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Iceland

Destinations, Europe

Golden Circle Iceland Tour

July 8, 2015 • By

Although my latest posts and photos imply I traveled to Iceland for the food and not the scenery, the next few items will explore the rich beauty of this great country. The texture of the tundra landscape, the rock formations, the rivulets and ridges, the calderas, glaciers, lakes and mountains, and the spectrum of color are a photographer’s dream and a tourist’s wonder. It’s the reason one million foreigners sought a vacation in Iceland in 2014.

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Þingvallavatn

The Golden Circle, a popular side trip from Reykjavik on most itineraries, loops along the Reykjavik Peninsula and into Central Iceland. It’s a path ripe with natural beauty, history and hidden treasures. My incredible and very knowledgeable guide Jón taught me many things about the rivers, lakes and glaciers, but nature often speaks for itself.

We wound our car through lava fields, pockets of fertile grass with clusters of purple Alaskan lupine flowers, farms flecked with sheep and horses grazing, to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. If I recall, it was formed some time ago by the simultaneous eruption of two volcanoes close to each other.

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Þingvallavatn the sky meets the lake

Þingvallavatn may be the most extraordinary lake I have ever seen in my life. A midnight blue color, it is surrounded by lush Iceland vegetation and towering mountains (some still capped with snow). That day, the surface remained still and peaceful in spite of the wind. The clouds met the water, as if a mirror had been placed over the lake to create identical images of the sky and land. Mesmerized by the scene, I struggled to differentiate between the lake and the clouds. It was a visual moment I hope to hold in my mind for a very long time.

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Original spot of settlers convening parliament

After that idyllic moment, it was hard to appreciate the congested next stop. But my guide, who knows how to always take the road less traveled, worked some magic and we spent time sorting out the exact placement of the first Althingi or Parliament. Did it occur between the rock formations or out in the open with the blustery wind? We don’t know for sure, but after experiencing the wind, I venture to guess that the Vikings were no dummies and gathered in a nearby ravine. Parliament convened at Þingvellir in 930 and remained until 1798. It now meets in downtown Reykjavik. It is the longest-standing parliamentary institution in the world.

Þingvellir lies in a rift valley at the top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It’s an area with lots of earthquakes and volcanoes as a result of the Eurasian and North-American plates breaking apart. After walking through a gorge, pretending I stood where the Vikings once assembled and formed the beginnings of Iceland, I felt small and unprotected, and, for another deep moment, I appreciated the challenges of living on this island of volcanic rock, black sand and unpredictability.

“The world is small here,” said my guide Jón.

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Gullfoss, Golden Falls, Golden Circle

Next, we visited Gullfoss, or “Golden Falls,” because at the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold. The water moves with serious power along a river and then dips once and then again like stairs into a gorgeous rush of activity, creating the falls.

There is a neat tale behind the history of Gullfoss. In the mid 1900s, a woman by the name of Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson, the owner of the falls, threatened to throw herself over the water if it was sold to generate electricity. It wasn’t, and today, the landscape remains for locals and tourists alike to admire.

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Strokkur (Geyser) Golden Circle

We also visited Strokkur, meaning “churn”, a geyser near the Hvítá River. Having never seen land-based water eruption, I thoroughly appreciated the enormous magnitude and pure adrenaline brought on from the water exploding some 40 meters (131 feet) into the sky every 5-6 minutes. Billows of “smoke” (steam) from the many geothermal pools in the area blanketed the landscape. Imagine a setting with mini bonfires but instead of wood creating a choaking smoke, it’s boiling, bubbling water creating steam sequences.

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Geothermal pools

The other highlight (note: the entire drive itself is without question a perfect day) is Kerið, or, as my guide Jon explained, “the place where Superman was born.” It’s a huge crater lake carved out of the land with deep reddish brown walls hugging and capturing the rainwater. It’s worth a quick photograph and another sign of nature’s powerful presence.

Along the way, Jón and I talked shrimp egg salad sandwiches (local specialty), volcanoes, Vikings, Icelandic history, photography and life. He tested me on the differences between calderas and craters and ridges, riffs and canyons. I failed most of the time but I really tried. Iceland’s topography is a geologist’s study for life.

I learned about outlaws being sent out to the wild for their sentences and how north winds mean it’s going to be a very cold and windy day. Iceland’s weather is unpredictable–Mount Hekla-fickle–and, people, if you listen, will always throw you curve balls.

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Alaskan Lupine Flowers


Destinations, Europe

Seeing and Eating my way through Reykjavik (more eating)

July 6, 2015 • By

When I packed my Lululemon yoga pants for the trip, I anticipated wearing them on the hiking excursions I would be taking but since I am solo and have been partaking in private and group tours, they are currently being utilized for the expandable ahem elastic waistband needed after a absolutely delicious meal in Reykjavik.

No one told me I would encounter such beauty, such color, and such lingering impressions of the FOOD in Iceland. There wasn’t one guidebook or blog that suggested I would need to apply to Weight Watchers or Atkins upon my re-entry into the United States. Enough about my problems, let me share with you how I have been eating and seeing my way through Iceland.

Editor’s Advice: Don’t shy away from local food such as whale, puffin and lamb soup.  To experience a foreign land is one thing; to get to know it through its food is quite another.

