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| The Trip That Required "Suits" for Every Activity |
This trip to
Iceland has been on our bucket list for a while, especially as we have had several friends tell us how beautiful it is. So, we started our planning almost a year ago and booked a week long trip with our friends Kim, Tom, John and JoAnna. We spent part of our time in Reykjavik, making day trips to see sites nearby and part of our time near Hofn so that we could spend a few days exploring Skaftafell Park. The scenery was stunning (as were the people), the weather was mostly cooperative (50's during the day and only drizzled a couple of times), the food was tasty (and adventurous at times) and the activities were quite fun (although most of them required some unflattering gear/suits). We had an amazing time and would definitely return in retirement to explore the entire island.
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| Reykjavik |
Accommodations:
Brilliant Apartments - Located in Reykjavik, about a 10-15 minute walk to most sites/restaurants. We stayed here one night when we first arrived. We rented the 3 bedroom apartment. Apartment was clean but rooms were small and there was only one bathroom. However, it was an affordable option as most of the hotels in the city center are quite expensive.
Fosshotel Vatnajokull - Located about 10km outside of Hofn in a beautiful valley with nice views of the glacier. We stayed here three nights. We each got our own room - rooms were relatively small but clean. Hotel had a nice lobby and bar where we would get beer even after they closed as the hotel staff were quite happy to oblige! Breakfast was included - basic continental options.
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| Fosshotel Vatnajokull |
Laugavegur Apartments - Located in Reykjavik, about a 10-15 minute walk to most sites/restaurants. We stayed here four nights and rented the 3 bedroom apartment. Similar review to Brilliant Apartments above except the kitchen / living area was much bigger. We ate breakfast in the apartment most mornings by grabbing some items at the local grocery store.
Activities:
We all flew in on overnight flights arriving within 15-30 minutes of each other early Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Shawna pulled a muscle in her lower back at the Denver airport before we left so she was in quite a bit of pain throughout the trip and was walking rather slowly - however, with some drugs and beer, she managed to participate in all but one of the activities. We had rented a car (cheapest option available through Hasso) which was located a few miles from the airport so someone met us at the airport to drive us over.
Our first stop was the
Blue Lagoon to wake us up from our jet lag. It's a large open air hot spring located about 15 minutes from the airport. They offer robes, towels, showers and even spa services. There is also a 'swim' up bar in the lagoon which of course with some arm twisting (you can guess by who), we opted to share a few beers. The water was nice and warm which was quite helpful for Shawna's back. We applied some facial mud which we never really understood what benefit it provided but did it to look silly. While commercial and pricey, it's a 'must do' activity.
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| Blue Lagoon |
While our dip in the lagoon helped to wake us up a bit, the beer we drank offset this so after checking in to our apartment in Reykjavik, we took a quick nap before exploring the city. We joined a 2.5 hour walking tour with
City Walk in order to get our bearings of the city and to learn a little history. The guide was entertaining and we learned a bit about their politics, Vikings and financial crash. Apparently Tom did not have enough of a nap as he fell asleep on the tour while leaning against one of the buildings - we only knew this because he fell over while sleeping!
We spent the next 3 days in the southwest part of the island near
Skaftafell Park so that we could explore that area and see the Vatnajokull Glacier. We stayed in a hotel near
Hofn which was nice but it took 1.5 hours each way to get to the park each day - there was another hotel about 45 min closer but was booked. Our drive out to Hofn took all day as we stopped along the way to see a few sites:
- Hverageroi: A town about an hour outside of Reykjavik that has a geothermal park. The park was quick to go through - best part was trying the bread that they bake underground using the steam from the hot springs.
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| Geothermal Park |
- Seljalandsfoss: A beautiful waterfall that can be seen from the ring road. You can walk behind the waterfall which was pretty cool. We also walked along the path to see some of the other smaller waterfalls nearby, one if which you can stand under by sneaking through a crack in the hillside.
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| Seljalandsfoss |
- Dyrholaey: Stunning cliffs overlooking the ocean near Vik. We walked along the black sand beach, climbed up the hillside to the lighthouse and saw puffins perched on another hill.
