Posts from the ‘Iceland’ Category
7 Things to know when preparing for your trip to Iceland
What probably seems like a very average view to an Icelander
1. Plan realistically
If you’re like us you don’t envision yourself getting a whole lot of chances to go to Iceland. We only got to go because we won a contest from SadCars. Although it is sometimes seen as a stopover on the way to European destinations most people who do that only spend a couple of nights in Reykjavik. (And that would be worth doing.) However, if you have say 10 days or more you can see many of the highlights of the country – but you can’t see them all. And we don’t even mean that in a “can’t see them all properly” snooty way of telling you to savor each place for days. We tell you that literally because you’ll stop a million times for pictures, a lot of times for sheep to cross the road and your guesthouse owner will not wait up late for you if you end up rolling into town at midnight.
Take the time to do some research on the highlights you want to see and carefully plot them all on Google Maps or some other similar tool that tells you distances and drive times. Then add 50% to the drive times due to the aforementioned stopping a lot and sheep! In the course of 10 days we had one day that was supposed to be 6 hours of driving and was closer to 12. It’s a beautiful country and you need to give it its due. If you’re a woman pretend you have a chance to look at George Clooney in person and you know you will probably never get the chance again. Do you take a quick glance and keep going or do you let that glance linger until someone asks George if he’d like to take out a restraining order against you? For Iceland the answer is: B- restraining order.
This man is a SARS Volunteer in Iceland. No there Missy, he won’t come rescue you, so don’t even try it!
2. Register your plans
No, we don’t mean set up a gift registry for people to buy you long underwear (although that isn’t the worst idea) but register with http://www.safetravel.is and then check in along the way using the 112 Iceland App. Like so many things in life (back to George Clooney) what makes Iceland so interesting and gorgeous is also what makes it dangerous and tempting. That mountain might be a great choice to climb or you may end up hanging on by your fingernails repenting your sins and waiting for the SARS (safety and rescue) volunteer to come save you. And they gladly will do it. They will do it with some of the most impressive skills and training you can conceive of and they will do it for free. The free part is important as they don’t want to deter people who need help from calling to get it. This is an amazing group of approximately 4,000 volunteers and they take immense pride in saving people from themselves (wonder if the U.S. Congress could benefit from a call to them?).
Cintamani clothing store window – they make a good point.
3. Bring or buy the right clothes.
Leave your cute stilettos and slinky LBDs at home. You’ll look silly in them even in the capital and you’ll end up dead in them anywhere else. This is a place for serious clothing that you can layer. And yes, it doesn’t always make you look good in pictures.
Proof that you may look quite puffy in photos although this is the type of clothing they loan you for serious adventures.
Bring waterproof (not water resistant) pants and shoes. Definitely plan on layering and have clothing that wicks away any wiffiness you may produce after a long day of activities.
If you decide to wait and buy some of your outdoor clothes when you get to Iceland two good Icelandic brands are Cintaman and 66North. Blonde came home with an impressive collection of each and made sure to get her VAT tax refund at the airport. (And was glad to have the clothing from Iceland on a recent trip to western Ireland.)
Blonde and Nola (replacement temporary Brunette with more pink than brown hair) with Bjarni Haukur Thorsson the author of the show and performer at the Harpa Theater.
4. Bring your sense of humor and try to subdue your modesty!
Icelanders are funny on purpose as well as unintentionally. On purpose they will often tease you in a very pleasant but somewhat sardonic manner. They get a good laugh out of themselves and their quirks. We saw a show one of our first nights in Reykjavik at the beautiful waterfront Harpa theater. It was titled “How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes“. Bjarni Haukur Thorsson gives you a fast-paced primer on “everything you need to know about being Icelandic….. You will learn how to walk, talk and behave like a regular Icelander. Additionally you will learn why eating sour sheep balls might save your life.”
The unintentional humor is things such as people cannot name their kids whatever they choose. No little Moon Units or Apples are running around Iceland! Iceland has the Mannanafnanefnd, Iceland’s “Personal Names Committee” that provides lists of acceptable names for boys and girls. Their reasoning for this law is:
“Rules for Icelandic personal names provide that names must:
- be able to have a genetive ending or have been adopted through custom in the Icelandic language,
- must be adaptable to the structure of the Icelandic language and spelling conventions and
- does not cause the bearer embarassment.
- Girls should be given a female name and boys should be given male names.
- No person can have more than three personal names. “
So no matter what she tells you, Bjork most likely isn’t her real name. There are also all sorts of rules around how, when and by whom the names must be bestowed.
What you do not want to encounter!
