Just got back from Iceland

[CivicBlues]

...And it feels so good to fucking travel again!





























Stayed at this great whole-house Airbnb with it's own beach and mountain view

[CivicBlues]

And because I'm Asian and this forum is full of us gluttonous bastards...here's a bunch of shit I ate there:

Plokkfiskur - Mashed fish with potates and Rye Bread


Tomato soup at a tomato farm


"Magma Soup and Lava Bread"


Arctic Char


An Icelandic Hot Dog


Sampler dish at a dairy farm. The rye bread is great it's so rich it's like cake


Skyr - It's not yoghurt, it's lighter and fluffier than the stuff you can get here. This is a skyr mousse


I'm not really a soup person but the various fish soups in Iceland are so tasty. Also unlimited soup buffets!

[Hondaracer]

Sweet looks like a good time, are the first pics taken with a DSLR? Some of the same rock formations as the giants causeway

Food looks a bit more upscale than the typical Nordic countries lol

[CivicBlues]

Heh, nope iPhone 12 and an old Nikon point-and-shoot for wildlife closeups.

The food was surprisingly very good and decent value. Expensive yes, but dining out in Vancouver seems to have dulled the pain. People kept saying they ate granola and pasta the whole trip to save money lol. The cheapest sit-down lunches cost $60 minimum for 2, the hotdog was $6. No tax or tipping. Always pay at the counter. Loved that. We ate out every lunch and dinner except for 2. None of the food we ate was really "upscale" except maybe the Arctic Char (wife had a bowl full of langoustines), and even that would just be considered "hipsterish" rather than high-end.

[mikemhg]

How much were your Airbnbs?

Also how was that spa, is there a time limit in how long you can hang around in there? Massively on my bucket list here.

[mikemhg]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Sweet looks like a good time, are the first pics taken with a DSLR? Some of the same rock formations as the giants causeway

Food looks a bit more upscale than the typical Nordic countries lol

Looks exactly like Giants Causeway, obviously caused by the same type of volcanic/water shifts. We're actually going to see it hopefully next year when I visit some family in Ireland.

[CivicBlues]

Yeah Basalt columns, they're everywhere in Iceland due to volcanic activity and the rapid cooling effect of being surrounded by water. Have yet to see Giant's Causeway but it's on my list

Originally Posted by mikemhg

How much were your Airbnbs?

Also how was that spa, is there a time limit in how long you can hang around in there? Massively on my bucket list here.

You mean Blue Lagoon (1st pic)? It's a massive tourist trap with prices to match but once you book your ticket you have as long as you want. We only did the pool which comes with a free drink and one mask (not covid, the spa kind). Even then at over 80 bucks a pop (timed entry, variable pricing) we could only really stomach an hour and a half before we got bored and pruney. Could be because it was our first stop after landing as it's right by the airport but almost everyone there was American (accents, sneakers, college-ball sweatshirts). The local hot springs are like $10 entry, but only Blue Lagoon looks like this so I'd still go just for that reason.

btw the pic I posted first is from the non-swimmable portion of the lagoon. The pool actually looks like this:


Only stayed in one airbnb for the last 2 nights (the aforementioned purple house next to the ash mountain). It was a steal at $240/night for the entire house. Rest of the trip stayed at hotels with mostly basic rooms and even then they were around $200/night.

[ilovebacon]

look like it was a fantastic trip

[immorality]

Amazing!

[mikemhg]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

Yeah Basalt columns, they're everywhere in Iceland due to volcanic activity and the rapid cooling effect of being surrounded by water. Have yet to see Giant's Causeway but it's on my list



You mean Blue Lagoon (1st pic)? It's a massive tourist trap with prices to match but once you book your ticket you have as long as you want. We only did the pool which comes with a free drink and one mask (not covid, the spa kind). Even then at over 80 bucks a pop (timed entry, variable pricing) we could only really stomach an hour and a half before we got bored and pruney. Could be because it was our first stop after landing as it's right by the airport but almost everyone there was American (accents, sneakers, college-ball sweatshirts). The local hot springs are like $10 entry, but only Blue Lagoon looks like this so I'd still go just for that reason.

btw the pic I posted first is from the non-swimmable portion of the lagoon. The pool actually looks like this:


Only stayed in one airbnb for the last 2 nights (the aforementioned purple house next to the ash mountain). It was a steal at $240/night for the entire house. Rest of the trip stayed at hotels with mostly basic rooms and even then they were around $200/night.

It's funny how people say Iceland is so expensive, that's the same prices you'd pay to rent a spot on Vancouver Island or the Okanagan anyways

[Hondaracer]

I think what adds up are those meal prices

When a beer is 8-14 and every meal is 60+ it gets a little much, for me at least.

I don’t enjoy the UK at all because of those prices in the things I like to partake in, casual drinks throughout the day etc. when every beer is $12-$14 CAD I start reconsidering what I’m ordering

[Teriyaki]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

I think what adds up are those meal prices

When a beer is 8-14 and every meal is 60+ it gets a little much, for me at least.

I don’t enjoy the UK at all because of those prices in the things I like to partake in, casual drinks throughout the day etc. when every beer is $12-$14 CAD I start reconsidering what I’m ordering

Yea, the food adds up pretty quick. Though as CivicBlues put it, if you compare to current-day Vancouver prices they're a lot more palatable.

I went to Iceland a few years back and I was absolutely one of those that scoffed at the food prices and lived on instant granola and cup noodles for a few meals. Bringing hot water in some Swell bottles on the days drive, and having some piping hot cup noodles by the side of the road in a middle of a snow apocalypse honestly was a pretty neat experience

[CivicBlues]

Yeah it helps if you don't drink a lot. I had a beer with dinner and that was it. Some days just water. Cheapest one was $10 and most were $15+. Cocktails were $20+

Gas was the other shocking expense, not so much of prices ($3.00-3.20/L) I was prepared for that, but the amount of driving we were doing we had to fill up every single day. And we were just doing the standard circle route with a few detours. Filling up at 1/4 tank was $75-$80/day for a '21 Yaris. Cringing at how much those hulking campervans were paying even though they did it to "save money".

[68style]

Wow looks fantastic, shocked about the gas prices and distances you are saying you had to travel.

I was looking at using points on one of my cards to go to England in the fall and on the way back if you book a flight by points it forces a stop in Iceland... I was like... hmmmmm hahaha

I am very intrigued by the lava bread.

[CivicBlues]

Yeah according to this Iceland has the 3rd highest gas prices in the world:
https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/gasoline_prices/

But I actually just got my CC statement and tallied up all my gas purchases and it worked out to be around $460 for 10 days so not AS bad as I had feared. However I also received a notice from the car rental company saying I got a parking ticket so they're now billing me the parking fee $7.50 + $25 Admin fee. LIke everything in Iceland parking is 100% automated so I missed the pay station/signs and was caught by the camera on the way out. FML

The airline stopover in Iceland is like how they tempt you into buying a printer. Super cheap upfront cost but they get you on the variable costs.

But yeah despite all that it's a totally unique place and would recommend anyone to visit before it gets (even more) overrun.

[Badhobz]

this is on my bucket list right after me and the wife finish new zealand this year

[tiger_handheld]

amazing!