Seljalandsfoss= Win!

We woke up early and had an awesome breakfast. The hotel had fresh bread, meats- my fave was a round one that looked like salami- Icelandic cheese (to die for!), fresh fruit, o.j., bacon and eggs, and kaffi. We set our destination as Vík, as well as a park east of there to hike (though we never made it because we had a 5:00 rehearsal back in Reykjavík). Around the time the road turned to gravel due to the glacier flooding from the volcano eruption, we saw 3 beautiful waterfalls lining the edge of a cliff so we had to explore!


We stumbled upon Seljalandsfoss (pictured above)! Reading up on it after the fact, I found that since the waterfall is very picturesque, it is often featured in calendars. It was also in season 6 of the Amazing Race. Anyway, we parked the car in a gravel lot along with a tour bus and other day trippers. What surprised me the most was how bouncy the ground was! We took pictures and headed toward the first fall which was the largest.


A small pool, a medium-sized pond, really, lay at the bottom of the fall. We took a rocky path (above) that led up the hill behind the falls. I even went down to the base of the pool and tasted the water- fresh and cold! Note to travelers: You will get soaked! The spray is intense, especially if you choose to venture along the backside of the waterfall. That's also what made the experience fun :)


We emerged on the other side, climbing down a slippery staircase, to reach the second waterfall. The path was lined with Alaska Lupine and the largest daisies I have ever seen. This waterfall didn't have much going for it in terms of size, but it was pretty against the verdant vegetation (above). We also spotted a pipe that sprung a leak causing two tall spouts of water to come out at its base. The color spectrum could be seen in its mist.


We followed the small stream along the bottom of the hill to the third waterfall. To get to it, we jumped across rocks where the stream widened and climbed up the steep hill. What was cool about this waterfall was that there was a large barrel at the base (above). Perfect spot for a photo op! Across the way, there was a shallow cave in the rock face nearby which made for an adventure for those willing to scale rocks to check it out. Eventually we made our way back down to the little hut with a grass roof (window shown below) and headed back to the car for the next leg of our journey.

We spent about 45 minutes checking out our first Icelandic waterfalls. The country is teeming with them- you can't drive the ring road and not see one :) Seljalandsfoss= easily accessible from the Ring Road + isn't too far from Reykjavík + one stop to see three waterfalls = Win!

Musings of a lively capital city 66° north of the equator.

A select few pictures in and around Reykjavík made enough of an impression on me to chronicle the experience in writing. The quotes below are excerpts from my travel journal reflecting thoughts/events that happened when I took each picture.

"Long, open windows lined the top and looking out we saw an amazing view of the small city."

"A guy on his balcony makes a noise like he was going to hock a loogie. We look up. He says, 'Welcome to Iceland.' We all started laughing- it was hilarious."


"Reykjavík was full of downward turned face statues [not sure what their deal was]. We put a mask on the statue because of all the ash. Awesome. We are officially those tourists!"

"It felt kitschy :) Knickknacks lined the wall as well as an old fishing net in the corner."

"According to the hostel guy we talked to, a knitter asked permission of Reykjavík to tag the city with her craft."

"On our way, we were cat-called by some local men drinking by the harbor. 'Americans!' "


"It's a very modern design, small compared to other European churches."


"It was about 1 am then. It was dusky out- but mostly ashy. I climbed all over that statue like a monkey."

"Our destination was a pretty, two story white building on the lake with a view of town hall."

"On the way back from the afterglow, we saw a lady wearing MC Hammer pants!!!! The guy didn't seem to mind. Their love was so pure hahahaha."

"A security guard at the front door appeared. 'NO PICTURES!' I asked if I could take a pic of the sign. 'All things that way are OK.' So I got a pic of the embassy sign by the road. We walked past, then the guard re-emerged and followed us for half a block."

"We kill the vodka and go out for round #2 (to no avail). We ended up using my self timer to take pics of us in front of the bridge that changes colors at night."

"The sun was out, the temperature just right and we were surrounded by the Reykjavík locals on their lunch breaks. It was a perfect morning."

What are the Odds?

Icelanders are über friendly. The population of Iceland is smallish. The odds are in their favor. On this trip, there were many coincidences involving the people we met and it all began in the United States...

Our flight was delayed in Newark, so that meant hours of chillin' and chatting with fellow fliers at the departure gate. The lady behind me overheard me talking about the Blue Lagoon and she turned around and introduced herself as Lara, a native Icelander now living in Connecticut. She was a woman in her young 60's, incredibly friendly, pretty, and in great shape (of course she was, we all know the Icelandic gene pool is ridiculous). -- She's pictured above giving us travel advice -- We get to talking and tell her that we are members of the National Philharmonic Chorale and it turns out that our concert is at Langholtskirkja, the church she attended when she lived in Iceland. Coincidence #1.

