Iceland diaries: Reykjavik

First of all, why Iceland?

Iceland is certainly one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. To be honest, Iceland was not in my bucket list for long. When I thought it might be a place worth a visit, I started digging deeper and then it didn’t take long to decide to go there for my honeymoon. It didn’t take much to convince my dear husband to go there (1. because I showed him the pretty pictures and 2. I am his newly wedded wife. He can’t say no to me, right?). We decided to fly to Reykjavik and make it a central stop for our travel further.

We had an amazing week there. I was surprised to see how cool Reykjavik is! Street art, coffee culture and superb museums, they had everything I love in a city. I am giving my recommendations of what to do and where to eat below.I have also included some tips to make your amazing trip even more memorable.

Things to do

1.  City walk tour:

   One of the “free” (you pay tips to the guide in the end) things to do. The guide, Martyn is super funny, cool and knows his stuff well. And he is cute!

2. Walk along Laugavegur:

   The main shopping street with restaurants and shops all around. We did this almost every day.

3. Go up the Hallgrimska church:

   It is famous for its unique architecture. You can go up on the top of the church and have a view of the city.

   

   

4. Visit museums:

   The museums are really good. We went to The Settlement museum, Saga museum, Maritime museum and The open air museum. They are all very cool and tell you about how people lived there (and yes! They do start from Viking ages!).

   Tip: it is better to buy City card that allows for free admission and free transportation.

   

5. Go to public swimming pools:

   It is a very Icelandic thing. People love their heated pools and go their often. and they are cheap. You pay about 3 Euros entrance and most of them have open heated pools, Jacuzzi and even sauna!

6. Golden circle, of course:

   A must to do. The three main destinations are the national park Þingvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning “golden falls”), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which has the geysers Geysir and Strokkur.

   We did out trip from Gateway to Iceland to avoid big buses and crowd. I really liked it. We combined it with a visit to secret lagoon so it was even more amazing.

   

7. Visit The Elfschool:

   Did you know you can actually get a degree from an Elfschool? Yes they exist, the schools I meant! And did you know that more than 54 % Icelanders believe that they still exist**? Actually, we didn’t do it, It was too late before we found out that something like this exists! I am sure it should be super cool to try something like that.

8. Hunt for northern nights:

   Okay! last but not the least. The main reason we wanted to go there was northern lights. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to see them in the week we were there (we did see a faint white reflection one day but I was not ready to yet tick it off my list ).

Restaurants:

1. Prikid: Nice burgers, really famous between locals!
2. Astur-Indiafjelagid: Okay, it is quite expensive but probably the best Indian food I ever had in Europe.
3. Svarta Kaffid: The concept is pretty amazing! You get delicious soup in a bread bowl. Very cool but I didn’t find it nice because the bread gets difficult to eat and you have to throw 80% of your bread. Too much wastage!

Cafes

1. Laundromat Cafe:  Coolest cafe ever! They have plenty of books that you can read AND you can do laundry there simultaneously!
2. Le Bistro: Really good for brunch and breakfast
3. Bæjarins Beztu: Well technically it is not a cafe just a hot dog stand, but really famous. One of the most affordable things in Iceland and the hot dog is actually quite good.

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** You have to read this: It is crazy!! http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2015/03/18/elves_make_compromise_with_road_administration/