Trip Report: Iceland and Scandinavia
Aug 12th, 2012, 07:16 AM
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Trip Report: Iceland and Scandinavia
We just got back from nearly two weeks in Iceland and Scandinavia last night -- and since the fourth cup of coffee is kicking in I thought I'd write up a short trip review.
Who went: Me (40), my husband (37) and my mom (60).
What we did: We flew Icelandair and since we saved about $300 per ticket (versus Delta), we decided to spend the first three nights in Reykjavik. I'm so glad we did! Then we traveled to Stockholm where we spent two nights before boarding a cruise ship to tour the Baltic.
Why we did what we did: We thought hard about the best way to tour the Baltic region and decided since we were taking my mom, it would be easiest to travel on the cruise ship versus taking the local ships to our destinations. Even though I'm not a big fan of cruise ships, I'm glad we did it this way for this trip. It definitely made things easier. (Since this isn't the right forum for cruise talk, I'll keep my cruise comments to a minimum.) We ended our trip with a final flight to Iceland before traveling back to the States.
First up: Iceland...
Who went: Me (40), my husband (37) and my mom (60).
What we did: We flew Icelandair and since we saved about $300 per ticket (versus Delta), we decided to spend the first three nights in Reykjavik. I'm so glad we did! Then we traveled to Stockholm where we spent two nights before boarding a cruise ship to tour the Baltic.
Why we did what we did: We thought hard about the best way to tour the Baltic region and decided since we were taking my mom, it would be easiest to travel on the cruise ship versus taking the local ships to our destinations. Even though I'm not a big fan of cruise ships, I'm glad we did it this way for this trip. It definitely made things easier. (Since this isn't the right forum for cruise talk, I'll keep my cruise comments to a minimum.) We ended our trip with a final flight to Iceland before traveling back to the States.
First up: Iceland...
Aug 12th, 2012, 08:27 AM
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We met my mom in Boston's Logan airport on Monday afternoon. Uh-oh. My mom does indeed have a small rolling suitcase, but is carrying a large fabric "carry-on." (Mental note: Make sure the next carry-on bag attaches to the rolling suitcase.) I spent the entire trip feeling horrible that she was lugging this large bag around -- especially when she had to take off at a race-walking sprint last night to catch her connecting flight to Maine. Lesson learned.
We had a really pleasant, relatively smooth flight to Iceland. It took about 5 hours of flight time to get there. This was a huge plus for me. I HATE to fly. I get major anxiety about flying across the Atlantic, so this was the perfect solution for me. I will definitely fly Icelandair again.
We landed in Iceland around midnight and since we couldn't pick up a car that late, we thought it would be much easier to catch a taxi to drive us straight to our apartment. It was easier but expensive at close to $100. But our female cab driver was lovely and our conversation with her about the country and her life there was worth the price.
She dropped us off at our apartment in central Reykjavik and we made ourselves at home here: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p329618
The apartment was perfect -- great location, clean, and having a washer and dryer was so nice.
We woke up around 8:00 or so and hit the streets of Reykjavik. What a charming town. It reminded me of the touristy, small coastal towns of Maine. The streets are filled with touristy shops and cafes that lead down to a picturesque harbor. We spent a pleasant half-day walking around, eating, taking pictures and wandering in and out of shops. Nice.
Later that afternoon, we called the car rental company (Dollar) and they drove to our apartment to pick us up. We got the car and managed to find a spot near the apartment to park it for the evening. (It's metered parking, but free from 18:00-10:00.) We finished the day with a take out meal of Icelandic food picked up at a small cafe nearby back at our apartment.
