We took off on Valentine's Day. The plane ride was blissfully uneventful. I drugged up with multiple pharmaceuticals so my head wouldn't explode. Jules and I had a 3-seat row to ourselves, and I sprawled out for a 3.5 hour nap after our odd inflight meal. When we got there, it was 7 in the morning, and nowhere near dawn. A bus took us to the Loftleider Hotel, right outside the old city center of Reykjavik, where we crashed until noon.
It was in the 30s and 40s the whole time, and overcast, extremely windy (except in the late evenings), and raining/sleeting off and on. Finally, a weather that is worse than Duluth! Our first day we poked around the old heart of the city, and I promptly bought a fleece hat emblazoned with "North 66," our latitude. We ducked into a pastry shop and had delicious goodies and the most incredible hot cocoa I've ever enjoyed. So rich, so creamy, with little chunks of chocolate on top, whipping cream, and obviously made with whole milk and chocolate bars melted together over heat -- not a mix, not cocoa powder. Incredible.
We saw the largest Lutheran church in Iceland, with its huge pipe organ. The design inside is like the big old gothic cathedrals, only very, very plain and made of concrete. By then we were so chilled that we went back to the hotel for a swim in the very very warm pool, an extended soak in the hot tub (pregnant women and those with infants see no issues being in this hot water, contrary to all the freaked out warnings you see everywhere in the US about poaching your kids in- and ex- utero), and a nice bake in the sauna.
Dinner was at Naust (pronounced "nuh-sht,", one syllable, with the u sort of like a German one with an umlaut). It's the viking festival time currently in Iceland, so as an appetizer we visited the Thorri feast buffet. The hostess told us what everything was, and gave us advice: "Don't smell. Just taste." There were rye and thin wheat breads, 3 kinds of herring, liver sausage, blood sausage*, putrefied shark, light and dark whale, head cheese, lamb's head*, dried fish, horse flank*, leg of lamb, rutabegas, and potatoes in a creamy sauce. (* denotes dishes we didn't try!) It was... an adventure. Jules had a whale steak marinated in a red wine-honey sauce and covered with 5 or 6 kinds of berries. I had a seafood gratin with the least amount of cheese present I've ever seen on a gratin. Dessert was chocolatey and wonderful. It was fabulous. We people-watched at a hip coffee house afterwards, to wind down and figure out how local kids spent their wintry weekend evenings (rave nights are Fridays, so we missed it.)
The next day saw more rain, but also a trek to Perlan ("the pearl"). It is a big glassdomed structure, suppported by 4 big but short silo-like cylinders. Inside one was the viking museum, complete with silicone molds of people to tell the story, and a background of screams and swordplay for the battle scenes. Disturbing. From there we went to Kringlan, a big indoor shopping center. We had to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, mostly for familiar food and so Jules could get a Tshirt.
The afternoon included a trip to the National Gallery of Iceland, which housed 7 exhibits, all tiny. One was called Not Picasso/Not Warhol/Not [some other guy I'd never heard of], which seemed to be exact copies of the artist it wasn't. In the age of incredible reproduceability of nearly everything, I didn't get it. The "landscape art" of one wall covered with lava rocks and the other with broken glass also escaped me. But the video of the shifting blowing snow on the glacier was mesmerizing. The gift shop had stuff from the MOMA. Odd. Unfortunately, the Museum of Phallology was closed. The weather required another cafe stop, and the Cafe Cozy obliged nicely. We had to knock on the door, as they'd locked it because it kept blowing open with the force of the wind.
Dinner was at a totally swanky place called Apotek, an old pharmacy. The ambiance was fun: marble pillars and white chairs, ornate lights with modern art on the room divider, simple linen window covers with Warhol-esque prints of vegetables, 4 to a set. Appetizers: reindeer carpaccio with parmesan and mesclun, and a soup of mussels and shrimp with squash, and tomato croutons floating on it. The side was fresh herb bread with a fabulous dried tomato tappenade. Dinner: filet of lamb with a wine glaze, served with carmelized onions over squash, and mashed bright green potatoes. I had tagliatelle with "rocket pesto," julienned veggies and a variety of marvelous mushrooms. We played "switch the plates" for this course. Mmm. Dessert was, of all things, a Bento box. Creme brulee, strawberry mousse with fresh fruits, a brownie with creme anglaise, and balsamic ice cream. To die for. Even the cosmo was fabulous.
We decided to head across the street for coffee. Cafe Paris was EXACTLY like a Parisian cafe, down to the chairs and tables, French Press coffee, and half-smoky ambiance with yellow-orange lights. I had a lovely coffee drink with frothed milk and Grand Marnier. A nice bedtime drink.
The next morning we were brave and rented a car. Destination: The Blue Lagoon!. You've got to see it to believe it. The air temp was 43, the wind very gusty, it was sleeting and drizzling on occassion, but the water was 98-104. The milky turquoise water was heavenly, and the silica muddy stuff was really fun. We didn't get massages, as they were booked, but just being there was phenomenal. The entire country is powered by geothermal energy, and they have a virtual overabundance of electricity and clean water (steam condensation). Long hot showers are never frowned upon! Check out this site. Drool. Go there someday, even if you just have a layover at the airport -- it's 15 minutes away and worth it if you've got at least 3 hours between flights.
Fly home (more seat sprawling), order pizza for dinner, return to the working world. The most fabulous Valentine's day I have ever had, and I'm not sure it can be beat in my book. I'm still glowing.