Rejoicing in Reykjavik
The Guinness
I was genuinely surprised by the number of pubs in Reykjavík
offering Guinness. There's sometimes the
need for hours of internet research and walking the streets before I stumble
across the familiar Guinness logo but not here where I was spoilt for
choice. So why choose the Drunk Rabbit?
More because of the appealing name I have to admit. Are there rabbits lurking in Iceland? It turns out there are and they are a bit like
the purple lupines you see around everywhere i.e. not indigenous. Anyway, I digress.
On arrival I asked to see the management, not because I was
throwing my weight around, but because in an exchange of messages before coming
to Iceland they had promised to pour me the perfect pint but unfortunately were
not at home. Nevertheless, we had a warm
welcome from the charming Jolanta who seemed somewhat thrown by having the
responsibility heaped upon her but coped very well indeed.
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| Jolanta concentrating on pouring the Guinness |
So there it was, sat settling on the bar, a Guinness in my
52nd European capital city. Mission
achieved - or it would be once I'd drunk it.
Memories of previous visits came flooding back; places I'd visited,
people I'd met and adventures I'd had.
There would be plenty of time for me to reminisce but for now it was
time to savour the moment with my wife and good friends who had been kind
enough to join me on the trip. Cheers.
Team make up
I was joined on this trip by five fellow adventurers. My wife Margaret, who takes the credit for
much of the organising. As a veteran of
some twenty of these Guinness excursions she deserves a hearty congratulations,
not only for joining me on those trips but also deserves thanks for putting up
with me going on the others. Paul and Pete
were veterans of the Faroe Islands trip all the way back in 2005. Ian was a more recent convert and on his own
challenge of visiting every European country and riding the trains. The
sometimes frustrated look on his face at times was explained by the fact that
there are no trains in Iceland. Olwen
was on her first trip and fully embraced the cause.
Sightseeing
We felt we'd hit the jackpot in going on the iconic Golden
Circle tour - an excellent day out. More
good homework by my wife had identified many tour operators on the Golden
Circle route. Our guide Baldvin Pálsson was exceptional; highly knowledgeable, humorous, a
good driver, clearly explained our responsibilities at each stage and even
threw in a few extra stops for us for good behavior. Minibuses are so much more comfortable than
they used to be.
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| Our excellent guide Baldvin |
Food and Drink
Our bravery didn't extend to us trying the Hákarl, fermented
and buried rotten shark with high ammonia content. Instead we treated ourselves
to a delicious meal at Old Iceland where I had traditional Icelandic lamb
tasting of the lush green meadows of Iceland, or was I imagining that bit.
Another evening we ate in Cafe Babalu, a quirky place with
friendly staff and a Star Wars themed toilet.
The vegetarian lasagne tasted just fine.
The local cafe, Emilie and the Cool Kids, near our accommodation is also
worth a mention for its tasty savory scones.
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| The spectacular Gullfoss waterfalls |
Accommodation
I haven't mentioned this yet but Reykjavík is a charming
capital city, full of individual colourful houses and independent shops. We
were lucky enough to stay very centrally in Heida's Home Guesthouse. Quiet, clean and processing a certain vintage
charm, it was all we could ask for.
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| Heida's Home Guesthouse |
Getting there and around
One thing I won't miss about completing this challenge is
the air travel. I vow to take more
trains. The flight to Iceland may only
be two and a half hours but with everything else added in effectively takes a
day each way. The crack-of-dawn easyJet
flights from London Luton in fairness were relatively pain free. It was just the need to be at the airport at
4am, necessitating overnight accommodation at the airport in a hot room and a rubbish
meal in a Dunstable pub that provided the misery.
Our pre-booked airport bus transfer into Reykjavík was
hassle free for us but for one of our party arriving on a later flight proved
more problematic.
Without any Icelandic trains to ride Ian took to the public
buses one day with a day-pass and reported everything ran smoothly.
Outside Reykjavík
Margaret and I took a boat over to the small island of Viðey. It was idyllic. The weather was warm and sunny and the
birdlife plentiful. The eider ducks and fulmars
welcomed us with open wings. The boats to Viðey depart adjacent to where
the cruise liners dock but for some reason a four hour stay on this tranquil
island doesn't appeal to cruise goers. It was just us, the birds and a Yoko Ono
sculpture, giving peace a chance.
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| Freddie the Fulmar on Viðey |
Quirky Moments
Very early on in this challenge, back in 2005 a group of us
went to the Faroe Islands. It was the
closest I came to not having a pint of Guinness. An Irish pub mentioned on the internet
transpired to be fake news. The hero of
the day was Henrik who works for the Danish Royal Air Force and had flown some
Guinness in especially. He welcomed us around his house to share the Guinness
and pick out my next destination. By
sheer fluke, on the day I was having my final pint of Guinness in Reykjavík,
Henrik flew into the nearby airport to refuel. The nearest I will ever come to
being honoured by a Royal flypast.
The only train to be seen in was Minør, an old stream
train withdrawn from service about a hundred years ago. To make Ian jealous I clamoured on board to
get a photo of me in the cab, shoving two little boys out of the way in the
process. There weren't to be deterred.
As soon as they realised I didn't speak Icelandic that switched to
perfect English and continued to tell me all bout how the train worked. I couldn't work out how they were old enough
to be allowed out without adults but then again if they were smart enough to
learn English at their age I'm sure that were safe.
A sad quirky moment this one. Many people go on a whale-watching trip
whilst in Reykjavík. In fact our
travelling companion Ian did just that and was lucky too see two varieties of
whale. Margaret and I also saw a whale
on an evening walk but unfortunately it was a deceased minke whale, washed
ashore.
Lasting memories
We were blessed with great weather and lots of daylight for
this trip which combined with the stunning scenery makes for a memorable trip,
but of course completing the Guinness challenge must be the
highlight.
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| Hallgrímskirkja church |
