The Land of Fire and Ice. Iceland is in everyone’s bucket list for its natural wonders. I had been planning this trip for a long time. For this trip my home base was the capital city of Reykjavik.
The airport is 45 minutes outside the city located in Keflavik. There are shuttle services like Flybus and Airport Direct which take you to Reykjavik Bus Terminal also called BSI. The tickets cost 27 euros and can be booked online or purchased at the exit gates.
I had booked a room in Hostel B47 which was in a central location. Attractions like Hallgrímskirkja and Rainbow Street are within walking distance from the hostel.
Be prepared to face harsh weather conditions in December. It is recommended to have good grips in shoes as roads get very slippery.
The hostel walls are nicely decorated with characters from classic movies.
Reykjavik food walk- Iceland’s top-rated tour
One should never miss this tour in Reykjavik. Rated the best tour in Iceland, you get to taste some delicious food throughout this walk. The guide for the day takes you to six different restaurants to try Icelandic dishes. Our guide was Tanja, a cheerful host who took us on a taste ride. The tour costs 14310 ISK ~ 97 Euros. It is worth the money spent.
Our first stop was Fjallkonan, where everyone from the group introduced themselves and got to know each other a little. Our food for the day was Lamb & flatbread and Arctic charr & blini. The lamb is slow-cooked, shredded and garnished with pickled red onions and horseradish sauce. Arctic charr was grilled and topped with onions and cods.
Our second stop was the famous seafood restaurant in Reykjavik- Messinn. Messin in Icelandic means “The Mess deck” like on the fishing ships. They are known for cooking seafood dishes on pans. Our meal for the day was Arctic Charr and traditional Icelandic ”Plokkfiskur”. Charr was garnished with cherry tomatoes, almonds, honey and lemon lending it a sweet and sour dressing. Icelandic ”Plokkfiskur” or cod stew is served hot on a pan with a bowl of sweet rye bread. Rye bread is a speciality of Iceland.
The next stop was an Icelandic bar named Íslenski Barinn. This was the most crowded restaurant on the tour. People were waiting in long queues to get a seat. The restaurant offers unique seafood and meat dishes. Their speciality is the fermented Greenland shark. The menu was ÍSLENSK KJÖTSÚPA– traditional Icelandic meat soup and HÁKARL (fermented shark) with Brennivín. The food that made Gordon Ramsay vomit.
The flesh of the Greenland shark is poisonous because of its high urea content. Therefore, it is cured, fermented and hung in open air for 4-5 months. The shark is high in ammonia content and has a strong smell. The odor is much stronger than the taste and people might even gag the first time. It is often eaten with a shot of alcohol called Brennivin- a distilled beverage flavoured with caraway. The fermented shark is served in small cubes.
To feel the real punch, you need to chew the cube at least 10 times 😁.
After having some delicious and unique seafood experience, it was time for our last stop. It would be a shame not to end the tour with a dessert. We went to the most famous cafe in Reykjavik- Kaffi Loki. The dessert was none other than their speciality- Loki’s unique Rye bread ice cream.
As the name is super familiar to Marvel fans, loki is derived from Icelandic mythology. Tom Hiddleston did visit the cafe when he was shooting for Thor 2 in Iceland. The cafe is right across from the Hallgrimskirkja church.
Unfortunately, we were not able to visit Iceland’s famous hot dog stall- Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. But everyone was provided with a coupon to taste the hot dog for free.
The hot dog stall was made even more famous by the visit of Bill Clinton. One of the menus was named after him after he got the hotdog only with mustard. This was rated the best food shop spot in the world. One should try their hot dog with all the toppings.
After the food tour, I continued exploring the streets of Reykjavik. My first stop was Rainbow Street. It attracts people from all around the world how the street gets painted seven days for Pride Day and remains till the end of the year. The street directly leads to Reykjavik’s tallest building- Hallgrimskirkja church. The rainbow street in Reykjavík is a sign of joy and support for diversity. The initiative is organized by the city of Reykjavík in cooperation with Reykjavík Pride.
My last stop on the first day was the church itself. The church stands tall and has a distinctive curved spire and side wings. It resembles Iceland’s basalt columns. In front of the church is a statue of explorer Leif Erikson which predates the church.
The weather suddenly turned from calm to worse with strong gusts and heavy snow from nowhere. This is typical in Iceland- Expect the unexpected.
More Icelandic adventures to come…
Useful Links:
Reykjavik Food Tour
Hostel B47
Islenski Barinn
Kaffi Loki
Messinn
Fjalkonnan
