January 2010
With my friends Anup and Hui-Cheng, we spent a few days in the icelandic winter.
I flew from Prague to Copenhagen and then via IcelandAir to Reykjavík. IcelandAir is very comfortable, with enough leg room as in United's Economy Plus. They mostly fly 757's. If you want it cheaper check Iceland Express which is a low cost that flies from many European cities. Do not forget to buy alcohol in a duty-free shop after you land in Reykjavík, they sell it then only in a few designated shops (and bars and restaurants, of course). They brew a few domestic brands of beer in Iceland. I preferred Viking. We stayed in a hotel apartment in Room With a View. Recommended, it's very comfortable, clean, nice, and with an outside jacuzzi in the terrace.
Do not be fooled by the latitude of Iceland. The island is a good friend of the Gulf Stream so average January temperature in Reykjavík is -2 degrees centigrade. However, it can be very windy, humid, and with wet snow so you might think it is much colder than it actually is. Anyway, it's common that there is no snow in Reykjavík at all even though it's the northern most capital in the world. We took one tour with Reykjavík Excursions to see the thermal factory (probably put on the tour list just to kill some time before the dark is over), waterfalls, some geysirs, and the national park.
Blue Lagoon is truly a must go, especially off season. Turquoise water with temperature of 38-41 degrees centigrade is a joy. I wonder how it must be packed during the tourist season but in winter, with only a few people around, it is just perfect. While in Reykjavík, do not forget to check out the Höfði house - the venue of the Reykjavík Summit, the Parliament building, and also take a walk to the harbour to have the famous hot dog there.
On my way back, after my afternoon flight to Prague was cancelled, I had enough time to go to the Copenhagen city center to check out the Botanic Garden. It was cold and windy, snowing, so it was really nice to spend some time in a green house, especially in the tropical section.
If I come back to Iceland, I'd like to go further up north and spend some time hiking there. I wouldn't worry much about polar bears, if they get to the island once every few years, they are very short lived.
