Sheri Barley

So our last day in Reykjavik. It has been an amazing trip and one of the best Holidays. We thought we would do some final thoughts:

Reykjavik, though small, is a world class city. The people are truly friendly and the pride in their culture shows through in all they do and how they treat others. Their history has taught them to honor the earth and her resources and they do all they can everyday to sustain the resources they have been provided. Geothermal power, clean air, clean water and preserving their way of life are top of mind in all they do. When you arrive at their airport, there are signs telling you that the water in Reykjavik is the finest anywhere and please do not buy plastic bottled water but drink straight from the tap. Their streets are clean, their city is designed to be quite livable, they pay everyone a living wage and ensure the people are taken care of in a time of need. Other countries could sure learn from their efforts.

Communicating in Iceland for Americans is very easy. All Icelanders must learn English as a second language. There is a lot of diversity in Iceland so not everyone speaks English but most do.

For all of its volcanic activity, Iceland has mountains that are not very tall and mountain ranges that are not very long. Their landscape provides amazing vistas and dramatic skies.

A quick random thought: Is it considered ironic that a country called Iceland, does not serve ice in their beverages (tea, soda, water)? Just asking….

Should you travel to Iceland, here are some recommendations:

Reykjavik Residences - the apartment we rented was in a very good area of town. It was centrally located within the downtown area and within walking distance of everything. The group that manages the property was very helpful and friendly. While not a hotel, you still received daily service with the added bonus of having a full kitchen, laundry, two bedrooms and living room. We would highly recommend this group and they were not that much more expensive than a hotel room.

Reykjavik is very safe. We never felt uncomfortable walking in any areas of the city or on any part of our tours. Tourism makes up 50 percent of Iceland’s economy so they are very attuned to travelers and their needs.

Food and drink are very expensive, but are generally good quality and the service is good. However, you should note they never rush you, and most of the time you have to ask for your bill. We would recommend that as you arrive in Reykjavik, if you want any adult beverages, you should buy them at the airport.

We would recommend Apotek for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dill, a Michelin-star restaurant, serves a pre-fix seven course dinner. The food was exceptional but there are no choices other than what they have planned for the menu that night. If you would like to try them, you will need to make reservations weeks in advance.

Most mornings it was Te and Kaffi, great coffee drinks and hot chocolate.

Meze was good for some Mediterranean flavors, Reykjavik Fish Company had the best fish and chips in town, however, the best fish and chips as well as lamb soup was at the Black Beach visitor center. Icelanders have a unique approach to hot dogs and they are a quick, tasty, cheap street food.

Try the LAMB. They are truly free range. During the summer the farmers all release their stock to roam the hills and mountains of Reykjavik. At the end of fall right before winter they bring their animals back to the farms. The lamb is the most flavorful and tender I've ever tasted!

We would not recommend any of the Vietnamese Pho franchise restaurants, they were mediocre at best.

Toilet paper is single ply and not very soft (they could sure use some Charmin Ultra here).

Sheri’s favorite coffee shop was in a bookstore in the oldest part of Reykjavik and is called Ida.

Plan tours with the understanding that they take the whole day in most cases. Try not to schedule night time events with day time events. They can be very exhausting. If you go during the winter, we highly recommend taking the Northern Lights tour as soon as possible as you can reschedule if you don’t see the lights. Tours are available in two main sizes - regular bus size and mini-bus. The regular bus size is a bit less expensive, but you will get less time at the sites as there is more time devoted to the unloading and loading of passengers. We used the ViaTour website/app to plan our tours ahead of time. They are excellent for communicating and you can save things offline. Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere, including on the tour buses, so you don’t really need an international phone or SIM card. If you plan to go on the Southern tour, waterproof pants, boots and jacket are a great way to stay warm and dry.

There is an app called VoiceMap. It provides walking tours all over the world and the one in Reykjavik was excellent. It will take at least 2 hours to complete so plan accordingly.

For some reason door-stoops are all raised so you need to be careful entering and leaving rooms of any kind.

Expect wind and rain. Don’t bother with an umbrella.

The last day we found Dragon Dim Sum, it should not be missed.Read more

Our last couple of stops on the South Shore were waterfalls. One of which you could actually go behind and take pictures looking out, another was a little treacherous in that you had to hike through a very narrow opening in the rocks to get to the waterfall behind it. I discovered that my Idlewild snow boots were actually waterproof! Whew!

SKOGAFOSS WATERFALL

The Skógafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in the country, with a width of 25 metres (82 feet) and a drop of 60 m (200 ft). Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces, a single or double rainbow is normally visible on sunny days. There are 500 steps built into the hillside to get to the top of Skógafoss.

According to legend, the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall. The legend continues that locals found the chest years later, but were only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest before it disappeared again. The ring was allegedly given to the local church. The old church door ring is now in the Skógar museum.

The following verse is witness to this legend and has been passed down through the generations:

The chest in Prasi’s secret lair
Under the Skogar waterfall
Rewards the one who ventures there
With endless riches, great and small

Skogafoss has been used in movies and streaming series so you may have seen it and not know it!

The waterfall was a location for the filming of the Marvel Studios film Thor: The Dark World, as well as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The waterfall has been used as one of the locations of song "Gerua", in the 2015 Bollywood movie Dilwale featuring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol.

The official music video of "I'll Show You" features glacial lagoons and rivers in South Iceland, including the waterfall Skógafoss.

In season 5 of the History Channel series, Vikings, the character Floki witnesses Skógafoss when he discovers Iceland.

In season 8 of the Game of Thrones series, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow fly to this waterfall with her dragons and kiss in front of it.

SELJALANDFOSS WATERFALL

There’s a somewhat slippery very wet path that leads behind the waterfall. You will get wet, but it’s worth it for the spectacular view from behind the waterfall.

GLJÚFRABÚI WATERFALL

The name means ‘Dweller in the Gorge’ and what a fitting name because the second waterfall in this area is isolated behind a fissure. We walked on rocks in the water that runs through the fissure to get to this waterfall. The echoing of the water rushing from above is quite amazing.Read more