7th Year Anniversary Trip to Iceland - June 2016

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Well it's that time of year again ?

Since we got married we always vowed to take it in turns to plan our anniversary holiday ?

This, of course it used to be Top Secret but 7yrs on and we get too excited for that. ?

This year...it was my hubby's Andrew's turn......and shock horror he chose Iceland. For anyone who knows Andrew, for him to choose a place without a railway was a real shock ? . Think we were all 'trained' from last years adventures which unfortunately turned out to be quite hard work due to my fibromyalgia ? .

So adapt we must and Iceland was ideal....one base for the week.

We flew out of Manchester, a new airport for us which is always a plus for hubby. Security was slow going so there wasn't any time to sample the delights of Manchester Airport before we were off.

Icelandic Air proved to be a nice experience, Andrew was never very keen on flying, too much hassle he claims in comparison to the train but even he accepts that a plane to Iceland was the best bet. (There is a ferry from Denmark if you refuse to fly). The leg room was satisfactory and there were only two of us in the row of three which is always a bonus. They even supplied us with a stream of entertainment and soft drinks in economy class and the whole flight seemed to wizz by. ✈️

We soon arrived at Rekyjavik Airport which is actually in Keflavik, so a bus transfer was needed to get into the capital. So we headed to the Flybus ? for which we had tickets already as I had bought them online prior to flying. (The ticket cost 2800k each or approx £17.20). This part did seem to take forever and felt very tedious as we were shuttled from the large coach into the minibus to complete the last leg to our accommodation. Unfortunately the most cost effective way of getting the 45kms to the capital as the choice is very limited...flybus or expensive taxi.

We finally arrived at our accommodation. We booked a small studio flat through AIRbnb. The hotels seemed very expensive when we first looked so this was a much better option in terms of cost. The apartment cost £522 for 6 nights which was much more in our price range. On arrival the exterior of the apartment was nothing special at all which of course led to some reservations as we made our way in. It was small but seemed clean enough and reasonably equipped so that was ok. First stop after literally dumping our cases was to find the local supermarket, thankfully there was a 'Bonus' around the corner. We stocked up on a few essentials, mainly stuff to go with all the english food I had packed in the suitcase ☕️ ? ?. It was certainly more expensive than at home, but thankfully it wasn't too way out...except for Raspberries which seemed ridiculous at approx £6 for a small punnet ?.

The location of the apartment was ideal as it was clearly in the heart of the city tucked down a quiet residential street.

Anyhow we were now properly settled in, clothes put away, furniture moved, dinner eaten etc etc....it was time for to explore a bit. We had a wander around the city streets taking in the atmosphere. There were lots of clothes shops and tourist bureaus on top of the many bars and restaurants. All seemed quite strange in that there seemed to be a lot of shops missing, normal every day shops. The lack of pharmacies definitely caught my attention. It certainly had more of a tourist feel than a proper city centre for locals. So of course as we were tourists we headed to one of the many tourist bureaus and coughed up 9400k or £53.78 for two 48hr city cards. Seemed sensible at the time ?. Andrew also had his eye on one of the excursions to the inside of a glacier. But at 43000k or £246.19 for 2 tickets, this required some more thought so time for cocktails!?. A love of roof top bars led us to the Skylounge opposite The Harpa Concert Hall. The view of the mountains across the water was stunning and the place was very relaxing. We had read beforehand that it wasn't customary to tip in Iceland which suited us totally. Always been opposed to the idea that one must always tip regardless, so it was quite refreshing that this was not expected and staff were actually lovely just because, without the sense of ulterior motives. Anyway I had a vodka cocktail costing 2200k or £13.52 and my teetotal hubby had a virgin one costing 800k or £4.92. To be honest the virgin one was much nicer but hey you live and learn.

Our first night was actually quite an eyeopener...no darkness! I am used to being an insomniac but hubby did struggle with the lack of darkness. No proper blackout blinds either which was a surprise considering. The bed wasn't great but certainly not the worse we have slept on. But onwards and upwards we were looking forward to our first full day exploring Rekyjavik.

The next day was Thursday and after breakfast our first port of call was to the 'Iceland Phallological Museum' or Penis Museum to us commoners ? . Obviously a must see as there aren't many more of them in the world. Not included on the city card but we did get a small discount and actually the entry price of 2000k (£11.45) for both of us wasn't bad value. A morning staring of various giant penis' did require some therapy which as usual came in the form of crepes and coffee. Not exactly cheap at 3050k (£17.46) but did do the trick ?

We headed then up the Hallgrimskirkja....a huge cathedral which dominants the skyline in Rekyjavik. Thankfully you could go the to top, and even better in an elevator. Again not included in the city card but great value at 1800k or £10.22 for 2 tickets. The view is certainly awesome and you could see the whole of Rekyjavik. Amazingly it wasn't too busy either. Crowds thankfully don't seem to be be an issue in Iceland.

As our apartment was so close to the main centre we were thankfully able to have meals etc there which was certainly a great help in keeping tabs on the budget.

