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Published: December 19th 2006
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Who could say no to the offer of a free weekend in Iceland when you're skint? While I was still without work I was watching every penny very closely, but Howard had an offer I couldn't refuse. A weekend in Iceland, all booked and paid for with a friend that couldn't make it, all I was up for was a name change fee and food when I got there!
It was a Friday flight and a perfect day when I flew in and I was able to see across the whole island, snow everywhere as they had recently had a dump. Iceland isnt that close, and the airport isnt that close to the city either so all in all I was travelling for a solid day. I met Howard at the 5* apartment they had rented, with an amazing view to boot. The best part; my very own king sized bed! Its amazing how much you take a bed for granted, I've been of no fixed abode now for quite some time, and the thing I'm most looking forward to is having my own bed again!
That night we enquired about doing a tour to see the Northern Lights,
and were told that tonight was the best night for it that they had had for about a week, so off we went. We did get to see them and they were amazing, the scale is unimaginable and the way they flow and ebb is like poetry in the sky. Definitely worth seeing and something that I've always wanted to do, they served hot chocolate which was great since it was a chilly -9 degrees that night. Now that is cold, especially when you factor in the wind chill, its a biting cold that chills you to the bone if you dont keep moving. When we got back it was time to saddle up to hit the bars, things dont really get pumping here til late anyway and we were right in the heart of the city, a short walk to all the most popular places.
We went to Sirkus, Barrin, Cafe Barrin, all very small kitsh bars with great atmosphere, cool crowds, and even cooler music. Most places had Djs spinning electro and tech house and I hadn't heard any of it before! Later in the night we were told to head to a place called Pravda, which
turned out to be the Leftfield of Reykjavik. Complete with dance floor anthems and dirty old men (yes I'm one of them now too!) but a good party atmostphere with everyone having a great time. Having paid a hefty cover charge we didn't leave there until our night was done around 6am, now one of the perks of short days in winter is that when you get back home at a ridiculous hour its still dark enough to go to sleep 😊
Sunrise was about 11am and sunset was 430pm so we were in a constant state of dawn and dusk which was quite pretty. On saturday we slept in and mooched around before heading out to see the viking church, take a walk through the city and have a traditional outdoor thermal bath. The contrast between the crisp air and the boiling hot water is highly recommended for sauna and spa fans. We had a nap before cooking some dinner and getting ready for round two out on the town.
We started at Bar 11 a rock bar that had a live heavy metal band playing so we got to see the punk/goth/metal scene too. We met
some other travellers on a pub crawl and intercepted them to take to Barrin for a dance before taking a breather back at the apartment for shots. Alcohol in Iceland is ridiculously expensive, like 800 - 1200ISK for a beer, which is about 8 - 12euro or 16 - 24$NZ, I thought ahead and bought some duty free on the way in, so didn't have to buy any drinks on the town, just topped up at the apartment. We ended up back at our beloved Pravda to dance the night away and only heard "Put your hands up for Detroit" three times tonight! It was another very late one so we didn't get up to much on Sunday, just got ready in time for our bus to the airport. There was a problem with our plane that resulted in a two hour delay so we didn't get back in until quite late and quite tuckered out after an excellent party weekend.
I really liked Iceland and would love to go back for longer, there was still so much more to see, and in summer a lot of camping and tramping you can do. The people are friendly and there's
something else strange about their close knit culture I just couldnt put my finger on... perhaps its because most of them still believe in elves?
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