Well HEY there first post of 2013 :) I got back from my holiday a few days ago and have been slowly unpacking, tidying the flat, squeezing Dexter within an inch of his life and finally spending Christmas vouchers in the sales. Had an absolutely amazing time away, Iceland really is something else.
Without stating the absolute obvious, it was pretty chilly! Normally just below freezing point with only 4-5 hours of sunlight a day at this time of year. Was lovely getting all cosy and wrapped up though.
Hallgrimskirkja Church in Reykjavik. We gathered outside here on New Years Eve with hundreds of other people (lets just say the Icelandic people LOVE their fireworks, it was absolutely insane)
The Harbour. We stayed at Reykjavik Downtown Hostel which was just a few minutes walk from here.
The nightlife was brilliant, always buzzing but with such a cool, safe vibe to it. We drank white russians and listened to the retro juke box in Lebowski's a couple of nights. Also ended up bumping into Jonsi from Sigur Ros in a bar called B5! He was super friendly and posed for a picture. Very surreal :)
There is some really amazing street art all over the city. This was one of my favourites!
Would you believe that one of the most visited places to eat in Iceland is a hotdog stand? We went to see what all the fuss was about and we weren't disappointed. Also, we weren't total grubbers and had 2 hotdogs each... the extra in this picture belong to John's final surprise, Andrew and Olivia! :) They came to Iceland too and John didn't know until we were in the check in queue at the airport. He looked like he was going to faint when he turned around and saw them. I bloody felt like collapsing too as all the secrets and sneaking around was finally over ♥
Back to the very important hotdogs - here is John with his. Well chuffed!
Yay :) The lovely Olivia and Andy as I mentioned before. They were the most awesome company and we had an absolute ball together. Even when we were all so hungover on New Years Day that we just lay in bed eating crappy food and watching films. The picture above is in the Laundromat Cafe where we had breakfast and lunch on a couple of occasions.
Although food and drink in Iceland is kinda expensive, it was of a consistently high standard no matter where we went. The above was the dinner I had on our very last night, a Fish Gourmet at Grillmarkadurinn. Salted cod, salmon and monkfish. Out. Of. This. World.
The Icelandic didn't seem too crazy on their chocolate and cake, and the deserts menu was often small but always lovely. Chocolate brownie with strawberry salsa and caramelized lollypop. Again from Grillmarkadurinn. The interior design of the restaurant was beautiful and so atmospheric, with inspiration from volcanoes and other natural elements.
We had our New Years Eve dinner at The Steak House down by the harbour. My steak was almost jumping off the plate as I asked for it to be medium-rare, but it was a lot more pink than what I am used to in Scotland. Slightly out my comfort zone but still tasty though (hey hey to that large wine glass that may have helped to sway me)
Apart from awesome food, architecture and street art - I was also in awe of the cute and quirky shops in the city, especially the antique ones I stumbled across. I don't know what the film and tv industry is like in Iceland, but if I worked here I know I would have plenty of places to go and source retro props and furniture.
We also ventured a little further outside the city. Here we are at the Blue Lagoon, which is a geothermal spa with water temperatures that average 37–39 °C. This is a pretty strange feeling when the temperature outside is so cold, but it was absolutely fantastic.
I'd certainly tell people not to leave Iceland without experiencing this first! (p.s we are definitely not naked here)
We also went on a tour of the Golden Circle, which included seeing the active Geysir and Strokkur at Haukadalur Valley. Boom! The above is Strokkur, and errupts up to 30 metres every 5 minutes or so.
Crazy how a flat, bubbling pools can burst to such heights in a matter of seconds.
Gulfoss Waterfall
Thingvellir National Park
A very high ISO and slow shutter speed on a tripod, capturing what is actually the night sky. We stood in the pitch black for hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights but unfortunately they didn't appear. The weather conditions weren't right any other evening of the whole week we were there, so we didn't get to go hunting for them again. But maybe next time!
A final few favourites from Instagram (@hellorogue)
Me and my handsome boy.
An example of how cool and laid back the Icelandic people/businesses are :)
My typical day to day tourist attire. Hat, scarf and gloves (majorly necessary!) Doc Marten boots with thermal tights, Drop Dead Clothing parka, Brand Village satchel, and my Canon 1100D.
Olivia and I on New Years Eve! At night I normally changed over to my Motel fur coat (which was so cosy, but made me feel much more dressed up) I took some extra shoes including my Vans (always the holy grail) and Jeffery Campbell boots, but ended up not wearing either of them as the conditions were so cold and icy. But luckily my fur lined Doc's went with everything and kept my feet warm and dry even in the snow.
My new SLR did me very well for the trip, and I could have shared so many more from it but I think I have overloaded you all for now *You might have seen a few more if you follow me on twitter, flickr or tumblr) I made good use of my ipad too, as the Icelandic have wifi absolutely nailed. It was free and super fast absolutely everywhere! So although I didn't travel all that way to sit on facebook or instagram, it was really useful for googling locations and directions. Oh and face timing my friends and family when we were insanely drunk. All in all, a wonderful trip was had and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Iceland to anyone. I'd love to see more of the country one day, and perhaps in the summer where there are a lot of different things to do and more seasonal things to see. If you ever plan on visiting Reykjavik and want the names etc of places we visited then don't hesitate to drop me an email.
Well, that's one more place ticked off my bucket list. What's next up on yours?
Ayden x