September 23, 2014

A last taste of Iceland*


The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I went on vacation to Iceland! Recently I’ve tried to make an effort to “save” a few sewing makes to take with me on holiday so I can get fun photos… but obviously I get up to a lot more than that! If you follow me on Instagram, @cashmerette, you can follow the silliness in real time, but if not, here’s a little taster of my journey to the frozen north…
I was in Iceland with one of my favourite traveling companions, my little brother International Heart-throb, Tom. Turns out, not only do we look very alike, but we also look Icelandic! We were spoken to in Icelandic constantly on holiday, and let’s face it, I was pretty smug about not looking like a tourist (sadly not achievable when I was cycling through Asia, despite the best efforts of Nina and I).
We had a few visits to the Harpa centre, which is this enormous multi-use concert venue right on the harbour in downtown Reykjavik – you really can’t miss it. It has fantastic honeycomb windows, an ace bar, and a show called “How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes” which, of course, we attended. Turns out that being Icelandic is very similar to being from the north of Scotland, so we were naturals.
We like to eat well in our family. Which is just as well, because sometimes the weather was so bad we didn’t have many other things to do! We spent quite a lot of time (read: we went every single day) at Sandholt bakery, eating the most amazing Scandinavian pastries, which were very reminiscent of these frozen ones our Mum used to give us when we were wee nippers. I popped in for some highly recommended Fish & Chips (thanks Sonja and Tilly and Jen!), and then one night, we treated ourselves to Dill where we had a tasty menu of Nordic proportions. It was ace, particularly the mashed potatoes course (trust me.).

Of course it wouldn’t be Iceland without a trip to the thermal springs. We pootled around the Blue Lagoon for a very pleasant afternoon, covering ourselves in silica mud, dodging the drunk people with their beers (yes, they serve beer in the pools), and then falling asleep in a stupor of relaxation. For more watery fun, we ventured out to Gulfoss waterfall and Geysir (the geyser place…) which were most impressive. I really want to go back and do the whole ring road trip where you see black volcanic beaches, glaciers, and lots more sheep.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Reykjavik reminded us a lot of Aberdeen, where we’re from – clearly the same person designed a lot of the public housing, and the “port city under grey skies” vibe was unmissable. However, the land of Bjork clearly has a lot more trendy stuff going on, and a pretty kick-ass cathedral.

So, Iceland is recommended for: shopping. Eating. Going in hot milky water. Taking blog photos. Getting very wet. What are you waiting for?!

*not sponsored by the Icelandic tourist board. But, y’know, if you guys are reading, you should totally send me on the ring road trip…

9 thoughts on “A last taste of Iceland*

  1. Pam says:

    I went to Iceland in 97-98ish I think — and I absolutely loved it. It was September (the 2nd week) and was cool (some rain but not too much) — and one of our co-workers drove us around. Brilliant — I can’t wait to go back after hearing about your trip!

  2. Marianne says:

    If Reykjavik resembles Aberdeen it’s moving up on my travel list NOW! My husband (then boyfriend) lived in Aberdeen for six months during his study, in fact it was when I visited him there we decided to get married 🙂

  3. I love your travel posts and that your made wardrobe is so, well, travelable. I find that the most comfortable thing to wear on a long plane or train ride is a dress or skirt in a knit fabric.

  4. Gail says:

    I so want to go to Iceland. And Finland. And Scotland 🙂 Lovely photos – thanks for sharing!

  5. Oh goodness, I want to go even more now! It looks magical. Thanks for sharing your holiday snaps!

  6. Alex Bradley says:

    I have family in Aberdeen so grew up with an annual trip as part of our childhood. You’re so right, port city under a grey sky! haha do you know Dyce?

    1. Jenny says:

      I do! Fly in there every time 🙂

  7. Laura says:

    Oh, jealous! I want to go!! You guys could totally pass for Icelandic (I used to have a lot of Icelandic colleagues, one of the reasons I want to visit).

  8. I wanna go back!!!!! Ring road for everyone!!!

Let me know what you think!