By and by, everyone in our immediate seating area was BFF as we waited for our plane, including a guy about my age. We include him in our conversation and find out that he was moving to Iceland! Lara asked more questions about where he was going to live (Reykjavík) and somehow she figures out that she knows his grandfather! Since Iceland's population isn't too large, it makes sense that something like that could happen- but to be on the same flight? Now that's just crazy awesome. Coincidence #2.

We also made American friends at the gate, the Hyman family from St. Louis, Missouri. Randall Hyman is a photographer who fell in love with an Icelandic woman when he was younger (hence his love for the country). He speaks Icelandic (!) and visits often. His wife is a travel writer for magazines like AAA (quite the travel duo!) and accompanying them on this trip was their daughter who also spoke some Icelandic. They were headed north to Akureyri to take pictures and write. Turns out, that of all the hotels in Reykjavík, they were staying our hotel- the Hotel Plaza. It was fun running into them in the lobby and at at breakfast! Coincidence #3.

What a great way to instantly connect with other Iceland lovers!

Only in Iceland. (For surrious.)

I Saw a Whale and Then I Ate One

I must say, on my trip to Iceland I earned bragging rights for stomaching the odd local fare. And I don't mean 'stomaching' in the negative sense because most of the stuff I tried was pretty baller!

Let's start with the amazing stuff, shall we? Skyr. Skyrrrrrrrr. Just mention the word and I immediately crave the goodness that is Skyr. Before flying back to the states, my last meal in the airport was, you guessed it, blueberry Skyr. It is so joyous to consume. In fact, upon my return to DC, I Googled where I could find it and voila- Whole Foods is a distributor! I walked to the Whole Foods by my office one day on my lunch break and legitimately squealed and did a celebratory dance when I saw my beloved Skyr on the shelves. Skyr should be placed on a pedestal. (My first experience with Skyr below: Skyr, croutons, blueberries ahhhhhhh!)


Whale. What can I say other than "Hey Minke you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind hey Minke! Yeah, yeah, Hey Minke!" I was slightly weirded out by the prospect of eating Shamu because when I was younger, I was THAT girl. Yes, that girl that geeked out over whales and dolphins. I even knew the height of the Washington Monument- measured in WHALE (555 feet= 2 Humpbacks, 1 Orca, 1 Fin, 1 Blue, 2 Sperm, 1 Right, 1 Pilot and 1 Bowhead whale). Take that to the bank!

Tangent aside, I tried my friend's whale steak at dinner one night (below) and I was hooked. OBSESSED with whale. Any chance I got I ordered Minke whale because it is oh-so delicious! While in Reykjavík, I ate whale prepared two ways. The first was a filet served with mashed potatoes. Minke whale just tastes like a chewier version of beef. It's not fishy in texture or smell because, remember kids, whales are mammals.


The second way I ate my whale was on a kabob. My group affectionately referred to this as "Moby Dick on a Stick." The kabob was super chewy and I found it harder to tear the meat with my teeth on the stick (I blame the "fibers" or "tendons" or whatever piece of the whale it was that looked like a string holding everything together. Did I eat its blood vessel?!). We were given Bergby's whale sauce for the kabob (yum!) which tasted similar to honey mustard.


Puffin! Those cute little birds make cute little meals. Again, I used my mooching prowess to grab a bite of the bird (I wasn't a total mooch- I ordered shark, shots, and dessert for the table to share). Now, puffin wasn't the first time I have eaten bird. I've had duck a l'orange and more recently, pheasant at a wine tasting in Virginia. Comparatively, puffin had a tougher texture, but it was pretty good.

Hákarl: time to get my Viking on! I was psyched to try this only because I read so much about it before my trip! If I can't get props for eating fermented shark, then props should never be given to anyone, anytime, anywhere. :) Hákarl aka. rotten shark meat is an Icelandic delicacy. Killed, gutted, and cartilaged the flesh is cut up and buried. The meat is left to decay and rot in the pit for 6-8 weeks or a few months out of necessity.

Greenland sharks are poisonous because they have no urinary tracts so they secrete urine from their skin which causes acid build up. The decaying process allows the acid to be removed from the flesh and makes it digestible for humans. The meat is then dug up, washed, and aired out for another 2-4 months. After being cured, the brown crust of the meat is removed and the shark is cut up into small pieces to be served.


My shark came in 4 pieces, about the size of cheese cubes, in a small glass jar (above). Thank god it had a lid because that ish smelled like rank sea water! I put my piece on a toothpick and chewed and chewed and chewed that sucker until I swallowed it out of necessity of knowing I had rotten shark in my mouth. It didn't taste as bad as I have heard it described (tasting like urine? I wouldn't go that far... it tasted more like an ammonia/sea water mix), but perhaps my shot of Brennivín, what Icelanders refer to as "Black Death," helped chase the bad taste.

The best part of this shark and shot experience was the group of Swedish men at the table behind us. They observed us becoming Vikings, cheered us on, and said, "Welcome to the club!"

Skál!