cia – Page 120 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Where to eat in Reykjavik, Iceland: Vin og Skel

For our first dinner in Reykjavik, we ended up at Vin og Skel on a small alley off the main shopping street of Laugavegur. We didn’t have reservations, but when we walked in, the waitress led us to the only two-person table upstairs. We were surrounded by two large groups. It felt like we were crashing two different parties. Their entire menu was written on a blackboard which reminded me of any laid-back New England seafood restaurant, but the seafood at Vin og Skel was better than any I’ve had here in the States.

Owner Kristjan Noi is not shy about experimenting, but the best dishes were the simplest. A pail of mussels was comforting in some broth flavored with leeks. My glass of white wine wasn’t as cold as I would have liked, so the mussels made me wish I ordered beer instead.

My main dish, part of the “surprise menu” I selected, was a lobster-catfish-monkfish combination with white sauce. The dish was a little too salty but the lobster and the fish were the freshest I’ve had in a long time. Both fish were cooked just right: the meat tender with some give. The Dr.’s bacalao, or cod, an abundant fish in Iceland, was also really good. Unfortunately, it was also oversalted. His came with brown stock and potatoes, which were perfect to combat the chill coming in through the French doors next to the kitchen.

They were offering minke whale carpaccio as a special. I am currently doing research about whaling in Iceland to see if the meat for sale in their markets are from scientific research only, but that night, the Dr. and I simply couldn’t resist. The whale meat was of a deep-burgundy red, like beets, sliced thinly and drizzled with olive oil. The tops of what looked like radish greens had the perfect bitter taste to accompany the beefiness of the whale. It wasn’t at all fishy and it tasted like a very expensive cut of beef. The Dr. felt more awful than I did because he loves to fish, but when asked if he’ll eat it again, say in Japan where it’s also “allowed,” he said yes.

We ended our night with creme brulee served with a dainty gooseberry on top. It came with my prix fixe. Our temples were pounding because of the salt we’ve consumed and my eyes were a little tired from squinting all night because the space was not well lit. In the end, both helped us fork over our $200 with only a glass of wine and a Pillsner Urquel. We saved a lot of money while we were on the road but we surely blew a lot just in one night!

Vin og Skel is on Laugavegur 55, + 354 534-4700
Where to stay in Reykjavik for cheap: Reykjavik Hostel

Where to eat in Reykjavik, Iceland: Carpe Diem

Dinner the second night was at Carpe Diem inside the Foss Hotel. Since we arrived in Reykjavik, we’ve been eating a lot of the local seafood. We wanted to taste the local fare of lamb and the much-heard about puffin. Carpe Diem prides itself in the two.

We started with the Icelandic feast: a plate of salmon, herring and two kinds of roe served with crÃ¨me fraiche. A small side of mixed greens and the accompanying wheat bread would have made it perfect for lunch.

I was excited to finally eat the puffin. We were in Iceland in the beginning of the summer season and all the puffins were beginning to nest. We tried to stop by Dyrholaey but it was inaccessible, so we were unable to see them close-up. I thought that if I can’t see them, I might as well eat them. They always say, When in Rome…

The lundi is the national bird of Iceland, but they’re obviously not shy about eating them. My smoked puffin was neither gamey nor fishy as expected. It looked like beef with the beautiful marbling. It also tasted like fresh, high-quality beef. Unfortunately, it was served with unexciting shredded iceberg lettuce and zucchini and a dollop of white sauce which tasted like ranch dressing. I thought it would have been better if it was served carpaccio-style, drizzled with good olive oil.

We split an order of saddle of lamb. Before we ordered it, we asked our waitress if saddle was the term they use for rack of lamb. She said that it was. However, we were served the loin. To top it off, it was overdone. If it wasn’t for its gamey taste, I would have confused it with well-done pork chops. Mushrooms, carrots, celery and squared potatoes mingled with a few pieces of blueberries. They all drowned in some kind of brown sauce. The balsamic reduction sauce was burnt.

Who the hell was cooking in the kitchen? After a large family left, we were the only two in the restaurant. I would have thought that the chef would cook our lamb with care because the kitchen wasn’t so busy. I was terribly disappointed. I just assumed that Icelanders don’t eat lamb medium-rare and that was why we weren’t asked about our preference.

Carpe Diem Restaurant is on Raudararstigur 18, + 354 552 4555
Where to stay in Reykjavik for cheap: Reykjavik Hostel

South Iceland Road Trip: A Summary

Here’s the video of our road trip in South Iceland, courtesy of Trip Films.

