I have always had a passing fancy in that little island that sits between Europe and North America. I fly over it several times of month when I am luck enough to work Europe trips. My interest was piqued last April 2010 when that damned volcano that no one can pronounce erupted and brought air travel to it's knees and ruined my month. At the time I was boycotting all things Icelandic, but after more than a year of holding out, I decided it was time to go and see what this place was all about, and I am sure glad I did.
We left the morning of October 3rd and after a 5 hour sit at JFK airport, we took off for Reykjavík on our all night flight. Flying time going over was pretty quick, at just under 5 hours. Given that Icelandair is pretty much the only game in town, we opted to purchase tickets rather than try our luck at employee standby travel. What a refreshing change to wear jeans and tennis shoes when you travel!
We arranged to be part of a tour called "Untamed Iceland" thru Overseas Adventure Travel. They specialize in small group travel with unique itineraries. Ladyfriend had done an O.A.T trip to Turkey a few years ago and highly recommended the company. It certainly wasn't cheap, but vacation options in Iceland are somewhat limited, especially towards the end of the high season, so this was just what we were looking for.
Our tour guide was a gentleman named Steingrímur Gunnarsson, but we just called him Steini. He was there the morning we arrived to meet us at the airport and get us downtown and checked in to our hotel. In total there were 16 people on our tour from different places in the United States.
Keflavík International Airport is about a half hour from Reykjavík. We had a quick little bus tour of the city before heading to the lovely Hilton Nordica for an awesome breakfast buffet (not good for my waistline) and a little nap. We all reconvened at noon and made our way downtown for a walking tour of the city with Steini.
Central Reykjavík is not very big and it pretty easy to do on foot. The city has a population of about 120,000 (out of a total population of 300,000 for the whole country) and is the economic and political center for the country. The first permanent settlement here was here in 874 by a Vikings.
Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland. It's named after the 17th century Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, who was the author of the Passion Hymns. The church was commissioned in the late 1930's, but construction did not begin until 1946 after the war and it was not finished until 1986. The design is inspired by the basalt lava flows seen throughout the country. While the country is predominantly Lutheran, many traditions from before the Reformation remain. Each church pays homage to the Blessed Mother and the Crosses are in the style of a crucifix.
The main shopping district of the city is along Laugavegur. It means "Wash Road" in English and back in the olden days led down the Laugardaler hot springs where the women would go to wash the clothes.
We left the morning of October 3rd and after a 5 hour sit at JFK airport, we took off for Reykjavík on our all night flight. Flying time going over was pretty quick, at just under 5 hours. Given that Icelandair is pretty much the only game in town, we opted to purchase tickets rather than try our luck at employee standby travel. What a refreshing change to wear jeans and tennis shoes when you travel!
We arranged to be part of a tour called "Untamed Iceland" thru Overseas Adventure Travel. They specialize in small group travel with unique itineraries. Ladyfriend had done an O.A.T trip to Turkey a few years ago and highly recommended the company. It certainly wasn't cheap, but vacation options in Iceland are somewhat limited, especially towards the end of the high season, so this was just what we were looking for.
Our tour guide was a gentleman named Steingrímur Gunnarsson, but we just called him Steini. He was there the morning we arrived to meet us at the airport and get us downtown and checked in to our hotel. In total there were 16 people on our tour from different places in the United States.
Keflavík International Airport is about a half hour from Reykjavík. We had a quick little bus tour of the city before heading to the lovely Hilton Nordica for an awesome breakfast buffet (not good for my waistline) and a little nap. We all reconvened at noon and made our way downtown for a walking tour of the city with Steini.
Central Reykjavík is not very big and it pretty easy to do on foot. The city has a population of about 120,000 (out of a total population of 300,000 for the whole country) and is the economic and political center for the country. The first permanent settlement here was here in 874 by a Vikings.
Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland. It's named after the 17th century Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, who was the author of the Passion Hymns. The church was commissioned in the late 1930's, but construction did not begin until 1946 after the war and it was not finished until 1986. The design is inspired by the basalt lava flows seen throughout the country. While the country is predominantly Lutheran, many traditions from before the Reformation remain. Each church pays homage to the Blessed Mother and the Crosses are in the style of a crucifix.
On the side of one of the buildings, there was great painting of a giraffe in 3-d glasses saying "I have come hear to chew bubble gum and kick ass". I thought it was genius! It comes from the movie "They Live" and the line ends with "...and I'm all out of bubblegum".
We continued our walk around the city, visiting City Hall, the Cultural Heritage House, Parliament, and other landmarks.
One of the highlights is the Tjörnin, a large pond in the middle of city. It is situated along City Hall and the University of Iceland and is populated with many varieties of ducks and swans. It's a popular place to come with small kids and feed the water fowl.
Quite possibly the most genius photograph I took on the trip, I had my fellow travelers pose next to a statue outside the Cultural Center.
For me the best part of the day was the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (translated means The Best Hotdogs in Town), the most popular place to eat in Iceland. It's a hot dog stand that opened in 1937, and is located downtown near the harbor. Every Icelander is familiar with this place and it's where all the foreign dignitaries come when they visit Iceland. There is a picture behind the counter of Bill Clinton chowing down on a few dogs. In 2006 it was voted the best hot dog stand in Europe.
Marty decided she did not want to play since the hot dogs are made of lamb.
For 300 kr you get your tasty dog and can have ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a kind of mayo and relish sauce. I opted for both onion types and the sweet mustard. It was yummy!
We ended the day doing a little light shopping as we walked off our lamb hot dogs.
After getting back to the hotel, Susan and I went across the street to the local supermarket to get some snacks for our trip. I love going to grocery stores in foreign countries! We were impressed by their large selection of flavored cheese spreads and butter!
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