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Iceland Stopover (3 days) on the way to Portugal, Sept/Oct 2023

ICELAND
Iceland is so amazing and wondrous with all its glaciers, volcanoes and rolling seas. The land felt alive. Everywhere we explored showed me and my tour mates just how volatile a place Iceland is and can be. As it turned out, my flight into Keflavik and onward to Seattle had to be cancelled due to extreme weather. I can only guess that it was because of high winds on the ground at the airport. That’s Iceland - always a possibility that there will be a weather event that affects your travel plans. The rebooking by IcelandAir (Lufthansa from Frankfurt then British Airways from London), worked out just fine and I arrived in Seattle almost an hour earlier than my former schedule.

Accommodations:
Center Hotels Plaza, Aoalstraeti in Reykjavik - best things about the hotel is that the location is central and the buffet breakfast was very good with choices of full English to yogurt, cereal, fresh bread to slice, fruit to take, etc. The room was just so-so, bed was lumpy

Meals that stood out:
Lovely first meal in Iceland at Reykjavik Rost of a cappuccino and skyr, which was delicious and came with a harbor view. It’s a very comfy and warm place to have coffee and relax.

Íslenski Barinn in Reykjavik. I had the fish of the day of Arctic Char grilled perfectly. The meal was so good, I tried another night after my tour and the restaurant was way too busy. I wanted to have their “lobster hotdog”. It’s really like what you would see in Maine as a lobster roll. Ugh! My mouth is watering right now.

BTW, I didn’t try the Icelandic hotdog on this visit and wonder what the big deal is. There were hotdog stands around Reykjavik but I never stopped by. But I had several quick meals at Icelandic Street Food - their specialty is soup in a bread bowl. The Fisherman’s Favorite, which is mashed potatoes and cod with onions served with brown rye bread was Yummy and just what I needed before a good nights rest.

What I Did:

Explored Rejkavik after dropping off bags at hotel (9/29). I walked along the harbor enjoying a beautiful sunny morning, popping into a cafe for a cappuccino and skyr (type of yogurt) with delicious blueberries. Stopped into the Maritime Museum and wondered at how hard the fisherman’s life must be. There were nice interactive exhibits on navigation and equipment that has evolved over the centuries. There are many walls highlighting every fish you would ever imagine. After the museum, I enjoyed a very delicious fish soup at Saegreifinn, then I met up with Asta of the “free” historical City Walk. Asta showed our group (about 20 people) many of the highlights of the city including the pedestrian only rainbow street that leads up to the beautiful Lutheran church on the hill. We were only able to enjoy the outside of this gorgeous church due to a memorial service being performed at the time.

Reykjavik Excursions South Coast Tour (9/30): Eyjafjallajökull (glacier) Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss and Black sand beach stop. Regina, our guide for the day, knew all about the glacier and explained how the land is constantly changing on this very active volcanic island. She took the time to take our photos at the glacier-the wind there was epoch and it was difficult to stand still for a photo. Regina, was smart about placing the waterfall stop on the way back to Reykjavik so that we could dry off in the van after going behind the waterfall. What a fun time we all had behind the waterfall - quite a unique experience for me and I’m so glad I added my rain pants before going.

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Reykjavik Excursions Golden Circle Tour (10/1): Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss, and Fontana Springs with bread baking. Our guide pointed out where Bobby Fischer is buried and the volcano that blew back in 2010 along with all of the little houses built into the rocky hillsides. We arrived in the beautiful Thingvellir park enjoying a nice little walk up to where Parliament used to meet. I was really impressed by the beauty of the hillsides with a pallet of magenta and burnt orange hues. Reminded me a bit of the heather in Scotland. And then, wow oh wow, the geysers and hot pools were amazing and Gulfoss. I marveled at the power of the earth and the volatility of the ground I was standing on. Later, when the young lady at Fontana showed our group how the rye bread is baked in the earth, I could appreciate the way the Icelandic people adopt to their environment. Fontana hot springs and spa was a great way to cap off a truly wonderful tour of the Golden Circle. I’m sure there is much more to see and it will just have to wait till another stop in Iceland.

VERY early departure from Reykjavik Bus Stop #1 for the FlyBus to the airport (10/2): I have to say, it is really best to do an Iceland stopover on the way back to America and not do the reverse like I did. For some reason, I didn’t heed the often suggested advice from Forum members to avoid this early departure. It was a 4:00am departure from Reykjavik. However, I had a wonderful engaging conversation with a handsome man from Glasgow, Scotland during the 45 minute ride to the airport. Almost made up for the early hour. Now off to lovely Portugal……..

See my Portugal TR listed separately

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Thanks for posting. We recently booked airfare with a 3 night stop in Iceland on our way home from England next May. I'm becoming more excited about it than the rest of the trip!

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We are pretty much addicted to Iceland, lol! We head back in February for our 6th trip, and there will be more. Your report is making me antsy to get back there!

Our first trip there was a stopover on our way to Denmark. That worked well for us, and we are doing a stopover again on our way over in February. For us it is not a big deal which direction.

I love the Center Hotels. They are scattered around downtown and have great breakfasts. Sorry about your bed though. FWIW, our stays have had good mattresses.

Islenski Barinn is so good, and Arctic Char has become a staple in our house now. Whole Foods in Lynnwood gets it twice a year, and you can ask them to call you when they get it in.

I miss the skyr. The stuff we get here is in name only:( Love the hot dogs!

On our upcoming trip we too have an early morning departure, so opted for the Aurora Hotel right next to the airport for that night before so we can walk over, although I am sure we will still look sleep deprived;)

Saegreifinn is such a great little place. We have done the walking tour on two of our trips and really enjoy it.

So glad you had enough time to get out and see the the south coast!

Like I said, your report is making me really miss it and we just got back in August and go again soon. Never enough time;)

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2747 posts

Nice report! I also stayed at that hotel but didn't have a terrible mattress. Loved the very hot showers with the scent of sulfur from the geothermal waters. If you do another stop over, I recommend the Your Friend in Reykjavik food tour. You get to try the hot dog (which is actually delicious) and many other treats. I think we did have a stop at Íslenski Barinn too.

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Andrea-good you have the Iceland stopover on your return to Ontario. You’ll love it. I suggest packing a good wind/rain jacket along with a light puffy coat AND rain pants.

mikliz-Oh, I have read many of your suggestions and reports of Iceland often and loved all the tips you shared. Thanks for the tip about Whole Foods arctic char. I’ll inquire at ours here in W.Seattle.

CL- thanks for the food tour tip. I might just do that

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2667 posts

Linda--That made me think, I need to call and ask as our supply in the freezer is getting low. Did you buy any of the salts there? I use them all the time and they are perfect on the arctic char. We did a food tour on one trip, and will be doing it again on our upcoming on. Right now we are anxiously watching the new volcanic activity!

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1422 posts

Yes, I did return with two small jars of salt. Mine is a flaked salt, the other I gave to my sister.