Vik to Solheimajokull to Reykjanes Peninsula

On the road back to Reykjavik, we drove by a sign that said “glacier walk” right outside Solheimajokull. I casually asked the Dr. if he wanted to check it out. He shrugged and made a U-turn. We drove down a gravel path, parked our car and walked to the opening of a glacier. We thought the sign would tell us to keep out because it looked a little delicate, with ice melting and water dripping. When we got closer to the sign, it only warned us against falling ice. We turned on our video cameras and started shooting as we entered the dark ice cave. It was the coolest detour ever!

Inside was a running brook formed by the melting ice. It was a little eerie and scary because the glacier has been melting throughout the years. Deep inside me, I was hoping that the thing won’t collapse while we were inside. I got claustrophobic after a few minutes, so I walked out and climbed up. The surface of the glacier was spotty–volcanic sand from Katla peeking through the ice. I imagined it was all covered in ice hundreds of years ago, but alas, we were witnessing the effects of global warming.

We just kept driving towards Reykjavik, eager to check in the hostel and rest since the Dr. had been driving since 10:30am. On our way there, we decided to skip town and drive to the Blue Lagoon to avoid the weekend crowd. It was the second best detour of our trip. We paid the fee of what turned out to be $20 each and soaked in the lagoon with the other tourists. It felt good to be in a hot spring with the sun shining. There were wooden chests around the pool filled with volcanic clay. We imitated everyone else and put them on our faces like mud masks. In between soaks, we spent time inside the saunas.

After the novelty ran off though, it was just like being in a regular pool. We felt the gooey clay beneath our feet. I grabbed some with my hands but there was hair all over. Gah! It was time to get out! The best part was getting out of the hot water and running to the showers in the cold. I’ll refrain from describing the feeling of seeing a hundred naked women of all shapes and sizes in the locker room.

We were completely relaxed when we arrived in our hostel. We were ready to conquer Reykjavik.

Fljotsdalur to Vik to Skaftafell, Iceland

We said good-bye to Fljotsadalur to start our drive towards Vik, our next destination for the night. On the way there, we stopped by Skogafoss, a pretty waterfall right behind another hostel that was still closed for the season. It was pretty huge but it wasn’t as deafening and impressive as Gulfoss. After checking in the hostel and eating lunch, we walked to the black sand beach of Reynisdrangur. They are tall fingers of black rock jutting out from the sea. The crashing waves contribute to the pure Gothic scene–all I needed was some Bjork music in the background. If the water wasn’t cold and the wind wasn’t blowing, it would have been the perfect beach with a view.

We still had a whole day ahead of us, so we drove all the way to the border of the southeast. We ended our drive at Svinafellsjokull just enough to get a glimpse of Vatnajokull. The travelers we met had two to three weeks of holiday and they were going around the entire country. The rest of Iceland will just have to wait until we return.

Our first stop was Lanfskalavaroa, this haunting open area of rocks on top of each other. You know when you hike and come across a pile of rocks that were left by other hikers to show you the right way? This was the mother of all those piles of rocks. It’s a tradition to put a rock on top of any of the piles before you continue your way so the Dr. and I put our own rocks on top of a pile before continuing down the road.

The scenery began to change as we approached the southeast. The moss-covered lava created by eruptions from the Laki volcano that lasted for ten months and wiped off several communities around it began to look green. We entered the southeast through the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur and stopped by Foss, a thin waterfall right on a beautiful farm. It was like entering a fairy tale: the sun was shining, the flowers were blooming and then the waterfall ahead of us was quietly trickling. Iceland is a completely different country when the sun is shining.

Down the road were the basalt columns of Dverghamrar, also known as the Cliffs of the Dwarfs. They reminded me of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland with their hexagonal shapes naturally formed overtime.

Right at the base of the Lomagnupur cliff, we found the 18th-century church of Nupsstadur in an abandoned village frozen by time. If Foss was like a fairy tale, this was like the set of an old movie. I felt like someone was going to appear out of nowhere. The church door was unlocked. We walked in and there was a small altar with a photo of the Sacred Heart.

We continued driving along Skeidararsandur, the biggest of the southern sandurs, or wasteland of black sand and glacial debris from volcanic eruptions under the the largest icecap in the country, Vatnajokull. Before the Ring Road was built, the only way here was by horseback.

Before heading back to Vik, we found out that Dyrholaey was inaccessible because of nesting season. Another two weeks and we would have seen the country’s national bird, the puffin, all over the rocks and the beach. At least we were able to see the stone arch from Hallsanef Hellir. The caves also had the basalt columns but also sharp black edges that looked brittle and thin from afar.

About an hour and a speeding ticket from the Icelandic police later, we were back in Vik, reunited with the two Germans and playing Monopoly over some wine, rum and vodka. The Dr. whipped up some pasta dish to remake the leftover chicken from the night before as we finished the last bottle of wine from my suitcase.