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Christmas in Iceland

December 2023 - January 2024
A 14-day adventure by Kim Read more
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  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 1

    Denver International Airport

    December 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    So...this place is confusing already, and then add a ton of construction to the mix. First, I was already irritated because some obnoxious woman took my window seat on the flight from Wichita. Her equally irritating husband looked at me with the same "I don't know how to read" look on his face as she did, so I found it easier to just take the aisle seat and not hold up the 100 people in line behind me. I'll still bitch about it for the next week. Secondly, I had to go to baggage claim on l
    Level 5 without any guidance from United as to which carousel my stuff might be rotating upon. There were 15+ carousels to search. And THEN, I had to go back to the Icelandair desk on Level 6 only to discover that they wouldn't open for another 2 hours. It all worked out, though, when a lovely airport assistant directed me to the attached hotel and Tivoli's, where there is NO construction, few people, and some really excellent cheese soup.    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 2

    Keflavik International Airport

    December 21, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ 🌬 27 °F

    Icelandic Air was awesome. They did every announcement in Icelandic first and then again in English, and the stewardess always began her announcement with, "Dear passengers...". They load their planes from the back to the front, which makes complete sense, there was plenty of leg space, and even though we left an hour later than scheduled, we still arrived about 45 minutes earlier than if we'd left on time. I couldn't see the volcano as we arrived, but Keflavik was absolutely beautiful all lit up...jewel-like. None of my pictures of the city from the air turned out, unfortunately. It was snowing when we landed, and just as my first visit, I was completely impressed with how quickly I made it through customs and baggage claim. It's a really beautiful airport.Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 2

    McKelvie!

    December 21, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ 🌬 25 °F

    Straeto bus drivers are crazy. I got a serious core workout on the ride to Reykjavik from Keflavik thanks to the very aggressive way this guy took every turn and roundabout, BUT I WAS WITH MY MCKELVIE, so it was ALL 1000% worth it! Kelv rode the bus to the airport to "pick me up," and we literally had seconds to toss my bags underneath, pay the guy, jump in, and hold on for dear life. About an hour later, I'd enjoyed a bus tour through Reykjavik and the surrounding area, and at our stop at the National Museum of Iceland, we reminded our driver that we had bags so he wouldn't drive off with them, and then we made the icy walk back to McKelvie's apartment. It felt like the middle of the night, but it was only 8:20 AM!Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 3

    Shopping at the Kringlan

    December 22, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 19 °F

    This mall is "a bit" nicer than Towne East. 😝 Today's adventure involved jet lag, so we got a late start. First, we retraced yesterday's icy journey back to the bus stop, where we caught the #6 to the mall.

    McKelvie is an old hand at this, but these Straeto bus drivers DO NOT mess around. Get on the bus or get left. If you don't have payment ready, you are screwed. And you better find a seat fast, or you will face plant as they floor it to their next stop. After a short bit intense ride, we made it to the mall, and it was packed in a way designed to give me anxiety.

    However, I've never seen such a nice food court, everyone was friendly, and it was entertaining to hear "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in Icelandic.

    We hit up a couple of stores for some necessities and decided we'd had enough. Just too many people. We will try again after the holiday.    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 4

    Reykjavik City Hall, Alþingi, & Tjörnin

    December 23, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    This afternoon, McKelvie and I took a 25-minute walk to downtown Reykjavik to do a little shopping, specifically for some wool gloves and scarves, as the daily temperature is usually between 20-30° this time of year. McKelvie had gloves and a hat, but they weren't quite doing the job.

    The last time I was here, we had rented a car, so we drove everywhere, and finding a place to park was a concern. If I had known that the city centre was such a short walk away, we would NEVER have made that stressful drive, and we would've visited downtown far more often back in August.

    The lake near Reykjavik's city hall is called Tjörnin ("The Pond"), and people were literally walking across it as a shortcut to the other side. Parents were teaching their kids how to ice skate. It was so much fun to see!

    This time, I got to see the front of City Hall and the Alþingi, which is the Iceland Parliament building. Then we saw the Christmas Market.    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 4

    Reykjavik Centre, Jólakötturinn, & Harpa

    December 23, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    I have been waiting for MONTHS to see the Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn, who is considered the pet of Gryla and her sons, the Yule Lads.

