Recommendations for Reykjavík

[binge]

I'll be in ReykjavÃk for two weeks in mid-August: half business, half holiday. Anyone have any good recommendations on restaurants, sights and activities?

I already have a travel book and am doing research online, but if anyone has any good local knowledge or personal experience, I'd love to hear it.

 

[oscarthewild]

Sounds fascinating. Heard a lot about the food there:
http://www.hulver.com/scoop/story/2004/9/1/64125/52848

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

Sounds fascinating. Heard a lot about the food there:
http://www.hulver.com/scoop/story/2004/9/1/64125/52848

Heard alot about the girls there too

 

[oscarthewild]

Originally Posted by yachtie

Heard alot about the girls there too

Eating that food impresses those girls.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

Eating that food impresses those girls.

C'mon- herring's not bad. Not a good idea getting meat products from a convenience store though ( hell- I don't do that even here!)

 

[totally epic]

Will you have a rental car? Iceland is perfect in August.

 

[dpw]

bring a healthy liver, you will need it....they consume an alcoholic beverage now and then

 

[binge]

Thanks for the tips so far everyone. I was planning to rent a car, where would you recommend going?

 

[Alter]

You should watch the movie called Heima that features the band Sigur Ros on tour around Iceland.

 

[totally epic]

Originally Posted by binge

Thanks for the tips so far everyone. I was planning to rent a car, where would you recommend going?
My favorite little town in Iceland is Seyðisfjörður, but it's a bit of a drive from ReykjavÃk. The drive there is absolutely worth it though. If you don't plan on going that far, try to get to Höfn at least.

 

[binge]

Thanks for the suggestions, a trip out to the countryside is definitely on my list. About how long would it take to drive to either of those by car?

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

Originally Posted by dpw

bring a healthy liver, you will need it....they consume an alcoholic beverage now and then

The price of those drinks might keep your consumption down.

 

[iridium7777]

do yourself a major favor and buy alcohol right at the airport before you leave it and get into town. buy a lot because it'll still be cheaper than paying 80$ for 1.75L bottle of vodka in the city.

half way between reykjavik and the airport is the blue lagoon, definitely worth a visit. i think it costs around 15-20$ to walk in there, but the time i went there i was so wasted and already had my swimming suit on that no one stoped me and i just walked in and crabbed a chair by the pool.

rent a car, get a map and just drive around. in no time you'll see a bunch of sheep grazing in endless fields and waterfall after waterfall. take a trip out west and see "the" geiser. it's probably a two hour ride each way, but as a bonus right around there are some major waterfalls with a constant rainbow around.

it's f'in bright there this time of the year, so you can go see the geiser and just drive around at 2am and be fine.with all the brightness it's also a ***** to fall asleep though.

another super annoying thing i remember were the gas stations, each one required some pin for your credit card, which i dunno what the hell it is since i don't have a pin for my cc in the states. so do yourself another favor and carry their stupid kroners around at least for gas.

 

[Lucky Strike]

I've never been there, except for the airport, but I have a couple of friends who are enthusiasts...I also used to know quite a few Icelanders. Many Icelanders are super-trendy, to the point of caricature, and at the same time, their most important industry, by far, is the very traditional fishing, and then sheep-farming, I think. It's like a "rough fishing village gone hipster" according to my friends. It makes for nice bars and shopping, thuogh - there are a lot of local designers in the streetwear/fashion foreward vein that are supposed to be very good. They have one of the best literacy rates in the world - expect intellectual and "intellectual" conversations. The local culture and language is extremely well protected, typically, by law, they translate or invent "indigenous" words instead of importing phrases. The women are generally stunning - I can vouch for this - and liberated. Typically, being an unwed mother carried far less shame in Iceland than in most other Western countries, even going far back. This is supposed to be at least partly because of the nature of the fisheries - men disappear at sea, etc. Two friends of mine went there on what was essentially a trip for drinking and chasing women - and it all went a bit wrong: They'd timed their trip for just after the big start of the fishing season, where a lot of the men would be out at sea, and there would be a nice surplus of women around town. Backfire: There was a storm, and the bars were filled with pissed-off fishermen losing money by the minute...

Downside; prices are generally steep.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

I have been to Iceland a couple of times to party. The women are overrated (sad, but true - I had high expectations).