A short weekend in Iceland

On Friday night we departed Heathrow to Reykjavik, Iceland. After a very bumpy flight that took an extra 30 minutes in the air we finally arrived in Iceland. On arrival we realised that we probably didn't pack enough warm clothes or shoes as snow was falling and there was quite a lot on the ground. The lowest it probably reached -12. It had only started snowing that week, so we were a little surprised with how much had fallen. We arrived at about 2:30am. Saturday morning I got to see my first sunrise at 10:30 in the morning, we spent the day exploring the city of Reykjavik and watching the sun go down round 4. The city was pretty set on the waterfront. There are may green spaces, or more white than green while we were there around the city.

On Saturday night at 9 we headed out on a tour to try and find the Northern Lights. It is very much like storm chasing. It is very hit and miss on whether you will be lucky enough to see them. We saw them in the very last half hour of the tour, we were told it was only 2/10.

Early Sunday morning we got up early for a 8 hour tour. The tour was to the Golden Circle which is one of the most popular tours. We saw waterfalls, lava craters, geysers, the Viking's first gathering spot and the amazing landscape of Iceland. As the city is not heavily populated there isn't a lot of roads or infrastructure. It was like driving through the outback of Australia but obviously covered in snow.

On Sunday night after the tour we went out for a fantastic dinner with our friends. It was a 10 course degustation, we had incredible food. We sampled smoked goose, venison, goose berries, crab claws fresh from the North Sea, sushi, herrings and so much more. The menu at Fish Market was incredible. We had the Christmas Feast. We didn't sample any whale or puffin which is a traditional dish.

Tomorrow Em and Sam arrive. This weekend we are off to Oxford and next week exploring London.