Q: "Why the hell would you go to Iceland in the winter time?"
A: Cheap flights and the dream of seeing the Northern Lights (which did not happen....sigh)
Q: "Wasn't it really cold?!"
A: Milwaukee was colder. And I look adorable with hat hair anyway.
Q: "Did you eat anything weird?"
A: An excessive amount of hotdogs. Seriously. Icelandic hotdogs. They're kinda a big deal. Like, worth flying 2,900 miles to try. And they're pretty damn delicious (and cheap to boot! Which compared to the rest of the potential cuisine in Iceland, is a financial godsend)
Wiki:"The steamed sausages (lamb-based, with pork and beef) are served in a bun with ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, crisp fried onion and raw onion. They are all ordered together with the phrase "eina með öllu" (English: "one with everything")
I also ate a lot of fish. Cause...you know......it's an island and all.
Fish Stew! Looks gross - tastes better!
That little dish with the flag in it? That's fermented shark! Why fermented? Cause Vikings are weird and they needed to find a way to eat something that otherwise could be poisonous if fresh.
It smelled horrible. Straight up ammonia. Can't think of what ammonia smells like? Cat piss and hair salon! Happy to report - didn't taste nearly as bad as it smelled! (I still prefer the hot dogs though)
Anyways! Ta-da! I went to Iceland! It was absolutely lovely (even in chilly and rainy weather). Most of my time was spent in the capital of Reykjavik, but I did dabble outside city limits occasionally. Reykjavik is tiny, adorable, and charming. It's population is under 120,000 (Milwaukee has roughly 600,000 for compare). The worst thing about Reykjavik is that I did not see Bjork (I think she lives in New York, anyway. It was a long shot.)
Elves are real! And I recommend googling "Icelandic Yule Lads" as they are so much more fun that Santa. (though they might swipe your sausages!)
Street art is on fire around the city!
Ég tala ekki íslensku.... which is okay, because everyone speaks English, too. I got mistaken for a local once! Probably because I was finally among all my pasty white worldy comrades. #palepeopleproblems
Dating is hard, no matter who you are.
We've all be in those relationships...amirite?
From afar, I saw this very boob/nipple like structure and thought, "What's in that little shack on that land boob?"
Dried sheep heads. That's what's in that shack. As one would expect.....
Worth the hike up to see.......(?)
Splurging on a $10 beer in order to listen to some live music! (Fun Fact: Beer was outlawed in Iceland until 1989!)
I call this "Viking Darth Vader"
Solfar - the "Sun Voyager". Icelanders are quick to point out that this is NOT a viking ship, but is in fact a dream boat and ode to the sun (sure looks like a viking ship to me...)
Getting some Bathroom decor ideas at the Babalu cafe.
Parliament
Take time to ice skate and listen to Michael Buble (it's universal, don't ya know!) at Ingólfstorg Square
All the colorful buildings help perk up the winter blues.
Feeling Foxy!
I spent $2 to play pinball here only to realize that I am actually pretty rotten at pinball.
I met this international hottie (See how I make him look tan by comparison!)
Coffee.....kaffi...coffee.....kaffi....coffee.....
50 shades! Maybe more than that actually as while I was there, the average day (where the sun shined) lasted roughly only 3.5-4 hours.
Tyrkis Peber flavored ice cream! Which is like licorice flavor! Icelanders are nuts about their licorice.
Sometimes you get beer at happy hour and then it's only $7!
The Harpa! A concert and event hall that's pretty. It's supposed to channel fish scales and the northern lights.
Inside the Harpa!
Even cemeteries get Christmas lights!
View of the Hallgrímskirkja (It's so intuitive to pronounce, no?) It's the largest church in Iceland!
Oooh Aaaah
You can go up the Hallgrímskirkja (can you pronounce it yet?) and get this lovely shot of the whole city!
And of course a selfie - cause Reyjavik ain't the only cute thing to see (:P)
One trip out of the city brought me on the "Golden Circle" tour. The circle refers to a popular tourist route in southern Iceland,
The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur (aka - where by geysirs at?!)
First though - look at the Icelandic horses! So small! So Cute! So not giving a shit that I wanted a picture with them!
Þingvellir National Park:
This wall of rock was used in filming Game of Thrones. Gives 'North of the wall' some perspective.
Gullfoss waterfall:
Haukadalur:
"Spoooosh"
That's a mighty fine steaming hole!
Meeting hot Icelandic men left and right! Damn, I got it going on.
One more of Iceland's very famous claims to fame is the Blue Lagoon! Iceland is a hotbed (haha - get it!) for geothermal activity which means, if you don't mind the occasional volcano erupting next door (that's what insurance is for), there are some wonderful hot springs to sit in. And man, oh man! do those natural hot tubs feel really nice in cold weather! There are many hot springs around, but the Blue Lagoon is the swanky one that gets loads of attention. For comparison, I also went to a little local swim hole. Much cheaper - but no booze (always a trade off, no?)
Before entering the lagoon, it's mandatory to strip to birthday suit and shower. That's why they serve alcohol in the lagoon....so everyone can easily ignore the fact they just saw dozens of naked strangers.
Well, my friends, that'll about do it for this photo recap! Now go forth and have your own adventure! It's always worth it :D
