I know, I know, I’ve been slacking. Haven’t posted since November, ouch. WELL, since November a lot has gone down. One of the highlights to top off a rather, well, odd year, was to have a stopover on our way to Denver for the holidays, in the one and only Reykjavík! Iceland has been on my list, but I can’t consider it checked off because I still want to go back and rent a car and explore, BUT Reykjavík was a hoot.
I drew my initial tips from Ashlae (thank you, girl!). What a neat town Reykjavík is. It’s charming and as many know, damn expensive. Imagine, they have to import like everything. Those iconic sweaters are not cheap! I do recommend sucking it up and going if you have the chance though.
With 2 nights and just about 36 hours, we were able to see more than all of Reykjavík. However, depending on the time of year you go, you’ll get more or less daylight. In mid-December, the sun came up around 11am and went down about 3pm, which was a bit hard to get used to, but charming nonetheless as we didn’t plan on venturing out of the city this [short] trip. We didn’t bother exchanging any Icelandic Krona, because we were told by friends that literally everywhere takes card, which was true.
The city center is about a 45-minute bus ride from the airport, and super easy to figure out and book (we went with FlyBus). Downtown almost reminded me of a mix between what I would assume to be a Nordic style and a mountain town: low colorful buildings with shops up and down the main drag with adorable signs hanging out the front. If you stroll along the street called Skólavörðustígur (good luck pronouncing that one), you’ll also get a rad view of the Hallgrimskirkja in the distance (that sort of apocalypic looking church), which, fun fact, was only built in 1986! If you go to the top of it, you can soak in a view of the colorful roofs of the city (no reservations needed in advanced, you just show up and buy tickets in the gift shop that is weirdly inside the church, and then wait in line to go up the elevator). My favorite part about Reykjavík was just the aimless wandering and stopping in places to eat and drink, and you’ll notice quickly there aren’t that many chains besides Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts downtown (although on the bus ride back to the airport, I was super excited to see a drive-thru Taco Bell). The restaurant scene seemed just charming and cozy, with great decor and furniture and healthy meal options (very vegetarian and vegan friendly!). And yes we found local craft beer.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur // Hot dog stand
// Café & Restaurant
Geysir // Dreamy local shop where you’ll want to buy everything
Reykjavík Roasters // Coffee shop
// Bakery, great for lunch
// Craft beer & good vibes
Until next time, Iceland!
