Archive for April, 2009

Tourist attractions in Iceland near Reykjavik

Most tourists will think of nature and the Icelandic landscape as the main attractions for visiting tourists in Iceland. And it is true that the wild landscape with glaciers, geysers, vulcans, mountains, lakes, the ruff coastline and islands etc. are really attractive to experience, not to mention the birdlife and life in the ocean around [...]

Most tourists will think of nature and the Icelandic landscape as the main attractions for visiting tourists in Iceland. And it is true that the wild landscape with glaciers, geysers, vulcans, mountains, lakes, the ruff coastline and islands etc. are really attractive to experience, not to mention the birdlife and life in the ocean around Iceland.

But the history of Iceland and Icelanders is as fascinating and unique as anything else. Did you know that Iceland hosted the first parliament of the world, Althing, that was established in year 930 in a beautiful area not far from the modern capital of Iceland Reykjavik with the name Þingvellir and now saved for the future as Þingvellir National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Remark the special Icelandic letter Þ, expressed ‘th’. Icelandic language is a very original version of the Nordic language family that has been preserved on Iceland as a rather isolated island far out in the Atlantic Ocean. The Althing was an annual functioning judiciary and legislative parliament, founded as the political hub of the Icelandic Commonwealth.

During our short travel to Iceland in April my wife and I visited the Þingvellir National Park in a hired car.  The Þingvellir National Parkthat has many interesting attractions for the tourist. Besides the historical sites nature is showing some impressive signs of the moving geology as Iceland is situated on the moveable zone between the two huge continental tectonic plates of the North Atlantic Ocean. See the location of the Þingvellir National Park at the map below:

List of travel guide books for Iceland – Island added to Island Vacation Tips

A very long list of Iceland travel guides and other books about Iceland has just been added to our pages of Island Vacation tips, check for yourself before planning your next travel to the oustanding North Atlantic island of Iceland CLICK HERE.
More information about Iceland – a cheap travel destination at the moment because of [...]

A very long list of Iceland travel guides and other books about Iceland has just been added to our pages of Island Vacation tips, check for yourself before planning your next travel to the oustanding North Atlantic island of Iceland CLICK HERE.

More information about Iceland – a cheap travel destination at the moment because of the drop of the icelandic economy linked to the international recession in the economy.

Fine dining in Reykjavik in Iceland

One evening we went to a restaurant in Reykjavik in Iceland to have a common dinner with some Icelandic good friends (on April the 2.). The restaurant that was recommended was called Sjávarkjallarinn that is a seafood restaurant in a cellar in the central part of old Reykjavik.
Our common choice went to what in the [...]

One evening we went to a restaurant in Reykjavik in Iceland to have a common dinner with some Icelandic good friends (on April the 2.). The restaurant that was recommended was called Sjávarkjallarinn that is a seafood restaurant in a cellar in the central part of old Reykjavik.

Our common choice went to what in the menu card was called the exotic menu. And in came a stream of small delicious dishes as starters, later several rounds of sophisticated main courses and finally a round of outstanding deserts.

Together they formed an extravagant dinner and the delicious dishes and their arrangement became an unforgettable tasting experience for all of us.

With the present days currency of the Icelandic kroner this was also a very good value for money taking into account the outstanding level of the cooking and the extravaganza of the many courses.

The chef Pétur Örn Pétursson deserves the highest recommandations for his outstanding professional skills and results.
You will find the restaurant website here: http://www.sjavarkjallarinn.is/index_en.html

An added charm is that the restaurant is situated in the oldest cellar of Reykjavik with a very nice atmosphere.
(I was without my camera during the dinner, but I will get some pictures for later inclusion here from my wife’s little camera that she is always carrying with her).

Travel to Iceland for a short holiday in Reykjavik

A short holiday in Iceland
I got a chance to travel to Iceland for a short holiday with my wife.  Iceland is a rather big island in the North Atlantic Sea and together with the early time of the year I was a little sceptical about the value of the travel.
But here are just a few [...]

A short holiday in Iceland
I got a chance to travel to Iceland for a short holiday with my wife.  Iceland is a rather big island in the North Atlantic Sea and together with the early time of the year I was a little sceptical about the value of the travel.

But here are just a few notes from our short holiday trip to Iceland. I can expand later on many of the issues and bring more island vacation tips for your consideration. Please give the post a comment, and I shall do my best to answer it.

As earlier mentioned the people at Iceland suffer from their own downturn of their economy together with the bad world economy. So they have a lot of trouble.

For the tourist to Iceland this is in our favour, as the currency – Icelandic kronor – is much cheaper to buy and your credit card will perform much better  in this situation.

Earlier, Iceland was by many regarded as a rather expensive travel destination but that isn’t the case any longer.

Hotel in Reykjavik in Iceland

We stayed the 4 nights (3.-7. April) in Iceland at the Radisson SAS Saga Hotel in Reykjavik.

This isn’t a cheap hotel but the rooms are nice, they serve a very fine breakfast, and the hotel is situated conveniently for many things.

Especially if you hire a car you will enjoy the easy connection to the old city centre, and to the many interesting places of Reykjavik. You find a map of the location of Radisson SAS Saga Hotel in Reykjavik here

You can come to the Radisson SAS Saga Hotel after a 45-minute drive from the international airport. From the domestic airport Saga Hotel is only a 5-minute drive away.

Car parking is easy and bus connections are available directly to the hotel from the airport.

Nearby you find attractions like:
•    The National Museum.
•    The National Library.
•    The Nordic House.
•    Open-air, geothermally-heated swimming pool.
•    The University of Iceland.
•    The University Cinema.

The weather in early spring in Iceland

The weather in early spring in Iceland is like all seasons in one day. I experienced very nice sunshine, especially one unforgettable morning with the eider ducks courting each other in a shallow bay and allowing me to approach them quite close for photos. This area is called Seltjarnarnes and is the north western narrow peninsular of Reykjavik. Part of Seltjarnarnes is a nature reserve, part of it a golf course.
Find more information about Iceland for travel here.

I will return with more travel tips about what to see in Iceland and where to go.

A few more fresh pictures from Reykjavik in mixed weather: