Anyone been to Iceland?

[mmertens]

Thinking of going there for a week with the missus in April. Any tips, things not to miss, things to miss? Anyone know whether you can see northern lights at the end of april?

TIA
Maarten

[2 Smokin Barrels]

1) Take your own beer.
2) Swim in the power station effluent
3) Go to see holes in ground with hot water in
4) Eat fish

[mmertens]

2 Smokin Barrels said:

1) Take your own beer. 2) Swim in the power station effluent 3) Go to see holes in ground with hot water in 4) Eat fish

Very succinct! S'pose that sums it up really. Did you like it?

[2 Smokin Barrels]

Actually we had a fantastic time!

Oh yes, take the skidoo up the glacier & visit the Cathedral.

Oh! and eat at the reveolving restaurant on top of the power station!!

[mybrainhurts]

Tesco's cheaper.......

[MimiB]

Went hiking around there for 3 weeks when I was 16. Involved disposable underwear.
I believe it's known as character building

Fantastic place, very very unique! Reyzyavik (sp!) is a great place. Really worth the visit.

[2 Smokin Barrels]

Remember!

Gull is the Iclandic for gold.

It is also the name of an expensive beer. (£20 a pint about 8 years ago!)

Do not walk up to the bar waving your arms up & down going waaark waaark, because Gull is not what you think!!

(It took us a while to work this out!!

[titiany]

Is Iceland particularly expensive, then? I'd quite like to go.

[2 Smokin Barrels]

titiany said:

Is Iceland particularly expensive, then? I'd quite like to go.

Only if you want to eat or drink.

[titiany]

2 Smokin Barrels said:

titiany said: Is Iceland particularly expensive, then? I'd quite like to go. Only if you want to eat or drink.

Ah.

[hugoagogo]

when you arrive at keflavik airport, go to the downstairs (departures) duty free
you can get slabs of beer there for duty free prices (upstairs arrivals only has spirits)

oh, and go to the blue lagoon

[2 Smokin Barrels]

I reckon there's only about 250,000 Icelanders, and they all drink like fish. There's nothing there to tax except hooch, so the government do!

I think the cheapest beer was about £6, going up to £20 a pint. (In 1997)

If Icelanair buy a plane, the country's balance of payments is knacked for the year!

[hugoagogo]

they tax cars a bit too
hotel owner i stayed with had a lexus jeep thing, 100,000 euro

[srebbe64]

I'm thinking of going to Iceland - just the small matter of persuading the missus. I love anything Volcanic - I went to Hawaii last Summer and flew in a helicopter over an active volcano. Magnificent. I'll be visiting Vesuvias in August (on a cruise in the Med) - I love all that stuff.

My attitude is you only live once, so I may as well enjoy as much of the world while I'm here.

[Zod]

mybrainhurts said:

Tesco's cheaper.......

Hasn't Mum been to Iceland?

[bruciebabie]

Been quite a few times. Get the beer at the airport and use them to get started before you go out at night. They start drinking late and have credit card machines on the bar. They know how to party. The days are very, very short at this time of year. Eat Gannet and Puffin, the lamb is also excellent as it's diet has a high herb content. They make a kind of insulated overall that they call an Icelandic Bikini, very useful. I brought one back with me. Take the lift up the cathederal for the view. Look at all the old unused whaling boats in the harbour. Go on a Skimobile trip. Definitely go pony riding, they are a unique breed with a 5 speed gearbox unlike the 4 speed of most horses, amazingly stable and hardy animals. Do the Blue Lagoon, the worse the weather the better the experience - I have done it in a sub zero blizzard. Take a light aircraft or helicopter sightseeing trip but make sure it is a clear day. Go whale watching. Eat whale. Visit Geyser. Visit some of the big waterfalls. The traditional woollens shed hairs like crazy and are totally impractical to bring back. Enjoy the virtual total absence of pollution that makes everything crystal clear. Get out of town, of the quarter of a million population over a half live in the capital. I could go on, it is a very different place.

[simonrockman]

The actual population of Iceland is a state secret, they have 130,000 mobile phone users and mobile phone penetration is 100%.

Plus 30,000 Americans on the airbase.

My friend Gordon wrote a guide here..
www.glnow.com/photos/Iceland-web-images/iceland-p1.htm

I've been for 3 days, it's amazing and I really want to go back.

Simon.

[vixpy1]

Has Mum Been?


I'm Pished...

[fergusd]

Definately worth a trip if you have the chance, only slight downside for me would be the cost of food/drink (tenner for a bottle of beer with your meal) . . . if you plan to drive it's worth getting a 4x4 . . . I got the cheapest car I could rent (a micra) and thought I was going to break it . . . it's not far from the centre of Reykyavik to unsurfaced roads . . .

Some pics I took wandering around Reykyavik and on a wee drive round near the Blue Lagoon area . . .

www.diseasel.com/images/ice.php
www.diseasel.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=29

This was a business trip, I definately plan to go back sometime and see more of the island . . .

Fd

[tuscan30]

Was there in the early '70s during the Cod War. Enjoyed myself immensely throwing fish heads at their gunboats and watching the result of them trying to ram our defence tugs (result = severely damaged bow on gunboat requiring a month in drydock, damage to tug = bit of paint missing !) Pretty soon their sense of humour let them down and they started chucking live ammo around, miserable b4st4rds. Never been invited back since then strangely enough.
Nice fish though.