With the Aldrei for eg Sudur Festival coming up, we've got Iceland on the mind. Our flightie Kate recently went to this beautiful country and couldn't stop talking about the food. So this one is for the foodies:
While other travelers were shying away from Iceland after the volcano scare, I headed out to see what all the fuss was about. What I found was a country of beautiful people, clean air, geothermal energy and amazing food.
Iceland itself doesn't produce very many types of food as much of it is imported. Despite this, I was lucky enough to visit a tomato green house, eat Icelandic lamb and have the best Mojito/Waffle combination of my life at 3am in Reykjavik.
Our first day in Iceland, we landed at 630am and headed out for a drive through the countryside to our hotel. Breakfast every morning of my stay was buffet style with not only toast, jam and other familiar items, but picked fish, lunch meats and shrimp-paste-cheese.
Lunches were always soup and bread with salad and fish. And boy was it ever fresh! I'm pretty sure it had just been pulled out of the ocean that morning and cooked up just for us kind of fresh.
Dinners were a variety of different foods including Icelandic lamb, great salads and deserts to die for! Not to mention the European chocolate bars! I was dedicated to taking a picture of everything I ate until when reviewing my photos I found far too many of the delicious Toffee Crisp chocolate bar (which I now crave pretty much every day).
Our final night was spent in Rekyjavik. The vibrant nightlife in the downtown area produces surprisingly, some of the best mojitos I have ever had and a variety of foods purchased from vans in the central square. I chose a waffle from a nice lady who offered me my choice of a multitude of toppings and sent me on my way, waffle in hand. One of the most popular food stands is the hot dog stand which is legendary in Iceland and will be my first stop on my return trip!
The next day at the Blue Lagoon spa the buffet lunch offered us flat bread baked in holes in the ground, authentic Icelandic salads and whale meat, both cooked and raw with wasabi. While I didn't care for the raw version very much, the cooked tasted surprisingly like beef. Whaling is a vital part of the Icelandic economy (which has suffered in recent years) and while whale is not a staple of their diet, it can be found on many restaurant menus where traditional Icelandic fare is offered.
Before going to Iceland I didn't really know much about it, but now that I've seen (and tasted it) I can't stop talking about it! The best part? This hidden gem is only a 5 hour flight away from Toronto.
Iceland is more than just a volcano and the Blue Lagoon... it's great food! (and delicious waffles served best with chocolate and bananas from a van).
Reykjavik, Iceland is highlighted on the Flight Centre map.
Thinking about a trip to Iceland? Contact one of our Flight Centre agents to find out more and get your trip planning started!