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| Dyrholaey |
- Vik: Cute town on the water with black sand beaches. We stopped here for a very late lunch.
On the rest of the drive to Hofn (which was still another three hours from Vik), we admired the scenery, napped and enjoyed the tunes being spun by DJ Jazzy John!
During the next two days, we spent our time enjoying the activities in and near the park:
- Skaftafell: Hiked for 3 hours, seeing the glacier, mountains, grass huts and the Svartifoss waterfall (which is surrounded by black basalt columns). The scenery was stunning and there were quite a few people on the trail.
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| Hike in Skaftafell |
- Jokulsarlon: A lagoon near the glacier that is filled with floating icebergs. There is a channel that takes some of the icebergs out to the ocean (some of which take 5 years to get there). The glacier is retreating at 120 meters per year. We did the one hour zodiac boat tour which was really cool, especially the flattering 'Minion' looking outfits that we had to wear to keep us warm! While on the tour, a huge chunk of ice broke off from the glacier which caused quite a bit of waves - we were close enough to see but not close enough to top us over thankfully! We also learned on the tour that a couple of James Bond movies were filmed here and during one, they froze the lagoon so that an Aston Martin could drive across it. After the tour, we pretended to be Minions walking on the moon so that Tom could video us - we thought it was funny but I'm sure everyone else thought we were a bit nuts! We then walked over to the ocean to see some of the icebergs that had made its way out.
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| Jokulsarlon |
- Glacier Walk / Ice Climbing: We did a three hour tour with Icelandic Mountain Guides which was a lot of fun. JoAnna was enamored with the guy who helped us suit up with boots and crampons and our guide looked like Spencer Pratt from the Hills. After getting our equipment, we drove over to the glacier and walked for a short while until we found a wall to climb. The guide gave great instructions and each person (except for Shawna who opted to be the photographer) tried it and made it to the top. Keith and Shawna shot a video to send to their friend Sarah who was getting engaged a few days later. After walking a little more, we found another wall to climb where everyone except for Shawna and John did it. John said he 'retired' from his ice climbing career! The scenery was really beautiful and we lucked out to have a nice day.
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| Glacier Walk / Ice Climbing |
On our drive back to Reykjavik, we stopped at
Skogafoss which is another beautiful waterfall that can be seen from the ring road. After taking a few pictures, everyone (except Shawna who was in quite a bit of pain) did a small part of the hike to Posmark which crosses the
Fimmvorduhals Pass and has great views of the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalskokull Glaciers. To do the whole hike takes about 16 hours but the group only hiked for a couple of hours. While the group hiked, Shawna read at one of the cafes near the waterfall. John and JoAnna joined her (after hiking for a bit) and so we had a few beers which we were then joined by the rest of the gang.
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| Skogafoss |
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| View on Hike |
During our last four days, we enjoyed the sites in and around
Reykjavik. We also spent one day in the city doing a bit of shopping and sightseeing but mostly eating our way around the city!
- Pingvellir: A historic park about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik. It's known for where their Parliament first assembled as well as where you can see the fissures of where Europe and North Atlantic plates are separating. We walked around for about an hour.
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| Pingvellir Park |
- Geysir: Where all geysers are named after. It was more impressive than we expected. We watched one of the geysers erupt a few times.
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| Geysir |
- Gullfoss: An amazing waterfall that drops down two tiers into a canyon. We walked around for about an hour taking lots of photos.
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| Gullfoss |
- Hallgrimskirkja: A very tall modern church in Reykjavik. We went to the top of the tower where there are great views of the city and waterfront.
- Inside the Volcano: A tour we took where they take you inside a 4000 year old volcano (so it's aptly named). They picked us up at our apartment and the drive out took about 45 minutes. Our guide was quite funny - while she said she knew nothing about volcanoes since she is an actress, we were able to learn a few things. The hike out to the volcano is about 2 miles on fairly flat but rocky path. At the base of the volcano is a hut where we saw a very cute arctic fox and relaxed while we awaited our turn. To get to the bottom of the volcano, we took a steel open elevator that descends 120 meters. At the bottom, we walked around for about 45 minutes looking at all of the amazing colors in the rock. After we got out, we had some hot soup at the base camp and then hiked back to the shuttle and drove back to the city.
