for the love of nums
Iceland has been on my travel bucket list for years, but John hasn’t ever been on board, so I never pursued it. But in fall 2018, a girlfriend and I decided we were going to make this shared dream a reality. We took the plunge and booked our hotel and airfare just three short months before we were set to leave. We’d be spending the last week of January 2019 in Iceland, and I could not have been more pumped.
I immediately began researching the local food (priorities), which led me to a slew of articles detailing local specialties like fermented shark, horse steaks and ram’s testicles. Still, I was undeterred. I studied the menus of pretty much every restaurant in Reykjavik online, and by the time I set foot on Icelandic soil, I had a long list of spots I wanted to try. We also managed to squeeze in a few non-food-related activities too – you know, between meals.
BLUE LAGOON
We landed in Reykjavik around 9am, and the first thing we did upon setting out from the airport was hit up the Blue Lagoon. Some people say it’s a tourist trap, and I knew from research that were a bunch of other less well known hot springs throughout Iceland, but since it was smack dab in the middle of winter, I wasn’t exactly looking to rent a car to scour those icy, snow-covered roads in search of obscure springs with no heated bathhouse to duck into. Plus, who goes to Iceland and doesn’t visit the Blue Lagoon?? And I’m SO glad we did! We arrived just as it opened, so there weren’t too many people there yet, and since the sun doesn’t come up until about 11am that time of year, we got to watch the sunrise from the comfort of the warm spring water. It was about 28 degrees outside, snow showers imminent, the sky lightening slowly as the sun ascended, peeking through the arctic haze.
How often do you get to experience things like this?! It was a moment of complete and utter awe and gratitude that I will never, ever forget. I will always remember exactly how I felt as I stood in that lagoon staring out into the sky. I cannot think of a better way to kick off an Icelandic adventure, so I’m beyond glad that we opted to make the Blue Lagoon our first stop. Aside from being a magical excursion, it’s on the way to downtown Reykjavik from the airport, so the timing just made sense too. We opted for the $79 package, which included entry to the lagoon, plus two mud facial masks, plus use of a bathrobe and souvenir Blue Lagoon flip flops we could take home with us. We also had access to a locker room with showers where we showered off after the lagoon, before heading on to the hotel.
ALDA HOTEL
We were transferred from the lagoon straight to our hotel…in the middle of a snowstorm. Which I loved. It felt super Icelandic. The Alda Hotel was adorable and centrally located, right on the main thoroughfare of Laugavegur in the heart of Reykjavik. We walked pretty much everywhere we needed to go – restaurants, shops, the Icelandic Phallological Museum. You know, the important places. There was also a restaurant inside, so if we were ever too tired to venture out for dinner, we could just eat there, which we did one night. Their free breakfast buffet each morning was perfect too. I’d always bring down my reusable water bottle and fill it with water from the pitcher to sip on throughout the morning.
How flippin’ cute is this street?!
BAEJARINS BEZTU PYLSUR
As I mentioned, I researched Iceland’s cuisine extensively before pulling the trigger on the trip. One thing that kept coming up in my gastronomic studies was the traditional Icelandic hot dog. I had no clue this was even a thing, but now that I’ve eaten my fair share, I thank the Lord above that it is. You’ll find them all over Iceland, but there’s one joint in particular that boasts the best dog in Reykjavik: Baejarins Beztu Pylsur.
A tiny, unassuming stand on a comparatively quiet street in downtown Reykjavik, you’ll most likely miss it if you’re not keeping your eyes vigilantly peeled. Order it with allllll the toppings; trust me. This means your dog, comprised mostly of local, Icelandic lamb, along with a little local pork and beef, will be nestled in a warm, steamed bun with raw white onions and crispy fried onions, and topped with ketchup, a sweet brown mustard (which they call pylsusinnep), and Iceland’s version of remoulade, a sauce made with mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs.
I dragged my friend alllllll over the snow-slicked streets of Reykjavik in search of this revered hot dog, and let me tell you, while she was initially skeptical, she ultimately admitted it was well worth the icy trek.
