Icelandair – Flight FI698 – YVR to KEF – Saga Class
This flight was on a 757 in Saga Class. Although it is a long haul flight, the seats are similar to domestic first/business class (IE no lay flat; only recliner).
Seats: We had seats 2A and 2C. These were the second row on the left side of the plane. Note that seats 2D and 2F are the bulkhead on the right side (there is no row 1 on the right side of the plane). I do not recommend sitting in the bulkhead. Although I observed cutouts, the leg room is reduced. Here is a picture of seats 2D and 2F.
Here is some of the street food and quick bites we ate in Iceland.
Reykjavik Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur – hot dog – Watch any show or read any guide on Reykjavik, and you will see this hot dog stand as a must do. It was our first stop after checking into our hotel. There was a line but it moved quickly. Basically, there are only two things on the menu. A hot dog and drink.
Grillmarket (Grillmarkadurinn in Icelandic – sorry if I messed up the name, my keyboard does not have Icelandic characters) is a restaurant in Reykjavik that sources as much as possible from local farmers. They use fire, smoke, logs and coal. Here is a picture of the kitchen upstairs. The restaurant has two floors, we sat downstairs.
The first thing I ordered was an Icelandic wasabi martini. It was delicious. I found that the cocktails in Iceland, in general, were very good and well balanced. I also learned that Iceland produces their own wasabi. It was milder in flavor than Japanese wasabi, and not as green. More on that in another post.
My preferred dinner time is late, 9PM, especially when travelling. One particular day, we got back from sightseeing around 5PM, and decided to walk around and grab a snack. We passed by a place called Sushi Social in Reykjavik. The advertised a happy hour and I was curious so we went in.
We sat at the sushi bar. The food could go either way.
Negatives were the “funny” fusion rolls on the menu, tiki themed dining room, and lack of anyone Japanese or Asian working or eating (not to mention we were in Iceland, not exactly a place known for sushi).
Messinn specializes in fish dishes cooked in the pan. The restaurant is located in Reykjavik. The city’s core is small enough that you can pretty much walk everywhere.
We started off with the giant prawns and lobster soup. I am starting to believe that if you see lobster soup/bisque on any menu in Iceland, you should get it. Its delicious, and this one was no exception. The giant prawns were good also, but they were more like giant shrimp (probably got lost in translation from Icelandic to English on the menu).
This itinerary is best done from Reykjavik and ending with an overnight in the small town of Vik. On the first part of the trip, we left Reykjavik around 9-10AM, saw everything along the way, and end up in Vik around 3PM. Staying in Vik will not only avoid you having to drive back to Reykjavik, but also continue on to Itinerary 3, which to me, should be a must see in any trip to Iceland.
After arriving in Vik and checking into our hotel, we then ate and rested a bit, then went out around midnight to see the black sand beach with basalt columns.
If you are only in Iceland for 1 or 2 full days, and want to see nature that is doable as a day trip from Reykavik, the itinerary below will take you a couple hours. You would leave in the morning around 9-10 AM and return around 5PM.
We went on this trip in early July so depending on when you go, the driving conditions could be entirely different and will affect your total time to complete the trip. Another thing you should keep in mind is that we had virtually 24 hours of sunlight. The darkest it got was in the picture below taken at 1AM! If you go during other months, you might get the opposite – no sunlight!
This itinerary is best done from Reykjavik and ending with an overnight in the small town of Vik. On the first part of the trip, we left Reykjavik around 9-10AM, saw everything along the way, and end up in Vik around 3PM. Staying in Vik will not only avoid you having to drive back to Reykjavik, but also continue on to Itinerary 3, which to me, should be a must see in any trip to Iceland.
After arriving in Vik and checking into our hotel, we then ate and rested a bit, then went out around midnight to see the black sand beach with basalt columns.
Beyond Vik – Prepare to be Blown Away (glaciers and diamond beach)
This next itinerary will take you east of Vik to see some of the most unique and amazing sites in Iceland. Note that you should rent a 4×4 or AWD capable vehicle as some of these sites will require travel on gravel and/or very bumpy roads.
The first stop on this itinerary is the Svinafellsjokull Glacier. Put this into Google maps, but along the way, there will be some interesting things to see, and worthy of a quick stop.
On the last night in Iceland, we stayed at the Silica Hotel at the Blue Lagoon. Its in a good location for a next day departure as it is only 20 minutes from the airport. The rooms are clean and modern. The bathrooms are very nice. We booked a “deluxe” room which is basically one with the lagoon right outside your door. Note that you cannot actually go into the lagoon from your room; its only for the view. If I were to stay here again, I would book a cheaper lava or mountain view. The room is good for Instagram, but not much else.
Enough about the room, the real reason you come here is to take advantage of the hotel’s private lagoon just off the lobby.