Enjoy Fredrik 5, Laugavegi for a surprise tasting menu with wine pairings. My three-course overindulgence included an Icelandic favorite of dried codfish, skyr (similar to thick yogurt) accompanied by fresh warm kale and sun-dried tomato bread, a fish serving with cod and lobster and finally lamb and a side of shepherd’s pie. My dessert consisted of edible flowers with a chocolate sensation to cure any sugar craving.

For a quickie informal lunch don’t miss Sea Barron at the old harbor, Geirsgata 8. Taste any of the skewers of whale, salmon, shrimp and scallops but definitely don’t miss their famous lobster soup a salty, wonder of warmth to fill your cravings.

Yearning for a hipster scene? Look no further than Snaps, Þórsgata 1. My friends spotted Björk here in November. I was not so lucky but on July 4 I did meet a fellow American avoiding life for a while, which is always fun. Savor the mussels and find a soup spoon to enjoy the sauce. Slurp away because you cannot waste one bite. Try the lemon tart and select a local beer like Einstok Pale Ale to quench your thirst. The food is delicious and the atmosphere makes you feel like you tried a “cool” place.

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Trying the Mussels

 

Dinner with a view you ask? Then my answer is Kopar, Geirsgötu 3.  Order the tasting menu or do it yourself with fancy seafood, salads and oooohhh the bread and butter.  I recommend the cod and cheese-laden potatoes and don’t stick your nose up at the horse sampling.  It’s worth a taste–a few bites at least. In texture, it’s like rare tuna and the flavor is fine but I did possibly imagine an after taste and washed it down with a sauvignon blanc just in case.  f you have room for dessert, I suggest the caramel heaven sampler, my server’s favorite and mine too.

For a quickie, go once, twice, maybe even three times to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, Austurströnd 3.  My dislike of onions prevented me from the sampling the works but I ordered up the rest of the fixings, which includes mustard and a special sauce. Who needs pork or beef when you can have a lamb dog? It’s the only way to go in Iceland.

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Lamb Hot Dogs

For real fish and chips, I ventured into Fish Restaurant Reykjavik, Ingolfsstraeti 8, & Skolavoroustig 23. It’s a bit more of a do it yourself but the fish was fresh and after a few hours pounding the streets of Reykjavik, it’s worth a quick stop.

Visit Old Iceland Restaurant, Laugavegur 72 for a quaint surprise. I happened upon this place as it looked inviting and an escape from the rain. In need of some veggies, I ordered the salad with mixed greens and Camembert cheese and the special “ling” fish of the day. Wow! The fish was cooked to perfection and the sun dried tomato and pesto dashes of flavor made this one of my favorite meals in Reykjavik. It was so good I shared the bottle of wine I ordered with my neighbors from the UK and then ordered “mom’s rhubarb cake,” which is nothing like my mother has ever baked out of a box or by scratch. It was more like a fresh bar of savory flavor  and granola oats with real whipped cream. Back to the Spandex.

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Mouthwatering I could have had a second

Go hungry! For my last night in Reykjavik, I followed my friend’s recommendation to try Grill Market.  You can follow the tasting menu or order off the menu.  As a solo diner, I opted for two appetizers the Minke Whale Steak, Puffin (local bird) and Lobster mini burgers, followed by lamb skewers and a main course of cod.  Lastly, I convinced myself since it was my last night and I must go out with a bang (or sick to my stomach) and order dessert. My server persuaded me to try the chocolate lovers ecstasy made with mascarpone sabayone, hot caramel sauce, coffee ice cream, rice crispies, and whip cream.  Indeed, it’s now on my top five list of sweet treats, a very coveted and most caloric specific list.

It’s possible the Red Cross is based in Iceland not for the natural disasters like the earthquakes and volcanoes but to rescue me from eating.  I noticed a freighter coming into port today.

For those needing a cafe kick, I highly recommend Reykjavik Roasters Kárastígur 1 to stay or to go and Cafe Paris, Austurstræti 14 for the leisurely coffee or tea drinker.

Need some 80s music and a lively environment, try English pub on a Friday or Saturday and for a special treat. Check out what’s happening at the Harpa daily.

Top 10 to see in Reykjavik

  • Learn a thing or two at a museum: The National Gallery of Iceland for art, the Maritime Museum for a history lesson on fishing and the sea or the Sagas Museum to hear “stories” of Iceland’s settlers and the National Museum of Iceland for an in depth look at the past
  • Take the On the Bus Off the Bus for a quick lay of the land
  • Walk the old and new port. See the Sun Voyager and Reykjavik’s modern buildings mixed with its old. Wander the downtown streets checking out the Parliament Building, City Hall and the Culture House

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  • Visit Perlan for the panoramic views
  • Shop Laugavegur Street and take home a Nordic sweater, hat or blanket.  Do I really need a blue and white gorgeous Nordic blanket for $165—Maybe?  Yes, I think I do
Main Shopping Street

Main Shopping Street

  • Eat Ice Cream – Icelanders venture out in the cold dark of night for their favorite.  Go for the soft serve it’s not like Mr. Softee at all.  It has flavor and substance
  • Visit Hallgrimskirkja, a Lutheran Church and check out its tower for the view
  • Buy a treasure at the Flea Market (only on weekends)
  • Meet the locals and have a conversation – they are kind and generous and will giggle at your attempts to go unnoticed
  • Go whale watching if that is your thing and then write a letter and ask them to stop killing the whales when you return to your country then definitely try Minke Whale in the restaurants
  • Just one more….swim in a geothermal pool