The next morning we took off to drive part of the Golden Circle. First up: Pingvellir. In a word, "Wow!" The photos really don't do the beauty of the park justice. We walked around for an hour or two and took about a million photos. From there we drove to Geysir and waited and waited and waited for the action to happen. And then to Gullfoss. What an amazing site to see. The waterfall was breathtaking (as was the walk back up the hill!). We ate at the large cafe at the entrance and all tried the famous lamb stew. (My mom liked it, but DH and I were not fans. It was a pretty watery stew. But, hey, we've had it!) We debated heading back to Reykjavik or pushing onwards to other sites, but ultimately decided to head back and go swimming in the Laugardalslaug pool.
By the way, driving was easy. We stuck to the tarred roads and watched carefully for turns (ultimately missing each and every one!). Those few locations were easy to find and I think we enjoyed being on our own versus a tour bus.)
As a swimmer, the city pool was high on my things-to-do-list. First, the weather was terrific in Iceland and it seemed that the entire city was at the pool that evening! (Parking was pretty horrible, but we managed.) There was a large hot pool, a shallow, warm area for hanging out, and a large 50 meter pool for laps. Since the day was so warm and my legs so tired, I didn't do many laps, but it was fun to swim in the olympic-sized pool.
We finished off the evening with hotdogs from the stand right outside of the pool area. And how were the famous hotdogs? Ok. And speaking of food... The prices were pretty high throughout Iceland and Scandinavia, so we didn't plan on any great dinners out. Instead we stuck with hotdogs, takeout, and cafe sandwiches. We might have missed out on some really good cuisine, but food wasn't a priority for this trip. (And we still spent a lot of money on what we did buy...)
On our final day in Iceland we packed up the rental car and headed to the Blue Lagoon. We got there as it opened and I am so glad we did. We parked and walked right in. By the time we left at noon the place was packed, lines were long, and lockers were filled. Get there early! (Or late?)
I've seen a lot of questions about the "shower situation" for the Blue Lagoon and other swimming pools in Iceland. Here's what I observed: At the Blue Lagoon, there is no one watching you making sure you've showered. Since we were there first, we showered naked, washed our hair, left the conditioner in it, dressed and headed out. But I saw plenty of women walking toward the showers in their suits, obviously not washing thoroughly, heading to the pool with dry hair, and others bypassing the showers altogether. Ick. Let me say that it pays to get your hair wet in the shower and put on the conditioner (and then try to keep it out of the water). My hair was really dried out just from the minimal contact with the pool water and showering outside after the sauna.
The pool in town was another story though. There was an attendant in the dressing area. I wouldn't have been surprised if she stopped people from going through without showering.
Both the Blue Lagoon and the city pool had excellent locker/shower rooms. I wish I had access to something as nice here in northern New England!
We kept all of our luggage covered and locked in the back of the car at the Blue Lagoon and it was fine. I'm not sure what you'd do if you rode in on a bus with your luggage. (The lockers in the changing room aren't big enough for luggage.)
We drove to the airport, dropped off the car and wheeled our luggage to the airport itself. It was only a five minute or less walk.
The flight to Stockholm was a short and smooth three hours. Perfect for the reluctant flyer. One tip: Bring water aboard the shorter flights. They give you a bottle of water on the longer flights when boarding the plane, but not for the shorter flights. You won't get drinks otherwise until later in the flight.
Off to Stockholm...
We had a really pleasant, relatively smooth flight to Iceland. It took about 5 hours of flight time to get there. This was a huge plus for me. I HATE to fly. I get major anxiety about flying across the Atlantic, so this was the perfect solution for me. I will definitely fly Icelandair again.
We landed in Iceland around midnight and since we couldn't pick up a car that late, we thought it would be much easier to catch a taxi to drive us straight to our apartment. It was easier but expensive at close to $100. But our female cab driver was lovely and our conversation with her about the country and her life there was worth the price.
She dropped us off at our apartment in central Reykjavik and we made ourselves at home here: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p329618
The apartment was perfect -- great location, clean, and having a washer and dryer was so nice.
We woke up around 8:00 or so and hit the streets of Reykjavik. What a charming town. It reminded me of the touristy, small coastal towns of Maine. The streets are filled with touristy shops and cafes that lead down to a picturesque harbor. We spent a pleasant half-day walking around, eating, taking pictures and wandering in and out of shops. Nice.
