Day 1 –  Snæfellsnes Peninsula

We flew out last night around 10:00pm from YYZ to KEF. This 5 hour flight went by quickly with two movies but I barely got any sleep. When we landed, it was 6:00am, GMT. Groggy and tired we picked up our rental car, a Skoda Octavia from Hertz and headed west to Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

As we were driving, we saw Ikea! We wanted to get some 99 cent breakfast or meatballs but discovered they open at 11:00am and it was only 8:00. So we kept going without any Swedish meatballs in us.

It was about another 3 hour drive before we arrived in Snæfellsnes. Once we got there, we had lunch at Kaffi 59. I had a satisfying burger with random pizza toppings (pepperoni and mushrooms).

Still too early to check in, we drove along the coast hitting all the scenic points, waterfalls and beaches.

The weather was great and we saw three popular cliffs and rock formational; Dufubjarg, Hellnar, Arnarstapi. It was such a surprise as I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful. The area looked plain at first and then once we hiked for about 5- 10 mins we were blown away by the view.

It started to get dark around 4pm so we checked in Grundarfjördur hostel, ate our instant ramen cups and used the free wifi. We’ve been running on two hours sleep so we all passed out shortly after.

Day 2 – Snæfellsjokull National Park & Reykjavik

We started our day with a hike at Snæfellsjokull National Park. There was no one around and we didn’t stay on the trail. The terrain was very interesting to walk on —felt like walking plushy carpet with padding.

We climbed a crater named Rauðhóll and hiked towards a beautiful hidden waterfall, Klukkufoss.

Lots of fun and after about 3 hours, we were ready to hit the capital city, Reykjavik.

On the drive there, a cop was driving towards us with his lights flashing. He passes us and then turns around to follow us. We pulled over and apparently Andrew was speeding! The cop clocked him at 118 km/h on a 90 road. The ticket was a whooping $500 fine but if you pay on the spot, there is a 20% discount. Damn, we definitely learned our lesson; don’t speed Iceland, no matter how tempting the empty long stretches are.

We got in the city around 4 and checked into our guesthouse, Ourhouse. We went to Cafe Loki for a traditional Icelandic meal. My meal, Icelandic plate  III, Two rye bread slices, one with mashed fish & the other with egg & herring was delicious! The flavours were very different from what I’m used to but tasty. We also tried the fermented shark meat. It was not the same as shark fin soup… The meat tasted like chinese salty fish with a very strong after taste. Interesting but I would not have it again. What did impress me was the Rye Bread Ice Cream with cream & caramelized rhubarb syrup. It had a dense texture but it tasted sweet and creamy… Nothing like what I’ve tasted before. It was unique and so good!

Day 3 – Reykjavik

Michelle and I woke up early today to pick up Hannah from the airport. Dru was off the hook since he drove the early shift after our flight. When we got back, we took naps to reenergize ourselves for a long day in Reykjavik.

We drove to Kringlan, Iceland’s largest (and one of the few) shopping mall to buy a phone sim card and exchange money. Everything was pricier than Canada… They had some big brands like Ralph Lauren and Adidas but very expensive!  A non brand named store was selling a men’s spring jacket for about $90 but made from basic walmart like material.

We went to Perlan, the pearl, which was a landmark building that offered a free viewing deck on the fourth floor. Decent free view.

For lunch, we made way to the city’s most famous hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu in front of the Kolaportið weekend flea market. The icelandic hot dog sausage was made from pork, beef and lamb. I was nervous since I cannot stand the gamy taste of lamb. Surprisingly I could eat the hot dog… And I loved and hated it at the same time. The bun was very warm and soft, the fried onions were a nice crunchy topping and the creamy Icelandic sauce was so well paired. However, I could still taste a hint of the gamy lamb taste which was gross. I’ve never experienced such a love hate relationship with food before!

We shopped in the flea market and around the city for souvenirs. These random locals were doing some scavenger hunt and they had to get a photo of them lifting people up… We were lucky enough to be selected. So random… But not as random as when Andrew and Hannah saw some guys take it all off for a photo in the hunt (Michelle and I missed the view since we went back at the guest house)

We did some shopping before they closed at 4pm. We went up Hallgrímskirkja church for an amazing view of the city. The view was much better than the pearl. I loved the coloured rooftops!

From up high, I saw the Sun Voyager statue and made it our next stop. The water was reflecting the colours in the sky. It was beautiful.

We went for dinner at Hofnin where I devoured a gigantic dish of mussels. Good but nothing spectacular. After our meal, we walked around some more seeing the nightlife and then went back to Cafe Loki for dessert… Rye Bread Ice Cream!