Another thing we had to stifle a few giggles about is the very serious belief in elves and trolls. One story (of many) we were told was of construction crews building a golf course on the outskirts of Reykjavik and moving a rock believed to be the dwelling of elves. Bulldozers started failing and workers became victims of strange injuries, and so the chief engineer eventually issued a grovelling apology to the elves and vowed not to trouble them again. The event was made public by the media and the accidents stopped occurring and the golf course was completed on schedule. (We don’t fact check this stuff – you need to do some of the work around here!)
It doesn’t matter if you read any of these languages, you get the idea even if you’d rather not!
The modesty issue is around swimming, using hot tubs or any of the thermal lagoons. Prior to doing so one must shower in the nude with strangers (of the same gender at least) and in some cases with “shower police” making sure you’ve thoroughly scrubbed any of the bits that particularly concern them. Yes, you know what we’re saying here. All we can do is say get it over with as fast as you can and don’t make eye contact with anyone!
A completely lucky random photo-opp when we stopped to look at Jokulsarlon Lagoon.
5. Bring your camera and be ready to use it at all times
OK, don’t use it during a Shower Police episode but don’t even bother putting it in the backseat of your car. You will overuse every superlative in your vocabulary when you witness the scenery in Iceland. And it pops up absolutely everywhere and you need to be ready to capture the moment. Take a large capacity photo card and extra power chargers so you don’t end up with a dead iPhone or camera as you drive for more hours than you intended because you didn’t listen to us in Point #1.
Blonde and Nola at 2:00 a.m. in Iceland on June 13. OK, it’s a lousy selfie but notice we said 2:00 a.m., not p.m.
6. Know if it’s going to be dark or light
This probably should have been earlier in the planning section but it isn’t, it’s here. Before you schedule your trip look up and understand the temperatures, rain and lighting conditions you can expect. We went in June which was when the sun literally never sets. That was very freaky as we lost all sense of time and stopped for lunch at 3:30 and wondered why the little market in the middle of nowhere was closed at midnight and other dumb things. But it did give us a lot more time to see things and take pictures. It also made it important to sleep somewhere that either had blackout curtains on the windows or wear a good eye mask to keep out the light (or both).
Alternatively, if you go later in the year to see the Northern Lights, or just to test your endurance abilities, know that you could encounter as few as zero hours of light in a day. This site can help you figure it all out.
Akureyri IcelandAir Hotel where we stayed one night and enjoyed it despite a bizarre room layout.
7. Read reviews and make reservations for your lodging
Because so much of Iceland is very remote and the tourism season is basically two months in the summer there are not a lot of hotel chains. In fact the only one we noticed, and used, was IcelandAir Hotels. They were by far the closest to luxury that we experienced and they were not luxurious but they were nice. They were also expensive but even very modest lodging is in Iceland. If you’re on a very tight budget you may want to consider camping in which case you want to listen to someone other than us!
Mostly you will be in little guest houses in small villages. Go to Trip Advisor or Booking,com or Trivago or whoever you trust and read the reviews. See how current they are and assume all photos of the places have been photoshopped more than Britney Spears on one of her album covers.
Free wi-fi is available some places but not others so if that’s important to you check before reserving and then remember what your anger management coach taught you when you get there and it doesn’t work.
Also, just because you’re out in some deserted outpost in Iceland in a place that looks spotless, don’t forget to check for bedbugs! Nola had the presence of mind to check each place and in one guesthouse that looked very, very clean the beds were teeming with the horrid little buggers! In that case we had used Booking,com and called them and they were amazing and got us another place in the same small town and made sure we weren’t charged for the bad place. I have never gone into a hotel room without doing this check since and hope I’ll never forget!
Don’t let all of this advice convince you that if you don’t spend years planning you can’t enjoy Iceland. We put horrifyingly little planning into it because we had about a week to plan the whole 10 day trip and were both very busy with other things at the same time. And we had a wonderful time. Some of that was because we’re experienced, beautiful travelers (didn’t know if you read this far so slipped in the “beautiful” part to see) and Nola is one calm cookie who can problem solve like nobody’s business.
We had an amazing amount of fun and loved the country and its people. And we are now trying desperately to win another contest to go back and see what we missed the first time!
Capture the Color Photo Essay Contest
For a change we will try to leave the speaking (primarily) to the photographs:
White:
Whirling dervishes at a ceremony outside Cappadocia, Turkey
We were visiting Turkey but had no plan to see whirling dervishes. We thought they would just be cheesy shows put on for tourists. But our guide took us to an evening show at a caravanserai outside Cappadocia. There was nothing cheesy or fake in any way as we watched in fascination as these men spun about. It would have been a more mystical experience if Blonde hadn’t nearly decked a woman who refused to follow the rule to not use a flash to take pictures during the performance. Flashes could be dangerous to the men whirling about. But then maybe two arguing women could be too….
