Hi! I have some more Iceland photos for you, this time of the capital and a Golden Circle day trip, plus a new post in the works dedicated entirely to waterfalls, coming soon.
A few of you asked about my favorite food places in Iceland, so even though I don’t have any pictures of those, here they are:
Dinner at SNAPS, which Anne kept calling Sparks. It’s SNAPS! Tucked away on a corner but very close to Laugavegur (the main shopping street in Reykjavik), this cute and vibrant bistro has it all: amazing seafood (get the daily catch!) and a host who looks like a blonde version of Ryan Reynolds! We went to higher rated places but none compared to SNAPS. Fresh, light on the salt and grease, with generous helpings of veggies.
Bakarí Sandholt is a fantastic little bakery on Laugavegur with ample cafe seating once you duck inside. You can get fresh bread, pastries, tiny artisan chocolates, and more. Anne was only going to have “a bite” of the chocolate passionfruit cake I got, until she took that bite… and then she really dug in. I also got a crunchy crossaint-like creme filled pastry thing (only way to describe it!) for my flight home and it flaked deliciously all over my airplane seat.
Saegreifinn – The Sea Baron. Take a walk along the harbor and wind up here for some scallop skewers and whale meat. I didn’t touch the whale (heard it tasted like burnt steak), but they offer it in small sample cuts for a few bucks, so Anne tried it and liked it I think. I will say this – it is very bloody looking. Redder than red meat. Certainly, if you are a non-mammal eating, sometimes pescetarian, sometimes vegetarian like me, don’t. Get the scallop and grilled veggie skewers instead. Some of the best scallops I’ve had in my life, done simply and outrageously tasty. The atmosphere is also casual, communal, and makes you feel like a fisherman.
Lemon | Smoothie and Juice Bar. At some point during your stay in Iceland, you will have eaten so much seafood and lobster soup that you will feel the need to smoothie and juice. A little pricey, but right on Laugavegur, Lemon made Anne a green cold cure tonic with a shot of ginger. It tasted “really healthy.” They also have a great playlist, avocado (I don’t think I saw avocado anywhere else in Iceland), and sammies.
Best Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) – Get this brand in this flavor. It is the sh**. Don’t doubt it and think, ohhh but the mango flavor sounds so good too. No, I have had ALL the flavors, so trust. Majorly stock up at Bónus supermarket and eat 5 a day on that 14-hour day trip to Jökulsárlón. I’m not kidding. You can also grab them nice and cold at rest stops, but if they don’t happen to have that particular brand in that particular flavor, you might cry.
Gló is a mostly vegetarian (ok it’s a little confusing because everything is vegetarian or vegan but they seem to serve chicken…) hippy place where you can get lots of ready made salads, veggies, and… wait for it, a raw snickers bar!!! The raw raspberry bar was also legit. Very sweet but delicious.
View of Reykjavik from atop Hallgrímskirkja, a church that looks like a glacier.
Walking along the harbor. Can be very windy some days.
Harpa Concert Hall by the old harbor. Cool architecture and glass reflections.
Þingvellir National Park. One of the stops on a Golden Circle day tour from Reykjavik.
Walking through the rift in tectonic plates at Þingvellir.
Geysir! Otherwise known as Anne’s favorite blowhole. We were walking down the path towards it when it suddenly erupted and Anne jumped and ducked behind me. Note that she is a great deal taller. Haha.
Pretty wild bangs… and look at that smoldering gaze.
This is what you see across the street from a rest stop along the Ring Road. Ugh. That landscape. So breathtaking anywhere, everywhere.
