Spotlight On: Iceland

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Capital: Reykjavik
Month visited: February 2011
Superlative: Most Surreal Landscape
Ease of travel
(1=completely lost all the time, 10=like navigating around my own neighborhood): 7
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This is the place for you if: you love the outdoors.

Don’t forget to: bring a raincoat (not an umbrella because Iceland is rainy and windy) and good hiking boots.

I was surprised by: how fashionable everyone is, the extremely low crime rate (less than 200 inmates in the entire country!), the presence of taxidermied animals in a large number of stores, the policeman who whipped out a portable credit card machine to let us pay our speeding ticket.

I was disappointed that: some places serve whale, I didn’t see the Aurora Borealis, the gas prices were ridiculous ($58 for half a tank for a compact car).

I had to nod ‘n’ smile when: we sat down for dinner at a local restaurant and they brought out amuse-bouche of Icelandic puffin slices. In case you were wondering, puffin meat is a deep purplish-red and apparently tastes like chicken. Luckily, I had the excuse of being a pescetarian so I didn’t try it. Oh darn.
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Everybody’s doin’ it (but you should, too!):

• Visit the Golden Circle (Gullfoss, Geysir, and Thingvellir). It’s the touristy thing to do. It’s probably a little over-hyped, but it’s still worth seeing and the route is just a short drive from Reykjavik.
• Take a few [hundred] photos at Jökulsárlón, the glacial lagoon.
• Give yourself a silica mud facial at the Blue Lagoon.
• Do something on a glacier (hike, ice climb, take a Super Jeep, etc.). Go with a guide.
• Have dinner at Fjöruborðið. While it’s popular with tourists, it’s certainly not a tourist trap because it’s ah-ma-zing. The langoustines are like budduh.

If you want extra bragging rights:

• Rent a car and drive around the Ring Road. The landscape in Iceland is incredibly diverse and changes frequently as you drive. It’s awe-inspiring and a photographer’s paradise! We visited toward the end of winter so many areas, particularly to the west and north, were still inaccessible but there was still plenty to do in the south.
• Visit local boutiques in Reykjavik and check out sleek Icelandic fashion and home decor.
• Try the local hot dogs (unless you’re a vegetarian), skyr (thick yogurt) and licorice.
• Relax in a hot pot (essentially a jacuzzi without bubbles) when it’s freezing outside.
• Visit Hveragerði geothermal area and swim in the hot streams and rivers.