I flew out on Icelandair on Friday, August 23, for a red-eye flight arriving in Reykjavik at 9:30 am on Saturday. Icelandair is a basic airline but has some cool Iceland-specific travel videos to get you excited about going to Iceland. I watched a few of the videos, including one with a character named “Elf-is” who taught you how to drive in Iceland. The Icelandic sense of humor seems kind of dark and odd and funny. I learned that if you hit a sheep in Iceland you may have to pay the farmer for it.

We flew over Greenland and got a glance of the icy, snowy, rocky terrain:

Then into Iceland:

I had planned out all of my gear carefully since I was planning to do a 4-day trek. I wore my backpacking pack, with Keens and trekking poles clipped on, and then used an REI duffel as a pack cover to check my bag. I almost never check a bag when traveling, but trekking poles must be checked, plus the size of the pack was fairly large.

I took a Flybus into Reykjavik, getting my first glimpses of Iceland. As we drove into the city, the bus driver mentioned that it was Culture Day in Reykjavik so many streets were closed downtown for a marathon. He told us there would be a fireworks show at 11.

I put on my pack and began the walk to my hostel. People were cheering and clapping the runners as they went – it was great.

I made it to Kex, a super hip hostel. It is full of antique furniture and books and has an ocean view:

It was a great day to explore the city. Sunny, and filled with locals with their families and tourists. As the day went on, there were free concerts and lots of food and drink places set up in the street. There was even outdoor karaoke which was amazing. Someone was singing Sweet Caroline at one point as I walked by and everyone was singing along. Later I saw an adorable mom and young daughter with matching blonde singing together.

 

I explored some of the main city streets. I went to the famous hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsurto, to grab a hot dog. For around $4 USD, it’s one of the cheapest meals around. The hot dogs are made with lamb among other meats, and topped with crispy onions and this kind of sweet gravy type sauce. It was delicious.

I went to a discount grocery store, Bonus, to buy a few snacks and breakfast/lunch for the next day. I also rented a GPS device and bought my gas canister for my backpacking stove. I visited Hallgrimskirkja, a really beautiful and unique church that you can see from all over Reykjavik.

You can take an elevator up and enjoy a nice view of the city:

I grabbed a nice cappuccino at Reykjavik Roasters and sat outside with a mix of tourists and locals. I was tired from the plane ride and found the best way to keep awake was to keep moving so I wandered around to find various free concerts outside in the streets. The artists were all really good – a lot seemed local because they appeared to be speaking Icelandic.

I stopped to eat at Icelandic Street Food. I’d read food was expensive in Iceland, but this place was a good choice to get unlimited portions of of lamb stew with bread and desserts including waffles and brownies for around $15 USD. As it turns out, as the day wore on, tons of places starting grilling outside so lots of cheaper street food was available. I got a burger later for around $8 USD, which was delicious. All the burgers I had in Iceland were really good, probably because of quality ingredients and also actually being cooked medium.

The fireworks were scheduled to be over Harpa concert hall, a really cool looking venue that lights up at night. I continued to wander around and then sat by the harbor to wait. Of course they started a bit after 11. I was so tired, but then they started and it was pretty cool.

After the fireworks, I walked along the harbor with everyone else to get back to Kex. Back at Kex, in my room, I met some German girls with large backpacking packs. I kept hoping to meet someone who had done my trek. It turned out they had done a 12-day trip in the Westfjords through their university (not the 4 day Laugavegur trail I was doing). They had gone through a sandstorm and said they even had a hard time zipping up their tents due to sand.

Overall, I really liked Reykjavik and would like to explore the city itself more. I saw lots of art museums and cool coffee shops. It’s a beautiful city and has some personality. I read some advice online to get out of the city as soon as possible, and while there is a ton to see in Iceland, Reykjavik is pretty fun. It would definitely be fun to do a stopover on the way to Europe. But I really do love wandering cities alone. It’s such a joy to explore and have the freedom to wander wherever you feel like going.