We decided to book the glacier trip, after all its not every day you can go inside a glacier and although Iceland was lovely, we knew we were unlikely to return for several years as there is so much of the world to still explore. So out came the American Express. Credit cards are definitely king in Iceland ? . We had come over with approx £500 in Krona but really it wasn't necessary as cards were accepted everywhere. So the trip was booked for Sunday. We had a car hire booked ? which we were collecting on the Saturday so it seemed sensible to meet the excursion at the meeting point in Husafell rather than get the coach from Rekyjavik and saved some krona. Not too mention that mornings are awful for me so an early start sitting on a coach for hours was never going to be a good idea.. Whilst making the booking, the advisor explained to us that it was a national holiday tomorrow so many things would be closed. We came to the conclusion that our city card was a total waste of money so we headed off to try and get a refund which thankfully was successful, minus a small fee ?

Following our home cooked evening meal we ended up at the Volcano House ? which for reference wasn't included in the city card either, cost 3980k / £22.66 for us both. This wasn't really a museum but more like a cinema where we watched two interesting films about previous volcanic eruptions at the island. Thankfully the seats were comfortable and not too busy either.

So in all quite a good day.

As explained earlier we aren't really party animals so our evenings consisted of watching box sets in the apartment - this time it's The Borgias....perfect end ?

Friday was our wedding anniversary....7yrs....Yay! ?

So a nice lie in and breakfast, followed by card opening. We had already been warned that it was a national holiday so the streets would be empty. How wrong she was, the streets were actually more crowded than usual and the skyline was dominated by balloons? . First stop a local lady had the local equivalent of a car boot store on our street so we bought a very posh butter dish for our new kitchen there. Then into the Red Cross charity shop for jumper shopping. I was quite concerned about the temperature that was going to greet us at the glacier. Even though i had packed autumn clothes to cope with the chillier air, I wasn't fully prepared for snowy conditions ❄️ so perfect excuse for shopping. In usual fashion we were far too tight fisted to shop at the 'normal shops' and even the Red Cross sent me hyperventilating in terms of prices. But it was a special day and the jumper was lovely but the deciding factor was there was no way I was freezing on Sunday. The cold and I do not mix so hubby handed over 4000k (£22.63) gladly. Down at Harpa, there was even more activity. A vintage car rally was in the grounds so Andrew was in heaven, and to top that there was even an old bus doing the rounds for him to gaze over....unfortunately no rides to be had though. Harpa in itself is a gorgeous building so we had a good wander around before deciding on another cinema show...and of course the obligatory ice cream ? .To be honest the cinema was quite underwhelming and uncomfortable. Think the idea was you were supposed to stand or lie down whilst this 360' film was on. For me, the sensory overload was too much ?. The cost was 3000k or £16.97 which was rather expensive given the length of the film, (17 minutes) though the uncomfortable surroundings did make you glad when it was finished and to be perfectly honest i can't even remember the content at all so it mustn't have been very memorable ?

After refreshing up back at the apartment we had decided to go to Perlan for our anniversary meal. Perlan is quite an iconic building in Rekyjavik and despite being warned about the over inflated prices at the restaurant we decided what the hell and went. We didn't have a reservation even though we tried the night before to no avail by email, so thought the earlier the better so we headed off. It wasn't a long walk from the centre but the hill heading up to Perlan was quite hard work. Amazingly we survived and arrived at 5pmish. Unfortunately the restaurant wasn't open til 6pm so we managed to successfully reserve a table in readiness with a real person! Perlan is actually free to wander around and the views are to die for, so it was easy to kill the time. Once the restaurant was open we headed up and to our table. We didn't get a window seat but the place was so well laid out, it didn't matter, we had super views as the restaurant revolved. The staff couldn't do enough for us and as it was our anniversary we got complimentary champagne ?. In the end we actually paid for two courses - main and dessert and the bill came to 15870k or £89.77 which considering the experience turned out to be fantastic value. On top of that we had a complimentary bread board, an appetiser and pre dessert course and a jug of water which, with the champagne, kept us going nicely. They even bought us a table top firework ?

On Saturday, I was on a mission to find some woolly tights ready for Sunday, so we headed to the Flea market which only opened at weekends. Thankfully success so I was all ready for the glacier now. Firstly though we had to collect the hire car that i had booked back in the UK at the cost of £145 for 3 days, so back to the airport on the Flybus. It seemed sensible to collect it there seeing how the plan was to drop it off before we flew home. The weather was shocking that day, lots of wind and rain. It had been about 12'c all week so far and thankfully dry but Saturday was horrible. Once we got to the airport Andrew spotted what he thought was the car rental building at the opposite side of the car park, so it was a quick dash to get there. Once we arrived...wrong company...doh! Our point of contact was actually waiting in the airport terminal waiting for us to come through baggage handling!! Thankfully the wrong company phoned the right company and saved us from another dash in the rain and came and rescued us which was very nice. The actual rental place was in Keflavik so a short trip later and we received our booked Peugeot 108. So off we went....thankfully Andrew is the driver so I could just relax. Half an hour down the road and thud....another car into the back of us..doh! Thankfully and amazingly no damage ? ? and upwards. The weather was still shocking and really not conducive to exploring so back to the Borgias...? ☔️

