Take the Third Exit: 4 days in Reykjavik, Iceland

Last September, I booked a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland for my birthday. My main goal was to see the Northern Lights and I felt long overdue for a trip. So, I found a relatively inexpensive flight/hotel deal through Travelocity and began planning the journey. The trip ended up being 4 full days in Reykjavik with a 13-hour layover in Toronto, Canada on the way back home. Transportation in Reykjavik, involved a small, automatic transmission rental car.

I arrived to gray skies and rainbows – rainbows being a constant for my entire time in Iceland. After picking up the rental car, the Icelandic journey began. Iceland was pretty easy to navigate by car – they drive on the same side of the road as I was taught, and the car had GPS and Car Play for you to connect and use your phone. One thing that was significantly different from my normal driving routine was that distances are marked in km instead of miles. Additionally, intersections are comprised of roundabouts, and gas is sold by the liter something that became quite important when filling up the tank before returning the rental.

About the roundabouts- the bane of my Icelandic driving experience. The majority of the areas in my city, don’t have roundabouts – just an occasional cul-de-sac. When navigating our city streets, you approach an intersection and your options are to go through it, or make a left or right turn, yielding the right-of-way to other cars or pedestrians. Roundabouts however are an entirely different beast. You approach a circular intersection, and yield to the vehicle already in the roundabout or coming from the left. Each option you have when navigating a roundabout is considered an exit. Here’s a typical direction from the GPS on the drive to the hotel in Iceland: “In 2 km at the roundabout, take the third exit…”

Here’s the thing, when you tell me to exit, my mind interprets that as leaving – so when approaching the roundabout intersection I looked for the path that was heading away from the road I was traveling on. In the instance of roundabout directions, take the third exit generally meant I was to follow the roundabout around on the same path I was traveling – picture the road curving – and following the curve. My mind however, felt I should be making a right turn or at least turning off onto a different road. Nevertheless, I got the hang of it eventually.

Now that we’ve discussed my minor navigational challenges, here’s how I spent my time in Iceland.

Reykjavik – Day 1: Gray Skies, Rainbows and Don’t Piss off the Elves

The first order of business after picking up the rental car and getting situated at the hotel was a free walking tour of downtown Reykjavik. Free walking tours give you a great base point for starting explorations as well as provide interesting information on the location you’re visiting. For instance, they are very proud of their trees in Reykjavik – like build a fence around them and post a sign proud. Additionally, Reykjavik had suffered a fire similar to the Great Chicago Fire and had redesigned how buildings were made accordingly. The last token of information learned on the walking tour was that you should always consult the elves (yes, the mythical, whimsical creatures) before starting a construction project. Seriously, it wasn’t until an elf-whisperer was consulted that they learned the cause for the many issues they were having building downtown. Apparently the elves rock (gathering spot and residence of the elves) was in the construction site and they (elves) were not happy with the noise. Once the rock was moved to another location (selected after consulting the elves) construction was able to resume without continued problems.

The walking tour also highlighted Hallgrimskirkja Church as a must see tourist stop – it was Sunday after all so why not. The Church sits atop a small hill and is designed to look like an erupting geyser. The inside of the church is stunning especially with the pipe organ in the ceiling, and if you opt to purchase a ticket to the tower you can get some great views of Reykjavik.

In short, the main activities for Day 1 were:

• Pick up the rental car
• Check-in to hotel (Hotel Vellir was midway between the airport and downtown Reykjavik – no more than a 20-min. drive to either location)
• Lunch at Icelandic Street Food
• Free Walking Tour of Reykjavik followed by further unguided exploration
• Afternoon Snack – Crepes and Hot Chocolate
• Visit to Hallgrimskirkja Church for views of the entire city
• Birthday Dinner (ended up finding a Thai restaurant and ice cream shop near the hotel)
• Northern Lights Viewing Attempt # 1

Reykjavik- Day 2: Cupcakes and Hotdogs

My first attempt to view the Northern Lights was a bust. Not only were the weather conditions less than optimal, but jet lag must’ve set in because I remember setting a couple of alarms to check out the windows of the hotel but don’t actually remember getting up. Anyway, day 2 was dedicated to an unguided exploration of Iceland including revisiting some of the sites mentioned during the walking tour.

Following breakfast at the hotel (a breakfast buffet was included in the room price), the first stop was downtown Reykjavik, where the walking journey of the day began.

