Farewell Iceland

I had a chance to enjoy the Icelandic touch all over again as I was leaving from the Keflavik International Airport outside of Reykjavik for Tokyo via Paris.

Just after security where you might sit down and tie your shoelaces if you were told to take off your shoes going through the metal detector. Love the color scheme and the bench.

The area after security as seen from the above bench.

Final lunch

At CDG, in transit. Terminal 1 is an unknown territory for me and this long (much longer than as shown) passage seemed very cool.

Lunching with Asi in Reykjavik

I wrote about my Icelandic friend Asi in an earlier post.  We met up a few days after the first meeting and went out for lunch at the Grillmarkaðurinn or the “Grill Market” where I had previously made a reservation to visit on my own.  Having company was great.  🙂

Very good draft!

 

The Perfect Tomato Farm in Iceland

During my stay in Reykjavik, Iceland, I signed up with a day tour to visit the so-called “Golden Circle” sites so on a somewhat drizzly Sunday morning, I headed out to the pick-up point near my apartment.

Standing in front of an apartment complex near mine that was the designated pick-up point for the tour.

The van that picked me up along with other tourists at different locations took us to a big bus terminal where we boarded this tour bus which was completely full.

And our first stop after leaving the city was at a tomato farm growing tomatoes all-year round in this hothouse.

Because I was not aware we were going to make this stop, I initially thought, “What?  A souvenir stop so soon?” but it was far from one of those obligatory stops where they encourage you to purchase something.  Well, they did, but what they offered was tomato soup and Bloody Mary made with fresh tomatoes.  At 10 am, I naturally went for the bloody mary.

I did purchase some tomatoes.

 

The Reykjavik Food Walk, the Final Stop

It was dessert time on our Reykjavik Food Walk after having consumed, not quite a full meal, but a variety of simple and delish local dishes and lots of it. Our last stop was in a rather fancy venue with a fancy cake, in the building built by the same architect as the one who built the main church in Reykjavik.  It used to house a pharmacy and the restaurant is aptly named Apotek.

Medicine bottles lining one wall

Our group

So we finished eating and it was already 4:30 pm.  Four hours of eating and walking and getting a bit of history and trivia about Reykjavik as well as all the eating places we visited and things along the way.

As we said goodbye, our kind guide Gabriella gave each one of us yet one more Icelandic food item.  Chocolate.

 

The Reykjavik Food Walk, Part 3

Next up on the Reykjavik Food Walk was a stop we were initially supposed to do before going for the lobster soup but there was a long line of people so we saved it for afterwards.

When we returned, there was still a long line.

To make good use of time, Gabriella (pictured above in the middle) gave us each a little taste of Iceland that is Skyr.

In my apartment had the plain kind for breakfast with fresh blueberries.

In the meantime, the line was getting shorter.

Our next meal: Icelandic hot dog which comes with a lamb sausage. The name of the hot dog stand translates as “the best hot dog in town”.

BTW it’s very easy to stay in Reykjavik w/o carrying any local currency as even hot dog stands and ice cream parlors take credit cards. Not where I come from.

“The works” with ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. Yum.

Bæjarins beztu pylsur