored hardwood and the stairs were lined with metal banisters and glass sheets. Once we recovered our baggage, we hopped on the bus that would take us to the central terminal, where our hostel hosts would pick us up.

The drive from the airport into city central is about forty-five minutes, and the landscape is not beautiful to watch in passing. It is a bit desolate and haunting, somewhat eerie in the evening, I would imagine. The land is made up of lava rock and moss, making the passing land unsmooth and brown. Beyond that is a shock of deep blue water and mountains more green than snow-capped, misty and crowned with thinning clouds. Every so often there was a pile of stones, little towers stacked by hand. Some were similar to the standing stones I remember from Ireland, made to resemble doorways with a frame of slabbed rock. Others were more oriental in nature, a little tower of stones that grew smaller in size toward the apex. I wondered idly how long they'd been standing and who had stacked them out in the middle of nowhere, because there was very little between the airport and the city.

Since we only had the day in town, we went to the desk at our guesthouse and spoke to Sigga, who ran the place with her family. We asked another couple staying at the guesthouse about the best way to get into town. They recommended walking the three miles along the ocean, and we were simply too tired to try it. Knowing we would have to pay extra for Tolli (Sigga’s husband) to shuttle us into city central, Sigga talked us into it by saying we could call them from anywhere to have Tolli pick us up, as well. Before we left, we also asked about the best way to get to the Blue Lagoon. Sigga, bless her, quickly made reservations and arranged for a shuttle to pick us up directly from the guesthouse and take us to the thermal spa at 4pm.

We expected to be dropped off quickly in town, but Tolli took us on a tour. He stopped first at an unusual-looking church I had eyed on our way in from the airport. It was white with four sweeping arches on each wall. he drove us behind the church and pointed to the jumble of moss-covered rocks behind it. "You see there? The rocks," he explained to us in what English he knew. "There is more than 30 types of moss right there. Scientists have studied it." We all made the appropriate sounds of being impressed before we grinned at each other and tried not to giggle in amusement.

From there, he drove us down the docks and showed us the whaling boats that had been docked there for more than thirty years, waiting for whaling to become legal again. After the docks he drove us around the streets and pointed out a few things, but mostly let us look around. I could make no sense of the narrow streets than ran between the buildings. Some seemed more like sidewalks. At one point, Tolli drove up onto an area that I thought sure was a courtyard for a statue that was there--it didn't look like a place to drive. As we drove, I caught a glimpse of an islet cluttered with birds before two buildings blocked it from view. He also drove us past a hot dog stand and said it was the best place to get hot dogs, and that our former president, Bill Clinton, had even stood there.

Once he dropped us off, I begged to go back and investigate the little islet I had seen. We got to the little viewing place next to the lake to find it aswarm with birds: ducks, geese, seagulls, and a couple of varieties I'd never seen before. We were nearly walked over by birds in their eagerness for bread that we did not have. Not too long after we arrived, a youthful father came with his daughter by the hand to feed them. She looked about three years old and had on a bright red hat (we were ourselves beginning to get a bit cold in the forty-degree weather we had not been wholly prepared for).

Afterward, we wandered down to the flea market to warm up a bit. Inside was a marvel of things past and forgotten, including a Michael Jackson album on vinyl. We also discovered all our bad prom dresses from the 80s were hanging in one stall. Shiny, metallic pink fabric alongside blue taffeta wonders hung innocently among other, less flattering memories of our youth.

Once outside again, we headed to the docks and took pictures of the water, mountains, and boats before we were too cold to pursue further. We hurried back up to take shelter between and behind the cluster of buildings that made up the city and popped into a few places to shop for souvenirs and hats to keep us warm. I asked if we could go see another church I had read about, the Hallgrimskirkja, so we headed up a long hill to visit the architectural oddity.

Hallgrimskirkja is atop a hill and starts out low on either side with short pillars huddled close together to form a solid wall. It then swoops up quickly in the center to create a jagged, almost pixellated bell tower, the skinny columns growing longer the nearer the apex they come. Out front is a statue of Leif Erikson, standing proud and somewhat out of place before the church.

Realizing it was near time for us to head back to the hostel and visit the Blue Lagoon, we ducked inside a grocery store to warm up again and tried to call the hostel. I will here admit I suck at international dialing, and none of us could figure out the right way to call Sigga and Tolli. Thankfully, the man behind the grocer counter spoke English and we asked if we could use his phone and tell us how to dial our hostel. He offered to call the hostel for us, which we graciously accepted. While he was speaking fluent Icelandic on the phone, we heard "Americans" come out of his mouth and started laughing again. We could only imagine he was telling our hosts that he had three silly Americans in his store who didn't know how to use a phone.

Once Tolli picked us up, he asked if we wanted to stop by the Perlan (the Pearl) on our way back. We eagerly accepted, as we were upset we hadn't time or strength to hike the distance or the small mountain the Pearl stood atop. The Pearl has four, huge cylinders surrounding a large, glass dome. The cylinders heat water, and inside the glass dome is the saga museum. At the top is a restaurant. We took the elevator to the top and found we could walk outside. Though we were freezing cold, the view of Reykjavik laid out before us was more breathtaking than the chilly wind. Dull-colored houses had bright-colored roofs and nestled together beneath huge mountains. Beyond was an expanse of blue water, and off to the left the jutting spire of Hallgrimskirkja.

Then it was on to the Blue Lagoon, which was about 30 minutes from where we were staying. We changed into our swimsuits and walked outside to the little heated room that kept you warm before you ran outdoors and plunged yourself into the thermal pool. The water was warm, varying from 90 to 110 degrees, and the pool was huge. It had a series of bridges spanning it, a waterfall, areas for sauna and steam, as well as an in-pool massage area. Around us the mountains stood tall, and we sank into the water with giggles and hums of pleasure. Tubs of silica mud also surround the pool, so we plastered the white mud over our faces and enjoyed the mask as we swam over to the waterfall.

I would love to go back and experience Reykjavik in the evening during winter. One would be because the Northern Lights are visible during that time, and the other would be to see the city alive with people. We'd heard it was much like Madrid: people didn't come out until late at night. From what we saw during the day, I believed it. Except for the few stores that were open, the place was like a ghost town. We didn't pass other people on the street and we saw very few cars driving around. It was odd, but a nice, quiet way to explore the town at a leisurely place.