A whistlestop tour of Iceland.

I am lucky to have a good group of friends, that I really cherish, for many reasons, not least, ones like this. I was invited out for dinner, what was a good bit of time before my impending 40th , by my Bestie Matt. After the meal I was presented with a carrier bag, from the super market home of all things frozen, Iceland. The reason for this soon became clear. Inside was a travel itinerary for a trip to Iceland, the island, not the supermarket…. As the latter would not have been the most amazing Birthday present ;o) So I was being took to Iceland for a Birthday trip. See, told you I was lucky.

Now Matt, has worked for the RAF and is now a pretty big cheese running the nations railways. So organisation and scheduling is what he does and he does this to a proper level. So the itinerary was pretty packed with not much time to spare, I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time for my regular toilet breaks. No point in messing about hey, so I knew that every minute would be accounted for.

We set off on Friday, we were flying from Manchester airport, so rather than face the pretty limited choice of airport fodder, we went for lunch in Manchester. More choice, better choice and better prices too. Now I’m not stingy, but I do like a bargain, so we took advantage of some amazing offers on a super cool site called Manchester confidential. You can see the main site at confidentials.com. They have sites for Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. Lots of reviews etc, but also on their app, they have a selection of vouchers for local venues. I picked up some half price vouchers that could be redeemed against the bill, basically it’s half price food and occasionally (which I always try and get and this time did) drink. So pretty good really. If you buy any of these, just check the voucher specific terms as some are only redeemable against food and at certain, usually off peak times.

We went to the Pen and pencil. A venue inspired by the bar in Mad Men, so it’s a little piece of New York, right in the middle of Manchester for a late lunch. This filled a hole so we headed off to Manchester airport, a quick hop on the train from Manchester Piccadilly. We flew easy jet and as we only had hand luggage, we took advantage of the online check in and mobile tickets. Zap the contactless boarding pass, literally a few minutes through security and were ready to relax before the plane. Luckily this allowed us time for one of my favourite “pints”. The Airport pint. Classic.

It was whilst we were enjoying our pint, a cheeky bit of Ale in the actually, not bad for an airport bar that we got a bit of bad news. Our first night was planned to be spent under the stars, on an excursion watching the Northern Lights. The trip only goes ahead when there’s a chance of actually seeing them, but due to cloud cover this was cancelled. It was disappointing, but they do refund the payment, so I guess it’s better than freezing your bits of, in the middle of a land that is named after ice… looking at the clouds. But still we wouldn’t let this dampen our spirits as you can’t fight nature can you.

There's not many better sights, than the blue sky above the clouds.

We landed in Iceland, after a short flight time of 3 hours 20, transfer of around an hour. Checked in, literally dumped bags. Wrapped up and headed out into the cold Nordic air. We had a little wander around, then decided it was time for some food. The main strip for bars, restaurants and shops is Laugavegur. As you descend the main road, Laugavegur becomes Bankastraeti, then Austurstraeti. The centre is pretty small, but it’s got all you need. Cashpoints and mini markets, lots of choices for food and drink. Pretty much everywhere is on the cozy side. Lots of cool, independent unique little places, which is just what I like. We found a cute little restaurant called oldiceland.is it’s a small place, but just what we were looking for. Seeing as though I was in Iceland I opted for a traditional dish, Rjómalöguð skelfisksúpa, this is a variation of the traditional Fiskisupia or a Shellfish soup and a Fish soup. It’s a Seafood broth type of deal, with fish, shellfood, in a tomato based, slightly spicy, sauce with what tasted like Paprika, saffron and a cheeky drizzle of whipped cream. Washed down with a cold glass of white wine, this was the perfect way to warm up. It’s something I’m going to try making when I’m back home, so I’ll update you on that in the future. After this, we hit a couple of bars, nothing to hectic as we had an early start the next morning.

Day 2 was all about the outdoors and the Golden Circle tour, taking in Iceland’s most well known tourist hot (or cold) spots. It was an early start, so a couple of strong coffees, some eggs, bacon and sausages down and we were out, into the crisp morning air. We had a minibus pickup to take us on the short trip to the main bus terminal for our day on the Golden circle tour, there’s a few different companies that run these and it’s a great way to see the most famous landmarks in a day, really good if you are only there for a short amount of time. The first stage of our day was one that I was particularly excited about. The amazing Blue Lagoon. It’s about a half hour hop there. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa, it’s located on the Reykjanes peninsula and is the most popular tourist destination in Iceland, although it really doesn’t feel like it’s that busy, due to the strict limit on visitors per session, which is something I really rate.

The entrance to The Blue Lagoon.

