When I pictured Iceland in early spring, I could imagine the icy spray of Gulfoss, the chilly azure of the Blue Lagoon, and the unremitting black of the southern beaches. But what surprised me were the beautiful splashes of colour everywhere and particularly in Reykjavik. The view from above was rainbow-hued, and there were patches of street art everywhere. Here’s my favourites. [Read more…]
When I came to Iceland I wasn’t too sure what to expect in terms of food – lots of seafood maybe? Sure enough, I had fish at least once a day – which I loved! I was surprised to find that there was also a lot of lamb, but given how little I’d had of it since I left New Zealand, it was a happy discovery. We had a few recommendations, but also stumbled upon some gems, like the creperie of my dreams!
Eldur & Ís: I can’t tease you so first up, the amazing crepes we discovered by following our noses to the source of a heavenly smell of sugar and cinnamon. I don’t normally get too excited about dessert as too often it’s off-limits to my anti-lactose stomach. But not only could you choose whatever toppings you wanted on your fresh-made crepes, but they had gluten-free vegan crepes as well as normal ones – amazing!
Bakari Sandholt is rightly very popular both with locals and visitors. Along with a cabinet crammed with savoury and sweet treats, it also has a hot food menu featuring quiches, soups, and more. I loved the modern decor in the restaurant area, but it was equally good to grab a sandwich to go. I couldn’t go past a Coke either, after hearing how they are firmly embedded into Icelandic culture after US troops were stationed there from World War II until 2006.
Apotek Restaurant was probably our fanciest meal, and it was a lovely experience. I had salmon with bok choi, mushrooms, and an unusual organic Icelandic black tea infused barbecue sauce that had me scraping the plate – so good! The ambience of Apotek was polished and we loved the beautiful cosy booths, coupled with excellent service.
Noodle Station is completely at the other end of the spectrum from Apotek, but it was also delicious! We got back late from the Blue Lagoon and in our super-relaxed state, just wanted a quick meal and our pyjamas. Oh yeah, party animals. We’d seen Noodle Station recommended in our Air BnB apartment guestbook and seeing as it was just around the corner, had to give it a go. With a simple choice of beef, chicken or vegetarian noodle soup, it fitted the bill perfectly, and we happily slurped it all up back in our cosy lounge.
Jómfrúin: during my Copenhagen trip I fell in love with smørrebrød, open sandwiches on rye bread with a huge variety of toppings. When I saw that there were a few restaurants in Reykjavik devoted to this specialty I knew we had to give the Icelandic version a try! Jómfrúin was packed with locals, always a good sign, and had a ginormous menu of different choices – it was almost painful to only choose a couple. Given that was so exhausting, we asked the charming waiter to pick us an Icelandic beer, and he responded by bringing five different varieties so that we could sample them all – diplomatic and a genius!
Reykjavik Roasters was a super-hip coffee spot where we could have hung out all day, if our timing had allowed. Fun design, yummy pastries and most importantly, delicious coffee – always a winning combination!
Scandinavian was another smørrebrød hotspot, but I was in the mood for a warming soup. The traditional specialty of Kjotsupa features lamb and root vegetables – it’s pretty simple but absolutely delicious, especially when served with crusty warm bread. Yum!
Snaps Restaurant presented me with another of my favourite meals of the trip – arctic trout with sweet potato mash, swede and beetroot. I would have scraped the plate clean but the size of the serving defeated me – it was very generous! The only quibble we had was the very slow service, but it was a busy Easter Friday. And honestly, I’d wait even longer for this delicious meal!
What did you like the look of the most? Do you have any Reykjavik recommendations of your own?
While our coach tour of Iceland’s Golden Circle was great given the weather, when it came to exploring part of Iceland’s southern coast we decided to hire a car ourselves. Between the five of us it was incredibly cheap, and gave us the flexibility to plan our own day and pull over at a moment’s notice to befriend ponies – more on that below!
After a long day driving round Iceland’s Golden Circle, the idea of soaking in a natural wonder held a lot of appeal! Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, located in the south-western tip of the country, is famous for its gorgeous warm turquoise waters. Although the pool itself is man-made, the minerals in the water are all natural and reputed to have healing powers.
I was amazed by the size of the pool – I’ve been to hot springs in New Zealand and overseas before, but never anything on this scale! Even though it was busy, there was still loads of space. We tried a few different spots before settling in one of the slightly warmer areas with seats to rest on – bliss!
There’s even a bar (pictured above) and the Blue Lagoon has a fairly ingenious wristband system so that you don’t have to worry about juggling cash. We bought a package that meant we had a towel, locker, robe, algae mask and a drink all included. There are also tubs of silica set around the outside to use as a free face mask – we slathered our faces in the white gloop for 10 minutes and my skin really did feel smoother afterwards.
Squeaky clean and super youthful faces after the silica and algae?!
We spent a couple of hours in the Lagoon and that was plenty for us, but you can spend all day there with treatments, saunas, water massages and loads more! I was quite happy just to have had a lovely soak in the warm. It was quite surreal with the mist swirling around us, and the one place in Iceland that rain was absolutely not a problem for us!
Because it’s quite close to the main international airport, there are a few transport packages to and from the airport that include a stop at the Lagoon. The timing didn’t work for us, so we just got return bus tickets from Reykjavik with Greyline again, which was easy too. A fabulously relaxing and pampering way to spend an afternoon!
For more information on the Blue Lagoon, click here
Are you a fan of hot springs? Where’s your favourite? Mine are Hamner Springs in the South Island of New Zealand… magic!
