For every destination, there is always a to-do list of things you should see and experience while jet setting. In Iceland, two of those things include an outdoor bath at one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools, and a drive to the
Golden Circle. That's how we planned to spend our second day in this beautiful country. We hired a local taxi to drive us around for eight hours. Since there were four of us, the cost was about $200USD per couple.
11AM- We headed to
Laugardalslaug Pool- Reykjavik's biggest pool, and also the largest pool in Iceland.
The price to get in is $360ISK per person. There is an awesome water slide, a large pool and smaller hot pots that are similar to hot tubs. Volcanic water keeps the temperature at a mellow 29*C for the large pool and between 37*-42*C for the hot pots. Note: The city's pools are free of chemicals, so you must shower naked before getting in. Don't worry, men and women have separate locker rooms- but if you are shy about being nude in front of others- this may not be for you.
12:15PM- Back in the taxi and on the road to the Golden Circle.
Gulfoss,
Geysir and
Pingvellir are unique sites commonly referred to as the Golden Circle.
Pingvellir is a national park about 20km east of Reykjavik. This is a place of spectacular beauty- a place where you feel like your pictures cannot do it justice.
It is like being in another world when you are here- it truly is amazing! You can spend hours walking through this immense rift valley which is caused by the separating North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
We then continued on to Gulfoss- Iceland's most famous waterfall. It is a double cascading waterfall that is the biggest in Europe.
After Gulfoss, we got back into the car and went to see the Geysir.
Its pronounced Gay-Zeer. This is another of Iceland's most famous tourist attractions. It's the original blasting hot water spout (temperature of 230*C) after which all other geysers around the world are named. There are a few in the area to see, some bigger than the others. The most reliable geysir of all the ones is named Strokkur- which goes off every 5-6 minutes. So have your camera ready! Also be warned that it is sort of smelly like rotten eggs from the sulfur.
That night, back in Reykjavik, we went to
The Fish Company for dinner.
The restaurant came highly recommended from our waiter the night before at Dill Restaurant- and he was right! Here's what we had:
Fried Icelandic Lobster, butter cooked carrots, sheep sorrel jelly & Brennivins eggfoam
Jamaica spiced tunafish, pear-lime foam, deepfried softshell crab & bacon powder
Butterfried rack of lamb in fresh herbs, saltkiot & parsnip, burned mushroom & blueberry-baconsauce
Olive oil sous vide Baccalo from north of Iceland & squid in pirl pirl, plum tomato & black mareng
For deesrt we had banana & coconut cake, that came with roasted coconut chips, fresh papaya foam & homemade vanilla ice cream
Dinner was another incredible experience!
Afterwards we stopped next door to
Restaurant Reykjavik to the Ice Bar. Believe it or not, this is the ONLY ice bar in all of Iceland!
Actually, I should point out that it's not really even a bar, but instead a converted meat locker within the restaurant that has walls lined with ice blocks. You pay $1500ISK per person to get in and they give you a big coat to put on- then you go in and they give you a drink.
You can either choose to have Brennivin or a cocktail which is made with vodka, wine and sprite- it's very fruity, but very good. Although the experience is sort of cheezy, I woulod definitely still recommend it. It's really cold in the room, so if nothig else, it's fun to bundle up and take some pictures.
A bit of walking around and we worked up a mini appetite again! We went to
Devito's Pizza for a slice.
This place was voted best drunken slice and best pizza in Reykjavik. We had a pepperoni slice. Everyone puts garlic oil and lemon pepper on the slices- DELISH!
Tomorrow read about our Glacier Hike and our time at another geothermal pool!
You know the saying "When in Rome...do as the Romans do."? Well, the same goes for Iceland, when in Iceland...do a glacier hike! My friend Laura is definitely the adventurous type and suggested that we go on a glacier hike in Iceland. I agreed, thinking how hard could it be, right? She told me it would be a 2 out of a 5...boy, was I in for a shock! In the end, I'm glad we did it, but only because I made it down unscathed!.
Our day started at 9:30am. We signed up to go with a tour group called Arctic Adventures. Our driver and guides name was Mio.
There were six of us in total on the hike (including Mio).
It took about 2 and 1/2 hours to drive out to a glacier known as Skogar on the south coast of Iceland. The drive was absolutely beautiful, with views of mountains and the Atlantic Ocean along the way. When we got to Skogar, it was raining and windy...great weather for a glacier hike...not! Mio fitted us each for our crampons, gave us an ice pick- which also could be used as a walking stick, and he taught us how to walk both up and down the glacier. Five minutes later, we were on our way to the top! Along the way, we would walk very close to something known as crevasses- holes about 20-30 feet deep.
It was scary! You definitely had to watch where you were going at all times. The sight from the top was spectacular.
Laura and her boyfriend, Pierre, even ice climbed. They sure are brave!
It was a great experience- and quite a good workout too I might add. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, and Rich felt the same way, but we are so glad we did it!
After the three hour hike, we drove to see Skogafoss waterfall. It's not as big as Gulfoss, but it beautifully topples down a rocky cliff.
After this day...we certainly needed another visit to one of Reykjavik's geothermal pools...and that's exactly what we did. For dinner that night, we wanted something not so fancy, and headed to American Style for hamburgers. Icelanders love their fast food...and American Style is where locals like to go.
This place looks like a fast food joint when you first walk in and it acts like one too. You have to go up to the register to place your order and pay, and then you sit down and they bring the food out to you. We had bacon burgers- which come with special sauce on them- and french fries.
We washed it all down with a local Viking beer.
Since it was a Friday night, we decided to do the Runtur- Reykjavik's pub crawl. the Runtur happens every Friday and Saturday night along Laugavegar- the main street in town. Icelanders dress up and head out to the bars to drink, dance and be merry. The good times last until about 6 in the morning when places finally close. We started our Runtur at Karamba- which is a coffee house by day and a lounge/bar at night.
Next we went to Bar 11 which is your standard bar.
The last place on our Runtur was B5- a super sleek spot that has great music and is a good place to dance. 
Next week, you can read about some of Reykjavik's great shopping and the Blue Lagoon...stay tuned!