Green
Wish we remembered the music they played when the water was green – fairly certain it wasn’t “Jeremiah was a Bull Frog”.
When in Barcelona this past July we had an opportunity to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. The fountains were originally constructed in a major hurry (not easy to do in Spain) for the 1929 Exposition. In the summer there are several nightly shows done to recorded music and the water turns all kinds of colors. And it’s free, spectacular and was about two blocks from our hotel so we went twice!
Red
Zio Piro’s fireworks in the annual competition in Blanes, Spain
We were staying in Calella, had driven to Girona and the Costa Brava Tourism Director had lunch with us and mentioned that the annual fireworks competition was going on in Blanes. Even though Blanes was at least an hour and a half in the wrong direction and we avoid crowds we drove right into the crowds to see the show that didn’t get underway until 10:30 p.m. If you’re in the area in late July sometime then go but, unless you rarely see really good fireworks, save yourself some major (but well behaved crowds). We enjoyed the sights but not the drive home!
Blue
Jokulsarlon glacier, Iceland around 9:00 p.m. in June when the sun never fully sets.
Blonde was lucky enough to win a free trip from Sad Cars to Iceland in June. Nola, of NewTakeTravel was Blonde’s partner in crime and we were constantly amazed by the fabulous scenery (including the blue-eyed men) of Iceland. It’s a country truly unlike any other with a very distinctive look and culture and we fell in love with it.
Yellow
A Sally Lightfoot crab in the Galapagos Islands
These saltwater crabs hang out along the rocky coast of the Galapagos Islands and some of their best friends are the creepy, prehistoric looking marine iguanas. We don’t know if Sally has light feet because she can scamper quickly (which she can) or because she was on the crab version of Dancing with the Crustaceans but we liked her a lot!
In keeping with the contest rules I need to nominate five travel bloggers to also compete in the contest. They are:
Nola of http://www.newtaketravel.com
Cacinda Maloney of http://pointsandtravel.com
Brandon Elijah Scott of http://www.eyeandpen.com
Andrew Petcher of http://apetcher.wordpress.com
Pablo of http://wherespablo.com
May the best blonde win!
Places we’ve loved: Akureyri, Iceland
View approaching Akureyri, Iceland (Hint: It doesn’t suck.)
Blonde was fortunate enough to win a trip to Iceland courtesy of SadCars. Brunette has a highly uncooperative respiratory system that would clearly have gone on strike in the chilly climate of Iceland. Luckily we have a third “honorary” sister, “Pinky”. (OK “Pinky” refers to {some of} her hair color. You should respectfully think of her as Nola of NewTake Travel but we identify by hair color on this blog so she’ll just have to go by our rules.
The day Pinky and Blonde were driving to Akureyri we were making our way from our previous stop of Hvammstangi (easy for you to say). Pinky is appallingly well-organized and had done an impeccable job of routing our journey and predicting how long each day’s drive would take. In the world of logic (which has nothing to do with driving in Iceland) we had a 2 hour and 50 minute drive. This was our third driving day so we knew by now to take the predicted time and, at a minimum, double it. The scenery is so spectacular everywhere you look that if you don’t stop to take pictures every ten minutes you shouldn’t be driving at all because you obviously lack vision.
According to the official website for tourism in Akureyri : “Akureyri is in north-east Iceland, in one of the longest fjords in the country and is surrounded by mountains reaching 1000-1500 m. The Arctic Circle in only 60 km north of Akureyri but the climate is generally mild, with summer temperatures up to 25°C and winter temperatures in average around 0˚C. It is also the second largest urban area the capital, Reykjavík, with a population of roughly 18.000.” It’s also very pretty, friendly and has good food and a lot of fun activities in the area.
When we finally reached Akureyri we fairly easily found our hotel, the Icelandair Hotel Akureyri. The trip we won included a tent and a camping card. As two urban gals we at first thought we’d give it a try. After 6 minutes (max) of considering that we decided to book hotels for some nights and Pinky managed, in record time, to arrange a home exchange for our time in Reykjavik.
The two stays we had booked at Icelandair Hotels were going to be our high-end experiences. And they were, although this one had some odd characteristics. The primary one was that in our room with two single beds there was a shower at the end of one of the beds – basically a curtain and a drain and a tiled wall. Beside the other bed was a small room with a toilet and sink. Many giggles ensued over this. A fair bit of consternation was experienced as we tried to navigate the hotel’s poorly performing wi-fi that they charge to use. After enough complaints the nice, beleagured man at the front desk scrounged up a couple free passes and mollified us.
