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| Harpa Concert Hall. The meeting point for our walking food tour |
On account of a heavy snowstorm overnight, roads out of Reykjavik was closed which meant tours were cancelled including our Silfra Dry Suit Snorkeling tour. Although we were disappointed as we had come a long way and that was one of our must-dos and the selling point of Iceland, there was a small part of me that was secretly relieved! We've had long days, muscles were still aching from my herculanean ice climbing efforts and I really wanted to go back to the hotel's hot tubs! The Hilton Nordica had a fantastic spa set up which was included for executive lounge guests or diamond members. There was a range of indoor and outdoor tubs (38 and 41 degrees), saunas and steam rooms. Their change rooms and showers were great. We braved the outdoor tub amidst the flurry of snow...
After a brief consideration of the penis museum, the family opted to stay out of the crazy wind and snow outdoor and nap/play/device the afternoon away. Our plans to head into the downtown Reykjavik early before our food tour were derailed by the absence of taxis from the snow! We ended up at our designated meeting point only 15 minutes before our tour...
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| The reason our tour was cancelled and why we chose to stay in |
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| The outdoor tub |
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| The friendly staff recommended that we put our towels in the sauna for a more pleasant exit post soak! |
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| Felt nice and warm in the water |
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| White tips... |
The
Reykjavík Food Walk tour was organised by Hidden Iceland but was run by Wake Up Reykjavik. The tour had a great food selection of modern and traditional Icelandic cuisine with some sight seeing thrown in along our walk. The weather conditions were not ideal for a walking tour...but we made do. What would distinguish the tours from being good or excellent would be the guide. We had Stevie and he was hilarious. It was a great way to end our time in Iceland before we fly to Italy tomorrow.
A few thoughts and observations to finish off:
- We were undecided whether or not to bother coming in winter. Seeing the northern lights was not high on our bucket list, and there were summer months attractions that we could not see eg puffins. However, getting to Iceland in the northern European summer would be unrealistic for us in the near future. We took a family vote and it was yes from 5/5. We were glad we came! Winter had its own beauty despite the cold. The scenery was still stunning and the children loved the adventure. Yes there were many long days that were exhausting but that was offset by the exhilaration of the various unique activities.
- Free wifi everywhere including all our tour vehicles. Happy kids = happy parents!
- We've mentioned Hidden Iceland a few times but they were a dream to deal with. They were happy to accommodate the fact that a private tour for our whole stay was cost prohibitive and worked out a way for a happy medium that was not self-drive. All our interactions were positive and they were friendly, responsive and helpful. Their small group tours were the smallest at a maximum of 12 guests compared to 16 of other companies. Their vans/cars were super clean, comfortable, had charging cable and the previously mentioned wi-fi...
- Who would thought you could acclimatise to the cold so quickly. After a few days of -11 to -15, anything warmer than -10 felt comfortable and anything close to 0 felt almost warm!
- With good winter weather gear, the cold shouldn't be a factor. Good footwear, gloves and head/face coverings are vital!
Thank you Iceland for an amazing 6 days! Hopefully one day we get to come back in the summer months.
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| Off we go in the snow! What was not well captured was the wind blowing snow everywhere! |
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| My favourite was the first stop. Modern Iceland. Cured atlantic char, lamb shoulder at the back |
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| Parliament House |
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| Plokkfiskur, Icelandic comfort food. "Fish mash" |
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| Rye bread |
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| Atlantic char again but cooked a different way |
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| The Icelandic hotdog, lamb meat with raw onions, fried onions, sauce and mustard! |
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| The Prime Minister's office |
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| Next up, Icelandic bar! Mal trying the "Black Death" |
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| Lamb stew |
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| The famed fermented shark |
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| Yes we all tried it. |
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| The Rainbow Road. Yeah no point taking photos here. Moving on! |
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| Hallgrímskirkja |
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| Last but not least...dessert! Rye bread ice-cream with whipped cream with rhubarb sauce and icelandic doughnut |
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| We walked home because it was faster than finding a taxi |
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