We went to Iceland for the Airwaves music festival last October. It was my first visit and I fell in love with the frosty city. Sam has been there countless times and I've been desperate to go but it hadn't worked out until last year.
It was a short flight just an hour away and when we disembarked the plane I braced myself to be hit by a wave of steely cold air, the complete opposite to a warm holiday. But it never came, at 5 degrees the weather was quite refreshing. This soon changed when we were hit by the tail end of Hurricane Sandy lashing out whisps of 75mph winds which blew a car and me across the hotel car park.
Here is my take on Reykjavik...
The main high street is Laugavegur and there are a lot of cool boutiques to check out there. It’s the strangest capital city – quite small and not very busy, hardly any cars but this only makes it more magical to me.
12 Tonar is the best music shop in the world. Icelandic artists just drop off their home produced records for 12 tonar to sell.
Sightseeing
You can see the best views of Reykjavik from the top of Hallgrímskirkja - the cathedral.
It almost goes without saying that everyone who goes to Iceland must go to the Blue Lagoon
We hired a really cheap car from sad cars for a day and went on a mission around the golden circle.
I’m sure the tourist information will let you know all about the golden circle - the geysirs, Gullfoss etc but check out the black beaches of Vik and the beautiful little church on the coast of Gullbringusysla.
Bars
A great daytime hangout for food (amazing pulled pork sandwiches), drinks, free wifi and people watching is Kex
Kaffibarinn is a bar that is part-owned by Damon Albarn and hosts lots of live music from locals. Sam Amidon surprised me by playing my favourite song Louis Collins in these really intimate surroundings. I haven't heard him play it live before, pretty overwhelming, made me cry.
Boston is a new bar which according to locals is the favourite haunt of Jonsi from Sigur Ros and Bjork at the moment
Check out the architecture of Harpa - it's a beautiful venue for gigs
Food
Sam has been going on about Saegreifinn's lobster bisque and he wasn't wrong it is mighty fine and not too rich or creamy so a real hit with me.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur serves the tastiest hot dogs, which are great to eat when you are out drinking. It basically a hot dog van in a car park - the beginnings of street food right here. I had quite a few while I was there – they are quite addictive and my vegan friends had the crunchy onions and sauce in the buns without the sausages.
The Noodle station serves cheap and spicy noodle soup, great for refueling when you are rushing around.
Remember to keep looking up at the sky at night, because you are sure to see the northern lights. Sam was complaining to a guy we'd just met that he'd never seen them and the guy told us to look up and we saw them.
Music
The best gig was Daughter who played in a church in the centre of Reykajvik. Everyone was so quiet and the music was so powerful it felt like this is the best use for a church. It made me very thankful that I was there to experience it.
It really is my favourite city.
