Reykjavik, Iceland

Finally, Iceland here we come! But the beginning didn’t go smoothly. The always punctual Finnish transportation let us down on our most crucial moment. Thinking that we were early waiting at the bus stop (15 mins earlier) but the bus never came… 5 min pass by… 10 mins… OMG… it will never come and finally we made decision to take another bus (required 1 transfer & it took 1hr) and rush to the bus stop, just in time. Thinking that things will not go wrong… but yet we were again wrong… the 2^nd airport bus was late too – for 10 mins… thinking that we are screwed and will never make it to the flight – the bus 615 appears packed with passengers. We barely fits in. This reminded us of our Rome trip. One 1^st May, we were transport in Sardine condition. We finally made it to the airport safe & sound, 40 mins before the flight departure. Again, the security line was super long… took us 15 mins in queue. Good that we always online check in – it at least save us some time with all the rush. We have to literally run to the boarding gate 12 which located far behind the hall. 15 mins before flight departure… long line for boarding. Yes, we made it… we are not the last one to boarding nor does our name appear in the boarding announcement.

The journey took 3hr 20mins, and there is on board entertainment in front of each seats. Brilliant idea with the Icelandair is the airplane acts like a big canvas to educate passengers about the Icelandic language. Pleasant ride. A bit of bumpy ride when arriving near to the coast – guess it too windy. From above, Iceland actually looks like some planet from Mars. The ground texture is too rocky and sandy.

The plan was followed. We get to the BSI terminal by flybus and Evelyn picked us up to the Baldursbra Guesthouse. The room Lyng looks exactly like the photos I saw in the TripAdvisor – the only few pictures available online. Basic room with basin. Very Icelandic feel with old wooden furnitures. Comfy bed. A bit noisy as the road is right beside the window.

1^st impression of Reykjavik. Small town – smaller then Jyväskylä. And the downtown is easy accessible by foot. Not much modern buildings. Quite old town. And who said is the most beautiful capital in the world? Haha… probably only one – the lady we meet at the Leppävaara dog park. But we are waiting for the true Iceland trip. The geysir, volcano, hot spring that sets it apart from other countries and make it so unique.

Went to Fish and Chip for our first meal. A self service bistro – tiny but with good music. It was good. Probably because we are super hungry. For 14e, I was full. The fish basically tasted almost the same although they have 3 varieties – Cod, Haddock fish, Wolf fish. Maybe because of the cooking method. All are fried. And we can pick our own dipping sauce, potatoes, salad.

Walked around the town. End up at the Hallgrimskirkja church. It looks really cool in the pics but in reality it was not as great. Very minimalistic from inside out. Matias hates the texture – “it looks cheap with the uneven surface but they have a cool gate – Gate to hell”. And I was wondering why there is no black glossy church. It would be so cool althought black is often related with funeral and devil.

Slept around 11pm local time. Was exhausted. Dozed…zzz

Day 2, woke up feeling fresh. Breakfast was great & fulfilling. Breads with selection of 3 kinds of cold meat – ham(s), salami. Today was sunny so we decided to be a local and visited the Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach. It has 2 hot pot – one rectangle and another one circular located near the sea. So, one can easily & fast switch between the hot pot and the cold swim in the sea. It has a similar concept as sauna. I chicken out and darn not to swim in the cold sea water while Matias bravely swim – a prove that he is a finn.

Before that we walk to The Pearl (Perlan) – the water tank of the Reykjavik city. The building looks quite modern compared to the old historical looking city. Dinner at Vegamot (sort of our favourite place as the food portion was large and good for the value). Short walk to Solfar Sun Voyager Sculpture – a whale looking metalic installment near the habour. It was believe that the ash from the volcano has cause Reykjavik to look very misty since the day we arrived. And it has continued till the 2^nd day as well. And because of that it is impossible to see the mountains surrounding the city clearly.