Lobby of IcelandAir Hotel in Akureyri – odd room configuration and annoying internet aside, it was a nice place and beat the hell out of a tent.
The next morning we were scheduled, as part of the contest winnings from SadCars, to go on a horseback ride at the seaside, family run Skjaldarvik farm. They have Icelandic horses (guess it would be odd if they had Tennessee Walking Horses). They also have very comforting guides, a fact much appreciated by Blonde whose last horseback ride had resulted in her being thrown and landing on her head on a tree stump. Getting out of that relatively unscathed (permanently painful pretzel neck was a small price to pay), but tempting fate twice didn’t seem to be very smart. But then, Blonde isn’t very smart and the person reassuring her that she could handle the horse ride was the 11-year-old daughter of the horse farm owners. Who wants to be scared to do what an 11-year-old does? Or at least wants to have other people know she’ scared?
11 year old daughter of Skjaldarvik horse farm’s owners
The farm is also an “Iceland Farm Holidays” property and as we bumbled through post horseride, searching for WCs, it looked very charming. They have a restaurant which is important because otherwise you would have to drive to town for food. If we pass this way again this place will definitely be on the “to stay” list.
But there wasn’t lunch at the restaurant that day so we headed back to town and had a very Icelandic lunch at the lovely Strikid restaurant. We were wusses and ate inside although it was a nice day. It was a tad breezy for us, so much for faking being rugged Icelanders (not that anyone was ever fooled anyway).
Blonde bravely ordered the Beef-Goose-Reindeer- Icelandic Cheddar burger. It was good, if a tad overdone. Perhaps reindeer carpaccio would be a better choice next time. Or maybe not.
Part of the menu at Strikid
Akureyri has quite a few other excellent restaurants. We also enjoyed a meal at Rub 23 and excellent pastries and coffee at the Bláa Kannan coffee house.
They didn’t rub us the wrong way. (Hey, they can’t all be good jokes!)
Bláa Kannan coffee house in Akureyri, Iceland – a great place to waste time and gain weight and use free wi-fi!
Akureyri also is a fairly hip city, as is most of urban Iceland. (That’s sort of an Icleand joke because there isn’t much of Iceland that can be seriously referred to as being “urban”.) This is just an example of some street art we happened upon in a skate park.
Back to the tourism site: “The city has a wide range of activities and interesting places e.g. museums, the world’s most northerly botanic garden, one of Iceland’s most popular swimming facilities (brrrr) , an 18-hole golf course, the best skiing area in the country and good hiking trails. It also has a free city bus“.
After an all too brief two day visit we left for our next stop, Egilsstadir. The good and bad news was that once again the beautiful scenery was, well, beautiful, but the time to drive was double what we expected. If you’re heading to Iceland (and you should be, it’s delightful) plan to double all of your estimates for driving times, the cost of food and the fun you’ll have. Oh, and don’t miss Akureyri!
Leaving Akureyri, Iceland
A few of the many reasons you should visit Iceland!
Standard men’s attire on a friendly local in Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Iceland’s capitol city is a very manageable size, hustle and bustle free without being a slacker, and so honest that even if two women were stupid enough to leave their car doors locked but the back gate to their SUV unlocked for hours, allowing anyone instant access to the contents of a medium-sized electronics store with a respectable selection of women’s clothing and makeup, those two reckless nitwits would most likely return to a car still in possession of all of its contents.
Reykjavik has a funky look and feel that are uniquely its own. Many of the fashions worn by locals are appalling in a fascinating way. It’s as if one of Iceland’s volcanoes spewed out clothing and whatever randomly landed on the citizens they then proudly wore. The women walk about blithely wearing horrifyingly patterned tights, several layers of wrinkled lopsided skirts, pants and tunics and architecturally implausible shoes. And the vast majority of them can carry it off! (But not all.)
Now we know where Rum Tum Tugger went after the musical Cats ended its run
The men often look as if they have just completed a brave and successful search and rescue mission against daunting odds. However, there is a definite subset which appears to follow ancient Viking hygiene standards. Try not to be seated downwind of them.
There is a thriving local music scene, just enough culture and art to be enjoyable but not burdensome and a casual and friendly attitude.
Wally, a frequent and very funny street performer in Reykjavik
Food
A tastebud-gasm of grilled redfish at Grillmarkaduri in Reykjavik
Reykjavik has a strong and well-deserved reputation for distinctive, fine cuisine (which costs distinctively high prices). Their chefs are also happy to present the basics done well.
