10 things to do in Iceland

The solar cycle of 11 years was supposed to be at it's maximum from 2012 to 2014. Predictions were that last December would bring the most spectacular northern lights displays. So we decided to brave the cold and headed north for two weeks in Iceland. The nights were long with less than 6 hours of daylight everyday. But there was plenty to do in and around Reykjavik while we waited to try our luck with the aurora borealis at night.

1. Explore Reykjavik on foot
We were staying on Laugavegur, the main shopping street in Reykjavik. The location was superb and we only needed to walk to get around to most of the nearby attractions.

We took a walk across the frozen Tjornin Pond.


Morning stroll at the harbour
We were headed to the Vikin Museum by the harbour, it was very windy but the beautiful sunrise made my morning.

Hallgrimskirkja

The very iconic Hallgrimskirkja was the largest church in Iceland. 

Beautiful views of the city atop the church tower, 700 ISK to take the lift up was definitely worth it.

Solfar

The sun voyager, this sculpture of a dreamboat was an ode to the sun. Not much sun when we were there though.

Or just amble around like a cat.

2. Watch a show at the Harpa

We caught "How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes" on a Friday evening. This one man show in English was a quick introduction to Icelandic people and was definitely a great night of laughs.

http://en.harpa.is/events/how-become-icelandic-60-minutes

3. Go glacier hiking

Take a short trip out of Reyjavik and go glacier hiking!

For a city dweller like me, especially in Singapore with year long summers, this was a great experience getting out in the cold. 

4. Vik and the black sand beach

Quiet little town that we stopped over at. 

Second stopover on the way back to Reykjavik, we were treated to a spectacular sunset.

5. Jökulsárlón

This large glacial lake at the edge of Vatnajökull National Park has appeared in four Hollywood movies: A View to Kill, Die Another Day, Batman Begins and Tomb Raider. [Source: Wikipedia]

6. Take the Golden Circle Tour

Hellisheiði geothermal power station

The largest geothermal power station in the world, this power station provides power at a fraction of the electricity cost in Europe.

Skálholt

An important area in Iceland's history, it was the cultural and political centre in the 11th century and also was home to the first official school in Iceland.

Gullfoss
The "golden falls", this place can only be experienced, not described.

Geysir
Boiling water is hurled up to 70m into the air every few minutes at the geysir.

Þingvellir

Another important area in Iceland, Þingvellir was the site where parliament was formed in the 10th century.

7. Ride an Icelandic horse

Icelandic horses are small, some are sized like a pony. It was a fun experience riding through the snowy landscape.

8. Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon

Though often seen as a tourist trap, the blue lagoon was still a nice place to spend half a day relaxing.

Or go for a swim in one of the public pools in Reyjavik, great experience too. We took a swim in Sundhöll, there was an indoor area where the pool temperature was about 29 degrees Celsius, and also hot tubs (39-42 degrees Celsius) outdoor.

9. Have lobster soup at the Sægreifinn

One of our favourite, we were at the sea baron twice and might have been more if it weren't so cold to get there. This was by the harbour and that meant really cold winds since there were no buildings to provide shelter from the wind along the way.

Oh so yummy!!

Simple potatos and prawns on skewers were really good too.

We also tried whale steak. Looks and tasted very much like beef.

10. Þetta reddast

Above all, Þetta reddast. A saying we learnt at "How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes", know that "it'll be alright". Even if things don't go as planned, make the best of it! We were caught in a pretty serious windstorm with windspeeds of up to 155 km/h on Christmas Eve and couldn't return to Reyjavik. 

So we spent the night at Hotel Laki and had a geology lesson on Christmas morning instead.

Icelanders were big on geology. The hotel owner dug out a hole near the hotel that showed the different layers of sediments that were formed by the different eruptions over the years. Here, our guide was telling us about the various eruptions that took place.

So have a great time in Iceland, Þetta reddast!

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and the Windy Adventure on Christmas Eve

24 December

Seemed like a typical morning, we had breakfast before heading to Jokulsarlon.

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

We continued our way back to the city.

And then our adventure started with the 43m/s wind (155km/h)

Our guide and driver Helgi was telling us that at wind speeds like this, the mini bus could be blown over. Or, the wind might pick up stones off the ground and shatter the windows. And it did. Our door was shattered first, then one of the windows. We could feel the bus shaking from the wind as we drove on, then another strong gust of wind blew the glass pieces into the bus and cold wind followed.

We drove with the gaping hole for awhile more till we got to a diner nearby while our guides figured what to do next. All 3 minibuses had windows shattered, though only ours had the glass bits blown apart.

An armoured rescue vehicle was going to ferry the 44 of us, 9 at a time, across the windiest path to a coach which would bring us back to the city. Each return trip took an hour.

Well that was the plan. 4 hours later, as we waited for every of us to be brought across, the road from the city become too snowy and windy for the coach pick us up, so we would spend the night in Vik and return to the city tomorrow.

When the rescue vehicle came for us, it had overheated and it took some time for us to be on the road again. While we rode in the rescue vehicle, we could hear the sand and rocks being blown onto the vehicle, and visibility was barely 100m at some point.

Finally at around 8pm, we were safe and sound in Hotel Laki, and the story got on the local news!

http://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2013/12/24/gista_a_klaustri/

What an adventure on Christmas eve.

So they said rescue vehicle.. 

But we didn't know it was this till it came for the first batch to be ferried across!

 View from the diners that we were in for more than 6 hours that day

Still jolly and having fun with selfies

What a ride!

Finally in Hotel Laki, the hotel folks were REALLY REALLY nice. Not only did they give us the food and rooms meant for the next day's guests, they cut short their own Christmas dinner at home and brought their Christmas spread to the hotel so that we would have enough!

Glass bits I found in my boots :|