GRILLMARKADURINN
This is the first reservation I made. It came highly recommended in all the reviews I read, but once I got a load of the menu, I was sold. They cook their meats on a coal-fired grill, so everything is crisp and smoky on the outside, but juicy and tender on the inside. To start, we shared a trio of little sliders, made from puffin, whale and reindeer, respectively. For dinner, I had the Grilled Mountain Char, and for dessert, we shared the Grillmarket Chocolate. Even their cocktail list was phenomenal. I would never have thought of some of the combos they came up with, but they worked beautifully!
REYKJAVIK FOOD WALK
This was SO fun. It was a walking tour, so it was a good chance to get to know the city better – both the layout and the history. Our tour guide was fantastic, showing us the sights, giving us recommendations for things to do and places to eat. She told us all about Icelandic culture, including my personal favorite story about an app they use to prevent accidental incest. Yes, incest.
You see, Iceland is a pretty small country with a population of just over 300,000, and the bulk of those people live in Reykjavik. Given that there’s not much immigration, it can be a challenge to find a love interest to whom you’re not somehow related. And since surnames are assigned differently there (Rather than John Smith’s son taking the last name Smith, his surname would actually be Johnsson – aka John’s son, while John Smith’s daughter would have a completely different last name – Johnsdóttir, aka John’s daughter), it’s made even more difficult to know for certain whether or not that Viking hottie at the local bar is your second cousin.
That’s where the anti-incest app comes in, tying into an online database called the Book of Icelanders that was developed in 1997 and contains genealogical information for 95% of the Icelandic population dating all the way back to 1703. So you meet someone, you think they’re cute, you wanna take it to the next level. First thing’s first – you each pull up your app and bump phones. Green light: you’re related distantly enough for it to be acceptable. Red light: that hottie’s a no-go.
But I digress. In between exploring the streets and squares of Reykjavik, we made stops at a local pub for beer and Icelandic lamb stew; at a little market for charcuterie, including local cured meats (like horse and beef) and local cheeses; at a cafe for their famous rye bread ice cream, which sounds weird, but tastes fantastic; at a suuuuper cozy restaurant for some local fish specialties; at my beloved hot dog stand for my third loaded Icelandic hot dog of the trip; and finally at a restaurant called Apotek for dessert.
My absolute favorites from the tour, which you should make it a point to visit even if you don’t do the tour:
Cafe Loki:
Rye bread ice cream
Plokkfiskur (mashed fish)
Messinn:
Arctic Char with honey and almonds
Icelandic rye bread with butter
I loved all the local food so much that one of the souvenirs I brought home for myself was an Icelandic cookbook (the English version, of course).
SOLHEIMAJOKULL GLACIER HIKE
Add this to the list of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. As far as hikes go, I’ve done my fair share. I’ve always loved getting out in nature and exploring, and throughout the spring, summer and fall, you’ll find our little family of five hiking one of several favorite trails throughout NW Georgia and the metro Atlanta areas. But how often does one get the chance to strap into crampons (these badass looking spiky things that strap onto your boots to help keep you from slippin’ and slidin’ all over the ice) and march right up onto a glacier?!?!
I can’t even describe to you how strikingly beautiful and serene it was being on top of that magnificent glacier. Admittedly, the hike up to the base was a frigid one. Gusts of wind aren’t particularly welcome when you’re trekking through 30-degree temps in sometimes knee-deep snow. But once we got onto the glacier, the winds magically abated. No sounds. No people. Just peak after peak of pristine blue ice, each peppered with snow, and every last one extraordinary. I had a huge grin on my face the entire hike, tears welling up in my eyes knowing how fortunate I was to be experiencing something this miraculous. Whatever you do, do not miss this one.
So there you have it – all my favorites from one hell of an Icelandic adventure! Hopefully this helps you out if you’re planning your own trip to Iceland. I can’t wait to go back in summer sometime and experience it in an entirely different way. Let me know in the comments if there’s somewhere I missed that is a must-see!!