Sunday came and it was time for our trip into the glacier. As we were in the car, I decided to pack the woolly clothes and change as we got nearer. Sandwiches were packed and soon we were off. We had a 2 hr drive in front of us and given we didn't really know the way we left with plenty of time. The plan was to meet the excursion at a hotel in Husafell at 1200 and go with them to the base camp near the glacier ready for the 1300 tour. All started very well and we were making very good time, until the road suddenly turned into a dirt track and we were reduced to 15mph. It was on this 'road' that we came across a recent accident where a large 4x4 had just been driven off the road and turned over onto its roof. Fortunately there were no injuries with the exception of pride perhaps. A lesson learned about roads in Iceland... This road went on for what seemed like forever and it seemed increasingly unlikely that we were going to make the 1200 deadline in Husafell. When we finally arrived at Husafell it was 1215....so coach missed! However all was not lost! We could catch them up at base camp, more helpful phone calls from the locals... so off we sped, with me practically getting wrapped up in woolly tights etc on the way! Amazingly we made it ?

What an experience...yes it was cold but it was certainly unique and a great experience ?

Would certainly recommend it. (Andrew will do virtually anything for a ride in an old cold war ex Polish missile carrier!!)



After the tour we head off back to Rekyjavik on proper made up roads this time, seeing the most spectacular scenery along the way. Lots of hot springs and waterfalls . The sensible route of course took us under the toll tunnel which at 1000k (£5.62), even we couldn't moan at...much!

On the Monday we decided to follow the popular Golden Circle tour. First stop Hvergerdi...the flower town. Despite sandwiches already packed in the car, Andrew decided he fancied some soup ? so we stopped in this charming little cafe for some stodgy cake and soup. Another expensive little stop at 3890k (£21.60) for what we had at least. There didn't seem to be much going on there so onwards to the next stop....Skalholt where we came across a charming little church ⛪️ where we had a nice wander around. Then onto the next highlight of our holiday....at Geysir. What a fantastic place, could spend ages waiting in anticipation for them to burst. The weather, then started to turn again and by the time we had reached our last stop - Gulfoss Waterfall, it was very windy so a few snaps and back into the warmth of the Peugeot. We decided to go the 'scenic' way back and came across a couple of German hitchhikers. The weather was quite horrid so we pulled over, only to have to drop them a kilometre later as the road turned into a dirt track again and this time there was a BIG sign which said NO rental cars so we had to turn back. We waved our German friends off on their way into the wilderness!!! We ended up going through the Pingvellier National Park again and it seemed like Andrew stopped every hundred yards to take photos of mountains ?. Unfortunately by this time I was very achy and generally feeling very uncomfortable so he got a prod to get a move on!! By the time we got back to Rekyjavik, my poor legs were so achy ? I desperately needed a walk out so where else but back up to the Skylounge for more cocktails before a last look around the city ?

On Tuesday it was time to depart from Rekyjavik and head to our hotel in Keflavik ready for our early flight on the Wednesday. The car was due back at 1500hrs so we had time to stop at the few places heading towards Keflavik. First stop, the viking town of Hafnarfjordur. Luckily the weather was lovely so it was nice to have a stroll around. It is a very scenic town with its harbour etc and there were a couple of free museums about the history etc which we had a quick look around, as well as the viking settlement. Then onwards towards where the bridge across two continents is. On the way we saw the sign for the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is an expensive spa in the middle of nowhere which is quite a haven for tourists ? ?. I actually love Spas but Andrew hates them with a passion and although he said we could go I decided against it as I didn't think it was fair to make him miserable for the day ? . Anyhow as we got closer, there was an overwhelming smell of sulphur which was quite unpleasant so I was quite relieved we hadn't spent all that money going there. On top of that, it actually looked quite disappointing and there were a lot of building works going on, though obviously we didn't go properly inside. So onwards to the bridge..which was tiny but had a great feeling to it. Very interesting. Attempted a couple of typical tourist shots of holding up the bridge etc but to no avail.

Now to take the car back...time for a quick lunch at the local fast food place in Kefavik... 2 burger meals for 3890k or £21.60 ?? .Not very exciting but did the trick. Filled the car up with fuel. In the end we put in 9086.80k (£50.52) which didn't seem bad for the miles we had done. (Approx 700 kms). We did find a lot of the fuel stations only took card payments which isn't very convenient when you are trying to get rid of cash! The self service car wash was free to use.

No problems at the car rental place and they drove us to our hotel in Keflavik . The hotel was very nice but expensive at £190 a night? which was pre booked from home and seemed typical for Iceland. We spent our last night exploring Keflavik where we met The Giantess in the Mountain, an entertaining way to spend 15mins free of charge. The evening meal we had in a local restaurant was disappointing and price wise in the same league as Perlan ? without pudding or the fireworks!

So we skipped dessert and spent our remaining krona on chocolates and ice cream ? ? ? .

We then headed back for an early night ready for 4:30am start in the morning ? . Of course annoyingly our return flight was delayed ? so the early start unnecessary but hey ho. Arrived back in Manchester 3 hrs late to huge queues at passports and crowded trains but on the plus side it was nice to see the sun again?

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