First things first, Iceland is such a beautiful country and Reykjavik has quickly moved very high on my list of cities worth seeing.  The people are friendly, it’s small enough to get around easily, and when I lost my phone it was returned 4 days later with bonus nudes uploaded.  The only downside to Iceland I would say is the cost but it becomes more manageable once you get away from Reykjavik.  That being said, I’d like to discuss the food…

Right in the center there…that’s the fermented shark cubes aka Hákarl.  Apparently the Greenland shark is naturally toxic to humans to eat because it never actually urinates and its waste is filtered into its blood.  In order to become edible it must be buried for roughly 3-4 months and then hung to dry for a few weeks.  I don’t know which poor viking had to test that but I do have so many questions for him.

I have to say, the fish jerky(Harðfiskur) wasn’t bad if it had some butter.  However, the Brennivín which is basically unflavored schnapps, on its own was a bit rough but when you have just inserted some ammonia like shark in your mouth it tastes like angel tears.  The generally unfavorable taste of Brennivín also did not stop my travel buddy from buying shots of it constantly either.  Friends are great like that.

On our first night there we went for tapas at Tapas Barrin.  There I ate a puffin, which tasted like mushrooms, and a minke whale, which was amazing.  I should note I was told it is not endangered and I should not feel a moral burden with eating it.  Afterwards we went out for a casual nightcap that ended up with me stumbling home at about 4am after dancing, eating some delicious hot dogs, and I’m pretty sure making a lot of single serving friends.  I had also lost my phone and wallet which were returned a few days later because apparently everyone is friendly and there is no crime there.  Likely because everyone knows everyone else and you can’t escape the island.

We also stopped by the Viking Restaurant where I did my best to eat a Lamb’s head, much like I assume the Vikings would have.  It went…ok…

 

It should be noted that I actively went out of my way to eat some weird stuff on this trip.  For normal people the food is still great.  My friends loved the char and all the fish and chips we got were top notch so don’t let my dietary choices affect your image of this place.

We also happened by a penis museum in Reykjavik.  I’m not really sure what else to mention on it so I’ll let a few photos speak for themselves.  Try to guess the animal! It probably won’t be very hard….(haha hard…)

For general sightseeing we rented a car and drove the Golden Circle which was really easy and a good way to spend a day.

We also booked an overnight tour with this group extremeiceland.is.  They were amazing and our guide, Ingo, was hilarious and not averse to a few beers and a topless photo shoot.

He also told us there would be a 0% chance to see the northern lights that night, but he clearly did not expect my friend to be drunk and awake at 4am when they finally decided to appear and he loudly ran by my window to inform me.

THERE’S SO MANY WATERFALLS IN ICELAND OH MY GOD!

Obviously beyond waterfall fetish enthusiasts Iceland has a wide variety of other ridiculous scenery that these pictures can’t even portray.

Sadly we did not get to the Blue Lagoon. We didn’t know it required such advanced preparation but fortunately it is an easy stop to manage on a layover so I’ll get there sometime.  In the end, I would say Iceland is top notch for weird food and scenery.  The nightlife is also pretty solid, everyone was friendly and I’m told I had a great time.  Overall I give it 5 out of 5 Hákarls.