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Destination: Iceland

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My Joyful Visit to Reykjavík

I’m so excited about our new Rick Steves Iceland guidebook, researched and written by Ian Watson and Cameron Hewitt. The first edition just came out a few months ago, and, right out of the gate, it’s already one of our top sellers — and for good reason. I just spent a busy week traveling around Iceland with it, and it’s excellent. (And judging from the enthusiastic feedback I received along the way, many happy travelers agree.)

 

rick steves and a smiling family holding Rick Steves Iceland guidebooks

 

My main goal for this trip was to fine-tune the writing for the second edition of the book. I also wanted to simply enjoy Iceland — and scout for a possible TV shoot next year. I was grateful for the help of local guides each day, including Guðrún, an excellent guide I booked through Tours By Locals in Reykjavík.

Considering all the tourism inundating Iceland lately, I was impressed by how few walking tour options there are for visitors. The most established is CityWalk Reykjavík, which is offered as a “free tour.” I generally have my guard up when I see a tour advertised as “free,” but these felt better to me than most free tours I’ve tried on the Continent. Rather than aggressively hitting up participants at the end for a tip, as often happens elsewhere, they instead just say, “Pay what you think it’s worth.” Plus, the guides are all locals. My guide was wonderful, and the experience was a delight.

 

walking tour in reykjavik

 

The charming little Nordic capital was holding its annual Gay Pride festival while I was there, and the whole city was festooned with rainbows. It was joyful to be in a land where the entire government lovingly embraces the idea that all its citizens should be celebrated. There was a sweetness to it, and I was reminded of Mr. Rogers’ simple but profound notion that “Everybody’s special.”

 

street in reykjavik painted with rainbow stripes and a view of Hallgrimskirkja Church in the distant background

 

Then, on my last evening, I had a dreamy encounter with a gentle, hippy-style musician. I was dashing to a dinner reservation when he approached me on the street with a “namaste” sweetness. He said, “Are you Rick Steves?” I said, “Yes.” He gave me a CD of his music, folded his hands into a little bow, and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please enjoy my music.” Then he was gone.

 

rick steves and teitur magnusson

 

The next day, as I wandered the city streets, I longed to cross paths again, so I could talk with him a bit. With his lovely hair and beard, Teitur Magnússon wasn’t hard to find. I ran into him, strolling a baby in a carriage, and we enjoyed a short conversation. That chance meeting reminded me that, beyond Iceland’s natural thrills, there’s a fragile and unique wonder on this rock that is very human. And even though the country’s entire population is smaller than Wichita’s, it has a lively cultural scene.  

Enjoying Teitur’s music on YouTube after I got home, I realized that I’ve spliced a lot of great musicians into my world as souvenirs from my travels over the years. How about you?

 

 

BTW, for anyone who struggles with languages, like I do, Iceland can be a special challenge. It’s strange to travel in a country where it’s hard to actually remember any of the proper nouns. I set my bar very low: to learn how to spell the capital city, Reykjavík. And I’m proud to report, I succeeded.

 

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Video: Rotted Shark and Minke Whale on a Reykjavík Food Tour

While it’s fun to say, “Iceland’s diet is all about survival” (and much of it is), it also has a thriving foodie scene. To be sure I was up-to-date on eating in Reykjavík, I enjoyed a movable feast over the course of an evening with Valur, who runs Your Friend in Reykjavík. We recommend Valur’s food tours in our Rick Steves Iceland guidebook, and I wanted to personally experience every morsel.

In this clip, you’ll join Valur and me at just one of seven stops during an evening filled with edible memories. This stop highlights some traditional foods. After some tasty “Icelandic lobster” (langoustine) soup, I try minke whale — and Valur explains why Icelanders have no guilt about hunting them. Next up, it’s the notorious rotted shark, which smells like old cheese with ammonia…but is better than poison. (It’s best to wash it down with the local firewater, a.k.a. “black death.”) Much of Iceland’s cuisine certainly is all about survival.

 

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Video: A Geyser Named Geysir

Hello from steamy Iceland!

I spent a long day with a local guide exploring the Golden Circle, the quintessential side-trip from Reykjavík, and working on this very important chapter in our new Iceland guidebook. There are three major stops along the route: Gullfoss waterfall, Þingvellir’s great fissure, and Geysir, a steaming field of hot springs and geysers.

The English word “geyser” comes from a geyser here that’s actually named Geysir. While the original geyser is no longer very active, its neighbor, Strokkur, belches hot water into the air every 10 minutes or so. You can see how crowded a sight like this is — but it’s no problem. When enjoying the natural punch of Iceland’s sights, there’s generally lots of parking and lots of space.

 

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The Ultimate Straddle: Iceland’s Great Fissure

The best day out from Reykjavík is an all-day road trip called the Golden Circle. The drive is punctuated by roadside attractions, and the highlight is Þingvellir — a sight that’s of both historical and geological importance. Walk with me down the great fissure, where the tectonic plates of Europe and America meet.

Heading to Iceland? Our new Rick Steves Iceland guidebook features a mile-by-mile, self-guided driving tour of the entire Golden Circle.

 

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The Westman Islands’ Sagnheimar: A Classic Community Museum

There’s a special charm to small, old-school, community museums — like the one I just visited, the Sagnheimar Folk Museum, filling the floor above the Westman Islands’ little town library.

All over the world, “interactive,” “high-tech,” and souped-up museums (often with lots of glitz but no actual artifacts) are the highly advertised, money-making hits. Many of these, with fancy shops and restaurants attached, are little more than commercial ventures. It’s the low-key, low-tech community museums — staffed by knowledgeable volunteers with a passion for their mission — that often tell the real story. In Iceland, I found the glitzy museums (the Lava Centre, the Whales of Iceland exhibit, and so on) were twice the cost and half the value as the old-school, simpler museums (like Sagnheimar and the Skógar Folk Museum, on the South Coast).

From the Glencoe Folk Museum in Scotland, to the Westfries Museum in the Netherlands, to the Third Man Museum in Vienna, to the little historic museum filling the Carnegie Library in my hometown of Edmonds, don’t neglect the lovingly-gathered, old-school community museums — filled with artifacts found in local attics, staffed with enthusiasts who really know their stuff, and at old-fashioned prices. What’s your favorite? Let me know in the comments here, on Facebook, or on Twitter.