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| Inside the Volcano |
- Whale Watching Tour: We went with Whale Safari and did a two hour tour on the zodiac boat. We had to suit up again in not-so-flattering but very warm suits. The boat went quite fast in the water but it was a surprisingly smooth ride. We saw puffin, minke whale (otherwise known as stinky minke as it emits quite an odor), humpback whale and some playful dolphins. The tour was nice but not nearly as cool as the one we did in Cabo.
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| Whale Watching |
Each night we enjoyed some yummy meals and tried out several of the bars. Kim was a dancing fiend and so we stopped a few places to dance. Because it doesn't get dark until 1:30 in the morning, many nights we were out late enjoying the nightlife. One evening, we stopped at a local street party and had a few beers while enjoying the music, meeting a few locals and reliving our youth by attempting double dutch jump roping! We also met up for a few beers with Roope, a friend of Keith's from Kandersteg in 1990 who was traveling on his way to Greenland to lead a kayaking tour.
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| Dinner at Pakkhus in Vik |
Restaurants / Bars:
Reykjavik
Reykjavik Chips - A place entirely focused on french fries. We stopped here twice and had chips with your choice of dipping sauce.
Bjarni Fel - A sports bar. Stopped here for a few beers.
Kitchen Eldhus - Indian restaurant. Food was tasty and spicy. We all shared the chicken kabab, lamb vindaloo, veggie curry, and naan.
Bada Bing - Gelato place. Odd name considering this is the name of a strip club on the Sopranos. Good gelato nonetheless. We stopped here a few times for dessert.
Grillmarkadurrin - A very trendy restaurant that specializes in grilled meats. We shared the trio of sliders made with whale, puffin and langoustine. We also shared the meat platter served with steak, duck and lamb. We got a few sides for the table including fries, grilled veggies and mushrooms. Everything was very yummy!
Mezze - Mediterranean restaurant. We all shared a few apps for the table - grilled cheese, hummus and feta and spinach app. Keith and Shawna split moussaka for their entree and we all shared baklava for dessert. The restaurant is nice and the food was very good.
English Pub - Had a few beers here but the options for English beer was not great so we opted for Icelandic beer.
Baejarins Betzu - A popular hot dog stand near the water - there is usually a line. Several people told us we had to try it so we did. Not that impressed.
Celtic Cross - Had a few beers here.
Public House - Great place for shared food and beer. We snacked on fries, edamame, takki (reindeer carpaccio), and langoustine dumplings.
Bunk Bar - Another great bar with yummy tacos.
Kjallarinn Kichen - We shared a langoustine app and lamb for dinner. Food was good.
Lebowski Bar - Danced here for a few hours. Played mostly 80s music.
Reykjavik Fish - Located near the harbor. We grabbed a quick lunch here before heading to the airport. We shared fish and chips and fish curry soup.
Vik
Halldorskaffi - Had lunch here on the way out to Hofn. Shared a pizza and beer. Service was slow and food was OK.
Sudur-Vik - Had lunch here on the way back to Reykjavik. The place is very cute. We split a pizza and seafood soup which was quite good.
Hofn
Pakkhus - Had dinner here two nights. Great wooden interior with a bar downstairs and tasty food. One night, we split the feta app and grilled langoustine (which is what the town is known for). And the other night, we split the langoustine soup, carpaccio, and lamb. The lamb was very tender and one of the best we've ever had. Kim thought one of the guys at the table next to us looked like Ryan Gossling so we had to try to get a picture. The next day we realized that he really didn't look anything like Ryan Gossling - I guess the beer had something to do with that!
Humarhofnin - Had dinner here one night. Another great restaurant We all tried Black Death, a liquor that tastes like caraway - it was not a group favorite! We shared smoked cod and langoustine bisque for starters and grilled langoustine for our entree. The group shared an Icelandic biscuit for dessert which is essentially yogurt with granola and creme brûlée.
For more photos of this trip (click on the photo and it will take you to the album):
