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Published: April 8th 2007
Blue Lagoon
Amazing scenery and even more amazing to be swimming in 40c water when it's barely 0c outside 2c, light showers
Forget whatever you think Iceland would be like. It’s more full on, more understated, more touristed and more isolated than you’d ever imagined. I had a fascination with Iceland ever since I had to do a project on it in primary school. The people don’t look like Bjork and the landscape is more Greenland than Iceland. The temperature is not as cold as would be expected, and certainly a lot warmer than anything I’d experienced in Canada.
I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at an empty Keflavik International airport at 1am. The first sign that should have warned me Iceland is frighteningly expensive was the hoards of tourist lining up for duty free - even when the prices were relatively expensive by US or Australian standards. There is no Euro in Iceland, even though the country is part of the EU. The local currency is called the Kronur and about 55 kronur is one aussie dollar. France was a bargain compared to Iceland and the Euro made me feel rich, but the poor aussie dollar has been crushed & beaten by the Icelandic Kronur. Check out these prices:
Return bus
Colourful Reykjavik
From the top of the belltower at the church trip (10mins): $A10
Coffee with milk at café: $A8
Beer at bar: $A15
Big mac meal: $A20
It was clear from the beginning that I’d have to throw away my mental currency converter and just hope to hell I didn’t go too crazy. Money aside, I found Iceland to be a country of contradictions. The bus ride from the airport to the hostel was an example of seemingly cold Icelandic hospitality - a blunt series of yes / no answers. No one asks any personal questions or starts conversations, yet when you break through the seemingly icy barriers you’ll find Icelanders warm at heart.
I expected to be a lone traveller in Iceland, after all it was low season and I was staying in a hostel - WRONG! The hostel was booked solid and filled with tourists from around the world. Groups of US and UK travellers, in fact this would have to be the busiest hostel I’ve stayed in so far - even compared to New York or Chicago hostels. Iceland is a cool travel destination and draws visitors from everywhere. The number one tourist ‘hot spot’ (haha) the thermal Blue Lagoon was busy on Good Friday
Downtown Iceland
The main street in Reykjavik, lots of cafes and lots of closed stores on Saturday! when every other business or destination was closed. The lagoon itself is a natural thermal pool lined with silica (apparently good if you rub it all over your face), the water temp is about 35c-40c while outside the temperature hovers just above freezing. It was an awesome place to relax and kick back, I stayed there for about 3 hours and stared at the moon like landscape with massive snow capped mountains. I wish we had more thermal pools in Australia, the Blue Lagoon wasn’t just warm - it was a cool aqua blue colour (derrr Blue Lagoon!). I had lunch at the little café and was introduced to Icelandic yoghurt called ‘Skyr’, it was so nice and amazingly cheap (in Iceland).. it became my staple food because of that fact for the next few days.
Staying in the pool and not drinking water did something to my system - I fell asleep that afternoon and didn’t wake up till later in the evening. Downstairs at the hostel was quiet and the only other person awake was Darren, who suggested he might be heading out for the ‘runtur’ - a Friday night tradition in Iceland where everyone parties like
View from CBD
Looking out towards the massive mountains crazy after a long week of work. Because it was Good Friday the bars couldn’t open till 12am, but would stay open until dawn. I wasn’t tired so I figured I may as well go out for an hour or so. Little did I know it would take half an hour to walk into the city.
To say Icelanders come out of their skin for ‘runtur’ would be a massive massive understatement - they go freak’in crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like it and find it hard to describe. The runtur had a vibe similar to New Years Eve, you know how you feel like it’s a ‘happy’ night and something big is going to happen… well that’s what it felt like. Everyone was smiling, happy and very dressed up - once again I would have looked out of place in my tattered 4 day old jetlagged clothes! We hit the bar the first bar we saw and instantly had people talking to us, asking us where we were from and generally being very friendly. The music stopped suddenly and we looked around as the lights went on. 1am and over already?!? No.. apparently the crunchy stuff stuck in
Blue Lagoon #2
The bottom of the pools are silica, which apparently you could put on your face... lots of people did! shoe was glass and it was unsafe for the bar to stay open, “don’t worry it happens sometimes, someone smashes some glasses and we leave”. Alrighty… onto the next club. We got chatting to a few friendly local guys having a big night out (not very unusual because EVERYONE was). They knew lots about Australia and for once I didn’t need to point out where Adelaide was - they knew that and they knew everything about our country. I wondered if they realised how little everyone else knew about Iceland. They all spoke perfect English (as did everyone else) but around fellow Icelanders they spoke Icelandic, which kinda sounded like German / Russian.