Later that afternoon, we called the car rental company (Dollar) and they drove to our apartment to pick us up. We got the car and managed to find a spot near the apartment to park it for the evening. (It's metered parking, but free from 18:00-10:00.) We finished the day with a take out meal of Icelandic food picked up at a small cafe nearby back at our apartment.
The next morning we took off to drive part of the Golden Circle. First up: Pingvellir. In a word, "Wow!" The photos really don't do the beauty of the park justice. We walked around for an hour or two and took about a million photos. From there we drove to Geysir and waited and waited and waited for the action to happen. And then to Gullfoss. What an amazing site to see. The waterfall was breathtaking (as was the walk back up the hill!). We ate at the large cafe at the entrance and all tried the famous lamb stew. (My mom liked it, but DH and I were not fans. It was a pretty watery stew. But, hey, we've had it!) We debated heading back to Reykjavik or pushing onwards to other sites, but ultimately decided to head back and go swimming in the Laugardalslaug pool.
By the way, driving was easy. We stuck to the tarred roads and watched carefully for turns (ultimately missing each and every one!). Those few locations were easy to find and I think we enjoyed being on our own versus a tour bus.)
As a swimmer, the city pool was high on my things-to-do-list. First, the weather was terrific in Iceland and it seemed that the entire city was at the pool that evening! (Parking was pretty horrible, but we managed.) There was a large hot pool, a shallow, warm area for hanging out, and a large 50 meter pool for laps. Since the day was so warm and my legs so tired, I didn't do many laps, but it was fun to swim in the olympic-sized pool.
We finished off the evening with hotdogs from the stand right outside of the pool area. And how were the famous hotdogs? Ok. And speaking of food... The prices were pretty high throughout Iceland and Scandinavia, so we didn't plan on any great dinners out. Instead we stuck with hotdogs, takeout, and cafe sandwiches. We might have missed out on some really good cuisine, but food wasn't a priority for this trip. (And we still spent a lot of money on what we did buy...)
On our final day in Iceland we packed up the rental car and headed to the Blue Lagoon. We got there as it opened and I am so glad we did. We parked and walked right in. By the time we left at noon the place was packed, lines were long, and lockers were filled. Get there early! (Or late?)
I've seen a lot of questions about the "shower situation" for the Blue Lagoon and other swimming pools in Iceland. Here's what I observed: At the Blue Lagoon, there is no one watching you making sure you've showered. Since we were there first, we showered naked, washed our hair, left the conditioner in it, dressed and headed out. But I saw plenty of women walking toward the showers in their suits, obviously not washing thoroughly, heading to the pool with dry hair, and others bypassing the showers altogether. Ick. Let me say that it pays to get your hair wet in the shower and put on the conditioner (and then try to keep it out of the water). My hair was really dried out just from the minimal contact with the pool water and showering outside after the sauna.
The pool in town was another story though. There was an attendant in the dressing area. I wouldn't have been surprised if she stopped people from going through without showering.
Both the Blue Lagoon and the city pool had excellent locker/shower rooms. I wish I had access to something as nice here in northern New England!
We kept all of our luggage covered and locked in the back of the car at the Blue Lagoon and it was fine. I'm not sure what you'd do if you rode in on a bus with your luggage. (The lockers in the changing room aren't big enough for luggage.)
We drove to the airport, dropped off the car and wheeled our luggage to the airport itself. It was only a five minute or less walk.
The flight to Stockholm was a short and smooth three hours. Perfect for the reluctant flyer. One tip: Bring water aboard the shorter flights. They give you a bottle of water on the longer flights when boarding the plane, but not for the shorter flights. You won't get drinks otherwise until later in the flight.
Off to Stockholm...