If one of your basics is a goose, reindeer and beef burger you’re in the right place! Minke whale steak is available as is a large selection of fresh fish, lamb, lamb and more lamb and a smattering of respectable vegetarian options.
Coffee houses are plentiful, not Starbucks, and generally provide free wi-fi and a high tolerance for recharging your devices in outlets located in a variety of improbable locations. Blonde didn’t use one she saw was available and which would have required crawling between the legs of a man seated alone at a table but she only resisted because she was trying not to horrify Nola (too much more).
As friends traveling together it was also nice that in Iceland after you eat your meal, whether at a casual or posh place, when you are done you go to the register, give them your credit card and they charge you for the food you ate and then the other person for they food they ate. This is just how they do it, not a weird thing we requested but something that would be a great custom to spread globally. (It did annoy Blonde that Nola wasn’t stuck paying for half of Blonde’s wine consumption but it also probably added years to the life of Blonde’s liver.)
People
Adorable guide on the Myrdalsjökull icecap hike
Sample adorable Iceland child – 11 years old and helps guide horse rides!
We found Icelanders to be very pleasant, drily humorous, and helpful. This is an excellent way to ensure that you don’t get confused and think you’ve gone to Paris (as a random example). They are unpretentious, proud of their stories and history and truly believe that elves and trolls exist. Although they are diverse only in terms of blonde with blue eyes or brunette with blue eyes it seems unimaginable that they would be anything but wholly accepting of anyone else. They also are overall a very attractive lot and seem to be the only country on earth with well-behaved children.
Scenery
This thing went off so often it must still be, well let’s say, “young”.
Gullfoss waterfalls – don’t jump in!
Somewhere along a road in Iceland
Sample adorable town – Akureyri Iceland
Iceland has it all. There are spectacular sweeping ocean vistas, volcanos, glaciers, bizarre fields of lava rock, fjoirds, geysers, black sand beaches and thermal springs. Try to see as much of the country as you reasonably can.
Assume that if you’re driving you will stop a lot to take pictures and assume also that if you have a chance to fill your gas tank and empty your bladder you would be well advised to do both as it can be a long way between opportunities.
Language
Wouldn’t you like to say you worked here? Well, bad news, you couldn’t!
Teach yourself helpful ways to remember names. This one was “biscuit stung a brat”.
You most likely mispronounce the name of Iceland’s capitol city now and you will still do so after visiting, but at least when you get home your friends will think you’re saying it correctly. The town names, actually all Icelandic words, are essentially unpronounceable if you weren’t born in that country and for all we could tell maybe they were all pronouncing them wrong too!
But they essentially all speak English and speak it well even if they have problems with Vs. Vikings are “Wikings” and valleys are “walleys” so train your ear and suppress that giggle.
Range of activities
Glacier hiking
Becoming younger and more beautiful by the moment in the Blue Lagoon
Blonde won a contest or never would have been able to afford so many outings but they were sure a treat! We did a whale watch from Reykjavik, a seal watch, a horse ride overlooking the ocean, snorkeled in a glacier lake, took an ocean “safari”, hiked on a glacier and went to the Blue Lagoon.
Blonde and Nola ranked the glacier hike very highly as it was informative, made us appear sportier than we are and we had a handsome adorable guide who could have easily led us into the core of an erupting volcano just for the chance to have more time with him.
Blonde had long wanted to snorkel in a glacier lake and that was fabulous (and also involved an adorable guide). There was significant gear provided when needed and you need a reasonable degree of fitness and good health to do the hike and the snorkeling. It is also advisable to have your will current, your porno collection at home hidden off the premises and a certain comfort with the concept of “we all have to go sometime”.
Shopping
Hideous pants at Kolaportid fleamarket in Reykjavik (maybe they’re preparing for an influx of Russian tourists)
Blonde’s favorite new brand for her Sporty Spice attire – Cintamani store in Reykjavik
They have some excellent brands of outdoor clothing including Cintamani, and 66 North. The quality is top notch and although it isn’t manufactured in Iceland for cost reasons it’s designed there and perfect for the changeable weather.
There are also Icelandic sweaters galore – both Iceland made and imported. Go for the Iceland ones as they have much better quality wool but all of them seemed as if they would cause me to launch a fatal scratching attack on my body.
There are some lovely locally made crafts in various places – such as roadside rests (seriously) and in galleries. Remember that, depending on the country you live in, you can get the 15% VAT tax refunded which helps as prices are high.
Iceland is quirky in a good way, gorgeous, friendly and expensive so be sure you do your research on costs when planning your budget or just have the sense to win a contest as Blonde did!
Oh why not?
BlondeBrunetteTravel 