If you’re a single Aussie guy down on your luck in the female department I have a word of advice to you: Iceland... Go! The woman don’t look like Bjork (who is strangely non representative of the average Icelander), they’re all blonde with blue eyes - the kind of look that Pauline Hanson would have said was ‘Australian’. Icelanders looked like they belonged on a surf board in Maui. I felt ashamed thinking about what would have happened if these girls walked into an aussie bar.
Reykjavik Nightlife
me and _____ (I have no idea how to pronounce the name) at a club called 11 in town. I don't have a crooked neck - the floor was slanted!! The atmosphere was amazing and I never got the feeling that anyone would start a fight or harass someone. Most of the blokes were wearing very stylish collared shirts or suits and the women matched. As once Icelander put it “if no one is speaking to you, just say hi and everyone will”. It was very true. Darren had to leave for his flight home in the morning and I was talked into staying out with the Icelanders I’d met who wanted to show the aussie ‘how Reykjavik parties’. I figured tonight I’d stay out instead of going out again tomorrow night. It wasn’t like I could afford another night out, and in saying that I only had 2 drinks anyway! It was an unusual night of Icelandic music, bars and talking to more random strangers. Everyone wanted to talk and I had to make an effort to steer clear of the more ‘expressive’ people around - I didn’t want to get caught up in that if you know what I mean. Everyone kisses everyone on the cheek to say goodbye and I must have looked like a startled monkey the first time that happened. I stayed out until 6am
Club 11
A 'rock' nightclub in Reykjavik, unusual by itself but even more unusual in Iceland along with everyone else and did the traditional Icelandic after-party thing - had waffles on the street. A quick taxi ride later (and another $A 30 gone in less than 5mins) and I was sound asleep in bed.
Random memory: hearing 5 AC/DC songs at Club 11.. ahh felt like home.
The next day I decided to see Reykjavik during the day, it was like another world. The loud expressive and talkative Icelanders had crawled back into their shell and it was business as usual. I spent the day admiring the view absolutely freezing - it’s true the weather is well above freezing but the air off the ocean was bitterly cold. I got good news that my bag had been found in Valenica, Spain (what the hell?!?!.. I dunno how it got there and neither does anyone else it seems) and I could pick it up when I return to the mainland in Europe. In the meantime I went shopping for the biggest jacket I could find. I also climbed the bell tower of the largest church in Iceland - it was awesome view from the top.
Iceland was a surreal experience and has definitely been
Church On The Hill
The 'Hallgrimskirkja' church ontop of the hill the liveliest place I’ve visited in my travels so far.. who’d a thought?!? I was also overwhelmed by the amount of tourist activity the county gets, with daily flights from New York and Paris there are a lot of people around. It’d be cool to visit in the summer when everything is open and the atmosphere is more ‘outdoorsy’. You’ll find most popular western stores in Reykjavik and I had no hassles finding a new Billabong jacket, which the sales attendant proudly proclaimed “that’s from your country!”. I’d have liked to have seen Iceland outside of Reykjavik, apparently it’s very isolated and completely different to the capital city. Either way I had a great time in the furthest place from Adelaide (yep.. that’s a fact).. so I head back to mainland Europe tomorrow and closer to home. Who knows what will happen on my last remaining day in Iceland?!? Probably something completely unexpected….. but I’m outta energy for Saturday night.
Seeya soon peoples and LUG babe.
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Cessna152
Jason Smart
Fantastic Blog, very informative and readable.