OT: Anyone here been to Iceland?

by DC Royal on Apr 2, 2009 10:05 AM EDT Comment 26 comments

Thanks to the global economic crisis, I'm round tripping to Reykjavik this evening for a far cheaper price than flying to Kansas City. I will do all the obvious touristy stuff there, like going to the Blue Lagoon, volcanic springs, horseback riding, whale watching, and the like. But I would really appreciate some less well known Iceland travel destinations from someone who has been before.

Also, any good restaurants or bars/pubs to recommend??

1 recs | Comment 26 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I haven't been there...

but I have seen the “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” Iceland episode. My advice? Don’t eat any fermented shark.

A friend of mine from law school went there a couple times. He said it was a really cheap trip from DC (must still be cheap, since you mentioned it). Oh, and he said there are a ton of hot blonde chicks there that love nothing more than to try to get American tourists to fall in love with them. Presumably so they can get married and get off the island. I would imagine that might be even more the case these days…you know, considering their entire economy (or banking system at least) has essentially collapsed and all.

So, here’s hoping you’re single. Otherwise, you apparently will need a lot of discipline or will get in a lot of trouble.

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

by Sweep_the_Leg on Apr 2, 2009 11:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There are certainly lots of beautiful girls.

But I only got mild moves put on me. Could be the natural aversion females feel to my very person.

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man...

we gotta work on your confidence.

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

by Sweep_the_Leg on Apr 2, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or get me some deodorant.

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

does anyone know how to say...

“Want to come back to my place? I live in my mother’s basement” in Icelandic?

by DarthYoshi on Apr 2, 2009 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even with the economic crisis, expect to pay a boatload for booze.

How long will you be there? If you can get to the northwest—Isafjordhur and land’s end and such—it’s quite beautiful. One of the easiest glacier hikes is Drangajokull, near Isafjordhur.

I also loved the deadlands in the middle: if you can rent a pretty sturdy car, driving it yourself is incredible, and they’ve upgraded the Kjolur route so you can do it with almost (almost!) any car. Akureyri isn’t much, but it’s okay as a final destination for the deadlands drive.

One of my greatest loves is Icelandic history: so doing some of the saga historic stuff in the west—mostly north of Reyk on the coast (eg Eirik the Red, and Laxardal), but also to the SE of Reyk for Njal’s saga—can be really interesting, if you like that. If you like political history at all, the Thingvellir is a MUST. It is not only one of the most important political history sites in Europe, it’s also geographically stunning.

In the far SE, there’s a bay where the icebergs dance and spin, near Hofn, but it’s quite a trek.

Although they are very touristy, the Gullfoss and Geysir sites are great, and easy to get to.

The area near Hekla (a volcano which for a while was thought to lead to Hell), especially to the south, near Njal’s saga country, is really really underrated, and has tons of horses, and lava flows that are covered in moss, and so forth. In fact, the drives all around Vik are really fantastic.

Near the island Heimaey in the south, there’s a brand new volcanic island, Surtsey, I think, that’s only twenty years old. It’s quite a trip, I hear.

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Obviously...

a more beneficial post than mine. Unless DC Royal would have considered sampling the fermented shark before he read my post.

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

by Sweep_the_Leg on Apr 2, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would recommend not trying

the fermented shark, or speeding. Icelandic traffic tickets are pretty steep, even with the depreciation. I think I’ve given them nearly a couple grand over time. Not a happy thought.

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember reading that Akureyi was supposed to be cool

is it a letdown?

by royalsreview on Apr 2, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's really nice.

Especially weather-wise: always warm, unlike Reyk, which is always nasty. It’s like the Riviera of the north.

It’s a very pretty town—it has some of the colorful Icelandic buildings, and it’s very pleasant. But it doesn’t have the quaintness of the smaller towns, or the history or bustle of Reyk. I hear there is a fair party scene; but I wouldn’t know about that. (Cf., e.g., deodorant, supra.)

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

how long were you in Island?

by royalsreview on Apr 2, 2009 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

couple times, probably six weeks total.

mostly hiking and driving about, and writing a law paper on icelandic saga-era legal shenannigans. i taught myself old english in college, well enough to read prose quite well (poetry i suppose is hard in any language). had i known better, i would have perhaps tried icelandic—similar vibe of subject matter, same wide sweep of great deeds and similar-sounding concepts that you know they took in a very different way. then i could have chatted up the icelandic chiquitas.

you can drive around the island in maybe 2.5 days, if you’re hopped up on caffeine balls, or maybe even two days if you skip the fjords in the NW. i’d say ten days is enough to really get a sense of the place: how many places are as strange as iceland that you can say such a thing about?

plus: i wore a royals hat everywhere throughout the country. i’m sure people here will give this posted comment a rec for that, right?

by Sean O Se on Apr 2, 2009 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs