Reykjavik, ICELAND

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqo6OmZvdGg&t

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  I spent four amazing days in Reykjavik in January 2017 exploring the city and the beautiful landscape of Iceland.  I hope you enjoy some of my tips and recommendations:  

Accommodation
I stayed at the Loft Hostel right in the heart of downtown Reykjavik.  The hostel was clean, had a nice rooftop bar and breakfast area, and was located right on the main shopping and dining street in the city.  The FlyBus takes you right from the airport to this and many other accommodations.  
http://www.lofthostel.is/ 
https://www.re.is/flybus/ 

Things to do in Reykjavik

1. Do a free walking tour of the city!  The walking tour with CityWalk is a casual two hour or so stroll through the downtown area led by local Icelandic guides that teach you about icelandic culture, and the sites of the city.  You have to book a spot before showing up on the tour, and the same group also sponsors a small pub crawl; https://citywalk.is
2. Go to the top of the church Hallgrimskirkja, which is the tallest building in the city.  I'd recommend going at sunset since it is offers beautiful panoramic views of the city at the top.
3. There are two main streets in Reyjkavik, Laugaveger and  Skolavordustigur, filled with shpopping, restaurants and local artists.  I'd recommend just taking a stroll down them and checking out the culture.  
4. If you want to hit up some museums I'd recommend the National Museum of Iceland, which told the story of Iceland and viking culture. 
5. Each night the Opera House puts on a lights display on its facade to mimic the northern lights.  It's pretty cool and makes for some neat extended shutter speed photos.  To my knowledge, the light show happens every night as soon as it gets dark until the sun comes up.
6. Northern Lights Boat Trip with Special Tours:  From the harbor of Reykjavik I took about a 3 hour nighttime boat ride to try and see the northern lights, it was successful!  Although it was a bit cold on the boat, they provide you a massive outer layer and hot cocoa for free!  While it is pretty hard to photograph the lights from the boat, the shimmering northern lights were clearly visible to the naked eye.  

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Things to do outside of Reykjavik

1.  If you are not renting a car on your own, thenI'd  definitely recommend looking at the Reyjkavik Excursions tour company website to check out their itineraries for the Golden Circle Tour (my favorite sights on the trip) and the Southern Coastal tour. I thought these tours were great because they pick you up and drop you off right in front of your hotel, which was really convenient.  The buses are driven by local Icelanders that share countless stories with you along the way, which I think adds greater depth to all of the sights.  I always felt that we had plenty of time at each of the stops to really appreciate and experience the things on the tour .  While I greatly enjoyed these tours for their convenience and ease, you don't necessarily have to book their trips; their website lists a bunch of their stops which should give you some good ideas of things to do and see on your own if you've got a car.  Here are some of the main highlights in my opinion, Gulfoss Waterfall (Huge one), Tjingvellir National Park, Strokur Geysers and I also did a glacier hike which was super fun.  https://www.re.is/
2. You can book a trip to the blue lagoon which is an upscale geothermal heated hot spring, where you can rub some volcanic mud on your face.  It's a little bit expensive and more of like a "fancy spa" that is mainly frequented by tourists.  Alternatively, you could go to a local thermal bath or hot spring / pool in downtown Reyjkavik and meet some locals for like only $5.  Sitting in the thermal baths in the city is a big part of their culture.

Food
Food in Iceland is incredibly expensive, so if you are looking for a nice (or even average) sit down dining experience be prepared to spend a good chunk of money.  

1. Islenski Barinn, which translates to Icelandic Bar, was a great restaurant right near my hostel.  This place had a bunch of local cuisines that you can try out.  I'd recommend the Puffin, the reindeer burger and the beef stew style dish.
2. Old Iceland is a fancier type restaurant that also offered more traditional Icelandic dishes.  If you watch my travel video, this is the restaurant where I dropped all money, but the food and atmosphere were both incredible.  
3. Hot Dog Stand!  Baejarins Beztu Pylsur is a delicious little hot dog stand that has been a staple in Reykjavik for a long time, and after sampling their delicious hot dog with some mustard it is easy to see why.  Bill Clinton even ate here before@
4. If you are trying to save money and be a bit thriftier, I'd recommend you load up on sandwiches from the grocery store. Stores usually offer simple baguettes with a piece of meat and cheese (a veggie) for around $7-9.  
5. Knowing that things would be expensive in Iceland, I brought some protein bars with me that I ate for breakfast each morning along a cup of coffee from my hostel and a banana that I bought at the grocery store.  Not only did this save me time in the morning, but it was an inexpensive and filling breakfast.

Was it Cold?  
The short answer is yes.  I would advise you to pack some thermal leggings, some thicker socks and a large pack of the air activated "hand warmers" to put in your gloves or jacket. Overall, while it was a bit cold it wasn't much colder than it'd be in Washington D.C. during the wintertime.  That being said, I have never experienced any place colder than Gulfoss waterfall!  Because of the mist coming off of the waterfall my camera lens actually started to freeze over and within a matter of five minutes I could not feel my face or hands.  Otherwise, the leggings and hand warmers made a huge difference and I was able to survive the cold.  


**Special Shout Out to Donna Christine, Qin You, Leah Rosen, Greg Rosen, Sarah McConville, Philippa Anstey, Lady Sif and everyone else that made my trip to Iceland so much fun!  And Melissa Darr for all of her great travel advice!

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places visited

Venice, Italy