The raw natural beauty of Iceland and its capital Reykjavik
Getting there
We travelled to Reykjavik from Gatwick on British Airways. Actually, that's a lie: we were given a note at check-in saying we were actually flying with Sun-Air, whoever they are. We paid about £200 for both of us for the 3.5-hour flight. Flying over the south-west of Iceland on the approach to the airport, we could see the entire land was covered in crisp, white snow; the airport's runway was obviously heated from underneath - a lonely strip of concrete in a nomansland of white.
Keflavik Airport is 50km away from Iceland's chic capital, Reykjavik. The Flybus, owned by Reykjavik Excursions, costs around £20 for a return ticket to the city and back, although you must buy the ticket from the desk or machine in the airport. The Flybus route passes the Blue Lagoon (see below) en-route, so they also offer an option to stop there on the way to, or back from, the city. The buses (and Blue Lagoon option) are timed to coincide with flight arrivals and departures.
The hotel
We stayed in the Metropolitan Hotel on Ranargata. Recent TripAdvisor reviews have been very negative; we had no problems at all with this hotel, they even let us store luggage for free in a back room on the last day because of our late flight home. Let's face it, Reykjavik is an expensive enough city without going all-out on a fancy hotel just so you can have a mini-bar and a better-than-average view. How much time do you spend in a hotel while on holiday anyway?!
First day orientation
The first thing we did was to head to the centre of the city, coming across a frozen Tjornin (above) with locals ice-skating and walking on the city lake, adjacent to Reykjavik's city hall. The city itself spreads out around the lake, with the sea and harbour to the north, domestic airport to the south, residential area to the west and shopping/attraction areas to the east.
City attractions
Perhaps the best - and most well-known - attractions are located outside the city limits, but Reykjavik itself has plenty of attractions to keep visitors amused.
Hallgrimskirkja cathedral - A space-rocket look-a-like makes up the city's de-facto cathedral (above right), which you can enter for free and pay to go to the top - in an elevator! The view over the city, especially of the city's sunset, is beautiful and well worth the fee.
City hall - A modern building overlooking the city lake, with free entrance, free internet (when you buy a drink in the cafe - try the delicious Viking beer), occasional free music concerts, and a large bas-relief map of the city.
Perlan ('The Pearl') - built to store and heat one-third of Reykjavik city's water, Perlan (left) contains 6 circular water-storage tanks, with a visitor's centre, cafe and expensive top-floor restaurant built above. One of the water tanks has been emptied to create a museum on the history of Reykjavik, for a small entrance fee. The museum is well-presented, but you have to wear MP3 players as there's no signs, which means you have to go through the museum at the speed of the audio, which ruins the enjoyment of it slightly. There's also a 'man-made geyser' which shoots up three floors from its base just outside the toilets on the ground floor.
Attractions around Reykjavik
There are plenty of excursions companies - the best being Reykjavik Excursions and Gray Line Iceland Excursions - who take you on trips outside of Reykjavik. To book, you pay your hotel the excursion fee (free brochures available), they give you a receipt and book the trip. The excursion company then pick you up from outside your hotel using a small minibus and take you to a bus station on the outskirts of the city centre. From there, you exchange your hotel receipt for a proper excursion voucher in the office, and they send you onto the coach which goes on your excursion. The reverse happens on the way back - a smaller minibus waits to collect you at the bus station to travel round the city's hotels. This system seems quite confusing on paper, and the first time you do it, but it makes complete sense after your third excursion!
Geysir - a large geyser to the east of Reykjavik (after which all others in the world are named) which goes off about twice a year. In the same field is the smaller Strokkur (right), which erupts every 5 minutes or so. It's an amazing sight to see; first, the small pool of water starts bubbling and gurgling, then starts to disappear underground, before coming back up to the surface, fooling everyone waiting with cameras. It does this a few times, before a large bubble appears before the water goes underground, then shoots high into the air. The (now cold) water collects back in the hole in the ground, before starting to gurgle again.
Thingvellir - A national park near to Geysir and Strokkur which is made up of 'new land' and technically isn't in Iceland - or even in a continent. That's because the national park lies on the fault line between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, and the land that makes up the national park is expanding by around 10 meters each year. There are two visible 'sides' - basically cliff faces - which mark the start of the two plates. One - on the American side - also marks the site of Iceland's - and the world's - first elected parliament, after which Thingvellir takes its name.
Gulfoss - A beautiful three-tiered waterfall, again near to Geysir. You can overlook it from a viewing platform at the top of the waterfall (or from the cosy cafe serving fish stew a bit further up) or go right down a steep hill, where you can stand almost on top of the waterfall.
These three sights (Geysir/Strokkur, Thingvellir and Gulfoss) can be seen on the famous 'Golden Circle tour', which all excursion companies offer. The tour also takes in some other waterfalls, the Kerid volcano crater, Iceland's so-called 'greenhouse village', the only place where the country's vegetables are grown, and other sights - including a geothermal power station - on the journey. The best power station is yet to come, though...
Blue Lagoon - A large swimming pool filled with water (left) that's come out of a power station. "What?!", I can hear you cry - but no fear - it's a geothermal power station. It's how the whole country generates electricity, making use of the thin Earth's crust and harnessing the steam to generate power. The water by-product is placed in large pools around the station, and they charge you to swim in them.
It's the wierdest sensation in the world, especially in winter - hotter-than-a-hot-bath water on your body, the cold Icelandic winter wind whipping on your face, and your feet treading on a lime-green-grey sludge (supposedly very good for your skin). Dotted around the outside are various saunas, cream treatments and others - although you'll have to brave that wind to exit the pool and enter those rooms!
Photo gallery
There's more photos in the gallery 'Reykjavik and Iceland'
Date and Updates
Originally written in January 2008.
Updated web-links for Keflavik Airport and Metropolitan Hotel, and minor article edits for clarity, in January 2013.
Edits for writing style and minor typos in October 2013.
