One of the things that I had heard about Iceland was that many people go there for the nightlife. Maybe because the sun is up for so long, or maybe it is the luxury lifestyle, but nightclubs are supposed to be big here. As it turned out, I heard correctly. We were on the second floor of our hotel, and now on then while we were sleeping I was awoken by noise from across the street. There was a nightclub nearby, and the euro beat and laughing and dancing was loud enough to disturb my sleep. It didn’t help that we went to bed so early, but despite all the noise we did manage to get enough sleep.
At this hotel we had breakfast included, so we went downstairs once it opened and had a light meal. Nothing special to report at this breakfast – they had the typical stuff like yogurt, cheese, cold cuts and coffee. They did have a sign advertising the local delicacy that we wanted to try – fermented shark – but we decided to look for it elsewhere. We got the coffee out of an automatic machine, and tried to wake ourselves up for some sightseeing.
We spent our morning walking two big circles around the town of Reykjavik. The weather was sunny, the sky was clear and blue, and the temperature was brisk but not quite cold. It was perfect weather for doing a lot of walking and we managed to see just about everything we wanted to see on foot. One of the most impressive sights was the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral, overlooking the city on the hillside. We arrived too early for it to be open but we took some nice pictures and enjoyed the solitude of being up there before the crowds. From there we walked down the hill to the waterfront, and got a chance to see the Sun Voyager, an artistic structure resembling a Viking ship on the northern coast of the city. We walked farther along the coast, breathing in fresh air and feeling totally refreshed, and came to the Harpa Amphitheater, a uniquely designed building that hosts major cultural events in town. It looked very modern against a backdrop of mountains and sea to the north. Occasionally a cruise ship or fishing boat would sail into town, and even these big ships looked tiny against a background as dramatic as the rocky shores of Iceland.
All this walking had us thirsty for a cold beer, but it was still too early for that. Instead we did another complete loop through the small town, this time stopping in at the places that were closed the first time. We went into the cathedral, and took an elevator to the top of the steeple for beautiful views of the city. The interior of the cathedral was rather plain white and they went with a simple theme, but the organ was huge and looked pretty intense. Speaking of huge organs, we skipped a visit to the Icelandic Phallological Museum, and instead went next door to check out the smallish food hall there. Unfortunately the food was mainly international dishes – nothing local that we could try out.
We stopped in at the hotel for a little break and then walked down to the harbor area to try to visit Sea Baron, a small little restaurant that serves only lobster soup and fish grilled on skewers. We had been by here the previous day but there had been a long line, so this time we arrived 15 minutes before they opened, and we were the only ones waiting. They were nice enough to open a few minutes early and let us in, and before we knew it we had two steaming bowls of lobster soup in front of us, with skewers on the way. The soup was really, really good. It was filled with big chunks of lobster and with a rich broth that made you use the bread they gave us to soak up every drop. The monster skewers of white fish were excellent as well – the fish was called “tusk”.
A little while after we arrived some Chinese tourists came in, and while they were waiting for their food they all looked at their smartphones in silence – it was a weird vibe. We finished up there, and walked to the end of the harbor to a local brewery, called Bryggian Brugghus, for a flight of all the beers that they make. They poured us six tasters of beer and we sat in comfortable chairs in the very stylish brewery bar and sampled them all. Of the six, we liked the English Ale and the Pale Ale, but they were all quite tasty. For the first time we were sitting and relaxing in a very modern atmosphere, listening to modern music instead of the 80’s pop music that had been following us around. I didn’t notice how often the 80’s music popped up until we sat there at the bar and heard the smooth hip-hop playing on their music system. It was a nice change of pace for us.
Feeling very pleasant and relaxed we walked back through town, past the Icelandic Punk Rock Museum, and started to look at restaurant menus in search of fermented shark. I had heard that it was one of those must try foods, and despite what you are about to read I’m really glad we tried it. One shop had an English menu out front, and sure enough the fermented shark was on there, so we went inside and grabbed a table. Working on the assumption that it would taste terrible, we also ordered a small bowl of mussels in cream sauce, and two Icelandic beers. The restaurant was a little on the upscale side, but they didn’t mind that we were taking a food challenge there.
Our beers and food arrived, and the first sign of trouble was that the fermented shark arrived in a sealed glass jar. I can’t recall ever being served food in a restaurant that was in a container you had to open. We prepared our stomachs, wrinkled our noses, and twisted off the lid. No big cloud of horrible smell came out, and my confidence briefly rose, but once you stuck your nose in there you got a slight whiff of something – ammonia? Sour fish? The chunks of shark were cut into cubes so it was easy to take a bite-sized piece. I popped a piece or two in my mouth, and at first you kind of brace for something terrible, but up front there isn’t a bad taste. And then suddenly, an intense ammonia flavor comes in, and spreads throughout your mouth, up your nostrils and down your throat. I chugged some beer to clear it but it takes some time – and that was just one little chunk. Kuniko also tasted it, and after a few more morbid bites we closed the container and sent the remaining five or six pieces back. Luckily the mussels were much better, and that was the flavor that was lingering on our tongues as we left the restaurant.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped in to look at the local branch of Flying Tiger – a store that began in Copenhagen that is similar to a 100 yen store but with slightly more stylish things. Their store in Reykjavik had some interesting stuff, and Kuniko almost bought some cocktail napkins decorated with crayfish, but I urged her not to buy them here as Iceland is so expensive, and our next city would be Copenhagen itself – it’d be much cheaper and easy to find. It turns out I was wrong.
For dinner that night we walked down the hillside like locals and went to a restaurant called “Messinn” which specialized in skillets of seafood. You choose the kind of fish, and then they cook it for you in a skillet with a various sauces and then add veggies along with it and serve the whole hot skillet to you at your table. We drank more Icelandic beers and Kuniko had a skillet of Atlantic char with a honey nut sauce, potatoes and greens, and I had wolf-fish with a nutty cream sauce and veggies. While we were there a foodie tour came through – a big group of people who didn’t really know each other and sat in a circle in the back of the restaurant – it was kind of cult-y vibe. They all did self-introductions while sampling some dishes, and then a while later they all left for the next restaurant. For dessert we had a chocolate cake with an excellent molten-like texture with vanilla ice cream, and I had an espresso to balance it all out. Yum!
Since we were planning on a very, very early wake up the next day we went and did a little shopping for snacks for the trip, and then went back to the hotel. I knew that we had to wake up at 2:00 am the next day, so I found myself in bed, with the sun shining through the curtains right into my eyes, trying to sleep. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I fell asleep, but was jolted back awake now and then by the nightclub next door – screaming, singing, broken glass. It was a rough night sleep-wise.
