A good chunk of Iceland is currently in France for the tournament. I'd say they're pretty psyched to be in the tournament, and after getting a result yesterday they have hope of advancing in the tournament. Should be a great atmosphere in the bars.
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Is the euro cup a big deal in Iceland as it is in the rest of Europe? We will be arriving on the June 22 and I believe Iceland plays that day. Will the bars be packed?
Yes absolutely packed, us just being there is historic so the entire country is watching every moment live.
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Tomorrow my girlfriend and I leave Iceland. We've had an amazing time and I will post a day by day itinerary with some things we learned and some pictures. For now, I will leave you with this teaser.
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Haha! The place was full blown construction when I visited back in March.
I guess this is a question for Thor. I was wondering about the Secret Solstice Festival. Is it worth it?
It sounds pretty cool being in a festival with the midnight Sun.
P.S: Strongly thinking of returning next year to visit the Vatnajokull ice caves that I couldn't visit this year, and perhaps working there if the right opportunity presents
Finally making the trek to Iceland in May! Been on my travel list for awhile so I'm super excited. Headed there with my husband and kid for 9 nights. I'm doing my own research to try and figure out the best way for us to do everything we want but I'm hoping some people with experience can give me some tips or suggestions.
We plan on renting a car but aren't sure if it's best to base in Reykjavik and day trip (which would limit some of the things we can see but be a bit easier on the kid) or to travel around. Im leaning towards traveling around and staying multiple places but I don't want to be in the car all the time and in a new place every night. Ideally I'd like to stay 2-3 nights in a central-ish place and then day trips from there.
Finally making the trek to Iceland in May! Been on my travel list for awhile so I'm super excited. Headed there with my husband and kid for 9 nights. I'm doing my own research to try and figure out the best way for us to do everything we want but I'm hoping some people with experience can give me some tips or suggestions.
We plan on renting a car but aren't sure if it's best to base in Reykjavik and day trip (which would limit some of the things we can see but be a bit easier on the kid) or to travel around. Im leaning towards traveling around and staying multiple places but I don't want to be in the car all the time and in a new place every night. Ideally I'd like to stay 2-3 nights in a central-ish place and then day trips from there.
Any can't miss stops/destinations?
See my post #75 on p4.
Due to the package we booked through Icelandair, we were centrally located in Reykjavik, so we did day trips. We visited in Winter, so our days were shorter.
Snaefellsnes and Vik were the highlights of our trip and I would have liked to have explored those areas more.
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And yes, it presumably tastes like you'd imagine a Hot Carl would.
For the love of all that is holy, do not follow this advice. This is coming from an Icelander.
The shark is putrefied, because apparently it is toxic if eaten fresh. It tastes like... nothing else on earth, and smells like cubes of tuna soaked in horse urine.
Icelanders eat it only when necessary in order to prove their manliness, /!: then only in tiny, tiny quantities. It is beyond wretched.
Icelandic Aqua Vitae is called Brennivin. It is to Aqua Vitae as Screech is to Rum.
The funny thing about this is that you can get really good food in Reykjavik if you know where to look. But don't let yourself get talked into the "authentic" experience of tasting rotten shark and the Icelandic equivalent of moonshine. It will ruin your day.
I'd definitely do the drive, day tripping from Reykjavik pretty much prevents you from going to lake Myvatn, which was easily my favorite spot (Hotsprings are 10x better and less crowded than the blue lagoon there btw)
Speaking of, how much would I have to pay to have you bring me back a bottle of Floki FFR?....
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I'd definitely do the drive, day tripping from Reykjavik pretty much prevents you from going to lake Myvatn, which was easily my favorite spot (Hotsprings are 10x better and less crowded than the blue lagoon there btw)
Speaking of, how much would I have to pay to have you bring me back a bottle of Floki FFR?....
Well... that depends if I can get it at duty free or not. We aren't checking bags likely so I'd have to be able to get it at the airport on the way home.
And thanks for the tip on Lake Myvatn. We were leaning towards heading over and spending a few days in Akureyri so we could day trip from there instead.
I did a trip like this around the same time last spring. My suggestion is that if you have time, to definitely do the ring road. The areas around Reyjkavik are packed with tourists now, so it kind of takes away from the magic. The Lake Myvatn area is pretty exceptional indeed, and I found the Eastern parts to be pretty amazing too. The best part of Iceland is nature-focused, so get as much of it as you can.
If you do the ring-road though, definitely get a 4x4...even if you are going in Spring and aren't straying away from the Ring Road, you can run into weather like this.
This was not in the brochure by Thomas Porostocky, on Flickr
By May it may be nicer, but the weather in Iceland is pretty unpredictable so its best to be prepared. For the same reason, I would also recommend really good rain gear, especially in the spring time, as with the rain, the wind, and the sea spray, it can wear you down. If you ever needed an excuse to buy the good Goretex lined coats, now is the time. I would also recommend some crampons that you can put on your boots if you ever do any hikes, as many places get icy (and Iceland doesn't really have a ton of "safety" barriers to protect you, ha).
Another PSA about safety in Iceland, heed the warning signs! We lost another tourist to carelessness and ignoring the warnings, the famous black volcanic beaches in the south are also home to some of the most dangerous areas for tourists, riptides, rogue waves, rapidly changing weather conditions.
This video of another family was taken earlier that day, the guy taking the video cuts it off abruptly as he rushes to make sure that kid is not taken by the huge incoming wave, the family was blissfully unaware even after he warned them before they went closer.
Yeah, I remember being in that area and there were quite a lot of people precariously close to the water. Iceland is not Nature Disney. You're not going to see a lot of safety barriers and warnings, but that does not mean there is no danger around.
The other possible dangerous thing to always be aware of is 1-lane bridges in the south (basically it's whoever gets there first goes!). I remember a fatal crash in the news when I was there when some Chinese tourist just kept on going and crashed into a family that was coming in the other direction. I think with the increased tourism and the relatively small size of the Ring Road, they really need to implement some lights at these bridges (or atleast give right of way to one direction).
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