    According to Wikipedia (and yes, I'm ashamed of myself for using it as a source): "Jólakötturinn is a huge and vicious cat from Icelandic Christmas folklore that is said to lurk in the snowy countryside during the Christmas season and eat people who do not receive new clothing before Christmas Eve. In other versions of the story, the cat just eats the food of people without new clothes. The Yule cat was traditionally used as a threat and incentive for farmworkers to finish processing the wool collected in the autumn before Christmas. Those who took part in the work were rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus would be prey for the Yule cat.

    The establishment of the Yule cat as part of classic Icelandic Christmas folklore came in 1932, when Jóhannes úr Kötlum published his poetry collection Jólin koma [is] ('Christmas is Coming'). One of the poems, "Jólakötturinn," centered on the eponymous man-eating monster, which subsequently became a common part of Christmas festivities and decorations in Iceland."

    McKelvie and I also found The Drunk Rabbit again, and we visited the Harpa Concert Hall and walked very quickly by the Icelandic Phallological Museum (One visit was enough, thank you very much.)    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 4

    Hallgrímskirkja/Yule Lad

    December 23, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    Hallgrímskirkja is just as impressive while lit up in the dark as it was when seen in broad daylight - even more so because we were able to see the beautiful stained glass better. We couldn't go very far into the sanctuary because people were setting up for tomorrow's Christmas Eve services.

    The Hallgrímskirkja serves a Lutheran congregation and sits on top of the hilltop Skólavörðuholt. It can be seen from almost everywhere in Reykjavik. It was commissioned in 1937 and took 41 years to build, beginning in 1945. It is considered "Expressionist architecture because of its tower-like exterior, its rejection of traditional styles and its dynamic design" (Wikipedia again, unfortunately).

    I'm looking forward to hearing the bells on Sunday morning.

    As we were heading to City Hall, we found a Yule Lad projected on a building. McKelvie says all 13 can be found downtown - you just have to search for them - but this is the only one we saw today. According to Wikipedia: "The Yule Lads are the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population, and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing. They come to town one by one during the last 13 nights before Yule. They leave small gifts in shoes that children have placed on window sills, but if the child has been disobedient, they instead leave a rotten potato in the shoe."

    They all have terrible names, like Spoon Licker, Stubby, Door Slammer, and Window Peeper. The one who is supposed to come tonight is called Meat Hook.

    "Current-day Grýla can detect children who are misbehaving year-round. She comes from the mountains during Christmas time to search nearby towns for her meal. She leaves her cave, hunts children, and carries them home in her giant sack. She devours children as her favorite snack. Her favorite dish is a stew of naughty kids, for which she has an insatiable appetite. According to legend, there is never a shortage of food for Grýla" (Wikipedia).    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 4

    Reykjavik Tjörnin, Unknown Bureaucrat

    December 23, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    Our walk home from the Hallgrímskirkja was made even more entertaining by an impromptu street concert by a couple of drunk Santas. They were obviously singing songs that the Icelandic members of the crowd knew, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but it was fun!

    We took a different route by the Tjörnin again, this time to see the ducks and geese there. Because so many people like to feed the 40-50 species of birds that frequent The Pond, the lake is "poetically referred to as 'the biggest bread soup in the world'" (Wikipedia), although city officials have requested that people stop feeding the ducks in order to better protect the ducklings. One corner of the lake is geothermically heated, so it never freezes over (McKelvie and I wondered about that as we walked by, and the Guide to Iceland website just confirmed it for me!)

    The Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat always makes me a little sad.    Read more

  • TravelerChristmas in Iceland
    Day 5

    Christmas Eve

    December 24, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 28 °F

    McKelvie and I had a lazy day. We made roast chicken and potatoes for supper in her tiny kitchen. We even baked a chocolate cake!

    At 6 PM, we went on the balcony to hear the Hallgrimskirkja bells. It was too windy to get a good recording, but I'll post it anyway. Merry Christmas!Read more

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