Sites visited included:

• Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center
• The Sun Voyager Sculpture
• Baejarins Beztu – to try an authentic Icelandic Hotdog
• Kolaportið Flea Market

After exploring downtown Reykjavik, and checking out one of Reykjavik’s malls, I opted to climb a mountain – apparently this has become an ongoing theme in my travels. What actually happened is that my travel partner and I decided to go explore the area outside of Reykjavik. The choice was between finding a volcano to explore, visiting the botanical gardens, or driving around more of the countryside. Iceland has several volcanoes, including a dormant one you can take an inside tour of for a fee. Unfortunately (or maybe it was a good thing), neither of us had on our hiking shoes, so we opted for the botanical gardens and to drive around Iceland.

The botanical gardens were a tad disappointing- many of the plants were covered in frost or no longer blooming – I’m sure they are probably beautiful in the summertime. We did however stumble upon what looked like a hobbit’s house – it’s probably just somewhere they stow the garden tools. After “getting our steps in,” we ventured off for the next stop on our drive, a turn-off near Mt. Esja.

I initially had no intention of doing any hiking/climbing – remember we decided against the volcano excursion because we didn’t have on our hiking shoes. However, when we parked at the turnoff, another car parked and a girl wearing Converse gym shoes jumped out and began walking towards what appeared to be a trail. We followed her to the trail and figured we’d check it out (it couldn’t be too strenuous- she was wearing flat gym shoes after all) and see what sites could be found. Whoever that girl was – she was on a mission and quickly disappeared up the trail from our view. The path we took traversed a rivulet, ran up through some trees and opened into a flat area with the perfect mountain backdrop for photos. We snapped a few photos and went back to the car as it appeared a storm was rolling in.

Dinner for the evening was a seafood buffet at Restaurant Reykjavik in downtown Reykjavik. Entree options included: lamb stew, smoked salmon, mussels, whale, sting ray and various salads. I’m a “try most things once” type of eater so I sampled all of the above learning that whale and sting ray are definitely not on my yummy foods list. Following dinner we went back to the hotel where I tried another Iceland specific fare – Brennivín aka “Black Death”. Brennivín, is a schnapps that supposedly taste like licorice – it is the signature spirit of Iceland. Additionally, Brennivin has a warm burn going down. I don’t like licorice and I didn’t like the taste of Brennivin.

Reykjavik Day 3: Chasing Waterfalls

Yes, I know TLC warned against it In a song, but Iceland has so many waterfalls why wouldn’t you check them out. Day 3 involved a guided tour of Iceland’s Golden Circle (booked through Grayline Tours) which included stops at 3 different waterfalls as well as the land point where the tectonic plates meet. After visiting the waterfalls we also toured and got a chance to see Strokkur (The Great Geyser) erupt along with a stop for lunch.

Tour Highlights:

• Thingvellir National Park
• Gullfoss
• Geysir Eruption

Following the Golden Circle Tour we had dinner at IKEA (initially stopped there to pick up items for our Day 4 activity).

Since this would be my second to last opportunity to view the Northern Lights I finally buckled down and booked a Northern Lights Tour package (again using Grayline Tours). The tour left the hotel at 9pm and took us to three different locations for viewing attempts. I finally accomplished my goal and also got to witness a “Moonbow.”

Day 4 – Relax, Relate, Release

Since I’d accomplished my ultimate goal of seeing the Northern Lights, it only seemed fitting for some relaxation on day 4 – a trip to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is an outdoor geothermal spa whose water composition is supposed to be great for skin. You have the option to purchase 1 of 3 different spa packages and can stay in the spa all day – we pre-booked the comfort package which provides you with a free face mask, one beverage from the spa bar and a towel (Other packages include other types of face masks, massages, robes and slippers). In addition to the geothermal lagoon water to lounge about in, the spa facilities also have a sauna, steam rooms, and a waterfall.

Upon arrival you are given an electronic wristband which serves as the key for your locker as well as how you purchase things while in the spa. You return the wristband as you leave and settle up any additional charges you may have incurred. You are warned upon entry to ensure your wristband is secure and not to lose it, especially while in the lagoon. Next stop after check-in is the locker room – where of course you shower and change into swim attire. You can then access the lagoon as soon as you leave the shower area – there is a wading area that takes you outside to the lagoon or you walk outside and then enter the lagoon.

Icelandic weather is unpredictable at best so while the spa day started out sunny, there were periods of misting rain. No worries, since the package allows for you to spend all day at the lagoon, you could opt to stay outside in the lagoon, relax in the sauna or steam rooms, or go inside and wait the weather out. I chose to visit the steam room and sauna and then get back in the lagoon. Additionally, the water was definitely warm enough that the outdoor fall temperature was not an issue.

Day 4 ended with me very relaxed and semi ready to return stateside. We filled up the rental car with gas on the way back to the hotel and prepared for departure back to the states. Note: Gas was definitely expensive and they put a $200 hold on the credit card we used to purchase it.

If you journey to Reykjavik, make sure your third exit includes Northern Lights, Waterfalls and the Blue Lagoon.