The scene there is pretty other worldly, with the white snow capping the dark rocky landscape, this contrasts against the super bright blue of the water. It’s the high silica content of the water which reflects the light and gives it the super blue appearance. The steam rising from the bathwater hot water only adds to the unique feels of this place. When you arrive you get to change in a super clean changing area. There’s an outdoor dash. It’s not strictly a dash, but when you’re outdoors in minus 5 in your short shorts…. It’s a dash mate. Down the steps into the pool. Once you’re in it feels really good to be warm. You get a good couple of hours here to just float around, try a face treatment with some of the silica mud, it is also high in sulphur and has regenerative qualities. This is available for free on the sides of the pool, so is well worth a try. I do love a face mask, but I also have skin that can be a bit sensitive. I also am prone to a bit of eczema and a found this mud left my skin feeling clean and amazing, after a shower I felt like a new man and I swear it took years off me. There’s a drink included in your entrance price, at the swim up bar, so we took advantage of a hot pool and a cold pint. We relaxed and chatted, with our face masks on, both amongst ourselves and to a few other groups of tourists from around the globe, picking up some good travel tips from world wise travellers and listening to their stories…. I’ve spent worse mornings.

Absolute scenes down at the lagoon.

After this we were back on the bus, driven through amazing scenery to the Thingvellir national park. It’s essentially a massive crack in the earths crust. Created by the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates slowly splitting apart. Which is, like a slow motion earthquake. It’s dramatic and awe inspiring in equal measures to be in a scene like that. Interestingly it was also one of the locations from Game of Thrones, which we were bang into at the time so we could geek out and pretend we were having a sword fight.

Spot the difference.

From here it’s onto the Geysir, it’s about 37 miles for this leg, the scenery becomes more dramatic as you drive on, so just looking out of the window and watching it all pass by is both relaxing and enjoyable. The geysir that you’re here to see is called Strokkur. On first glance it’s a pool, that starts to bubble, getting more and more heated, until finally it can’t take any more and explodes up (a bit like me having a conversation with someone stupid). It does this about every ten minutes, so don’t feel the need to push all of the children out of the way in case you miss it. Yes, someone did this, silly man…. You know who you are. It’s worth having a wander around here too as the landscape is dramatic and is coloured in crazy ways, due to the minerals, just be careful that the rising steam that appears out of the ground doesn’t burn your bits.

Wait for it !

The next and final stop is the Gulfoss waterfall. It’s a big one and drops around 135 feet, summer is it’s most waterfall(y) time, when around 4,944 cubic feet of water go down every second. You get to have a walk around and there’s a few set paths to follow. It was starting to close in at this time, with horizontal sleet and a biting wind, so we took a bit of refuge in the nearby visitors centre and restaurant. It was time for a coffee and a cheeky pick me up from the hip flask. The journey back to Reyjavik can feel a little long, although it didn’t for me as I took the opportunity to have an afternoon snooze. There’s not much more amazing than an afternoon snooze, especially when it kills some quiet time and sets you up for the night ahead.

A massive waterfall.

In Iceland they describe the weather as "Itshcold"... Probably.

A quick shower, change of clothes, spray of aftershave and we headed out. We grabbed a quick tea of Arctic Char and fresh vegetable, which is another traditional dish and is highly recommended, then we hit some bars. The drinks can be expensive in Reykjavik, you can be looking at around £10 for a pint. However… There is a way to spend less. Happy hour is a big thing there. The bars all have different times for their particular offers and they all last longer than an hour, so it’s almost possible to visit bars at these times and with a bit of careful planning you can play chase the happy hour around town. I downloaded an app called, Appy hour. This cool little app, lists all of the happy hours, with times and also maps to help you hunt them down, so it’s really handy and also saves you some coin.

We had a really great time just chatting about our day and wandering around. Some recommendations are Kafibarrin, which is part owned by Damon Albarn of Blur fame. The sign outside is a London underground style, it’s looks a bit out of place in Iceland, but I guess it’s down to Mr Albarns Cockney roots. It’s a kooky, cosy little place, with dark corners, candlelight and some décor that looks like an old ladies house. I like that shit. We also dropped in at Kaffi Vinyl, it has a whole load of vintage vinyl that you can look through, playing an eclectic mix of music, we had the chance to compete on guess the year for the tunes being played. Obviously I won, with my rain man like knowledge. It also serves vegan fayre, which is great, if that’s your bag. We finished up with a few more drinks then it was time for bed.

The next day was home time, so we spent the morning picking up some souvenirs for the kids as if I’d gone home without them, I’d have got strung up. Then it was off to the airport for the journey home.

Reykjavic and Iceland as a whole is a trip I thoroughly recommend. We had a fantastic time and the people were welcoming and friendly. It’s a great alternative to a city break and there’s loads to do and see. What I like, is that a lot of what you see is unique to the island and there really is no place like it. Be prepared for the cold, I would love a little more time to really explore the more remote parts of the Island. I’d love to go back and take the family as I think it’s somewhere everyone should experience in their lifetime.

Bleak, rugged and pretty stunning.