Aug 12th, 2012, 08:56 AM
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A quick note about clothes and the weather: Packing was a challenge for this trip! The predicted weather was all rain and cool temps. I packed a light rain jacket, sweatshirt, some long sleeves and, on a whim, a pair of jeans. (I usually pack a single carry-on bag and I don't think I've ever brought jeans with me.) Surprise! The weather was beautiful for most of the trip and I could have used five pair of jeans and more shorts. (My jeans were nasty by the time I made it home last night.)
What to wear in Iceland? Jeans, sweaters (preferably a great Icelandic one you just purchased), shorts (if the weather hits 60) <wink> and comfortable shoes. The dress in Iceland and Scandinavia was more like what I'd wear touring around Maine versus something more dressy like I'd wear in Italy or Spain.
Skipping ahead, since the weather was pretty nice in Helsinki, I wore longish linen shorts into town. According to the TI person, there wouldn't have been any trouble entering a church in shorts.
And what were people wearing in the warm weather? I saw a lot of shorts (mainly khaki and mid-thigh to nearly knee-length) a lot of cropped pants (mostly tapered, not flared), again, a lot of khaki, sturdy sandals, brightly colored athletic shoes, jeans, tee-shirts, etc. Both men and women wore shorts and crops. (In fact, a LOT of men wore the cropped pants -- something we don't see a lot of here in N.E.)
All in all I loved the casual feel. People looked like they were dressed in a sort of outdoorsy, hiking kind of style. (That said, I've never seen such beautiful people anywhere! Many of them could wear anything and look amazing.)
What to wear in Iceland? Jeans, sweaters (preferably a great Icelandic one you just purchased), shorts (if the weather hits 60) <wink> and comfortable shoes. The dress in Iceland and Scandinavia was more like what I'd wear touring around Maine versus something more dressy like I'd wear in Italy or Spain.
Skipping ahead, since the weather was pretty nice in Helsinki, I wore longish linen shorts into town. According to the TI person, there wouldn't have been any trouble entering a church in shorts.
And what were people wearing in the warm weather? I saw a lot of shorts (mainly khaki and mid-thigh to nearly knee-length) a lot of cropped pants (mostly tapered, not flared), again, a lot of khaki, sturdy sandals, brightly colored athletic shoes, jeans, tee-shirts, etc. Both men and women wore shorts and crops. (In fact, a LOT of men wore the cropped pants -- something we don't see a lot of here in N.E.)
All in all I loved the casual feel. People looked like they were dressed in a sort of outdoorsy, hiking kind of style. (That said, I've never seen such beautiful people anywhere! Many of them could wear anything and look amazing.)
Aug 12th, 2012, 10:01 AM
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And a quick note on cellular phone usage: I have an iPhone from Verizon and signed up for their newish global plan (100 MB/$25). I used the free wireless as much as possible in the apartment and hotels, but was happy to have some connectivity and phone service at times.
I ended up using this much data:
Sent: 9.1 MB
Received 41.2 MB
This does include some frivolous Facebook app use, email, and texting a few pictures to my niece. Not bad.
I had service in Reykjavik, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen. I didn't try in St. Petersburg (too expensive!) and couldn't get any signal in Tallinn. But there was free wireless at the port in Tallinn.
(I hope this is helpful to others with the same questions I had!)
I ended up using this much data:
Sent: 9.1 MB
Received 41.2 MB
This does include some frivolous Facebook app use, email, and texting a few pictures to my niece. Not bad.
I had service in Reykjavik, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen. I didn't try in St. Petersburg (too expensive!) and couldn't get any signal in Tallinn. But there was free wireless at the port in Tallinn.
(I hope this is helpful to others with the same questions I had!)
Aug 13th, 2012, 12:51 PM
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We were in Iceland a couple of weeks ago and I'd go back in a heartbeat! I second getting to the Blue Lagoon as it opens, best way to avoid the crowds. We had an attendant making sure everyone showered,though there are some shower cubicles for people like me
You absolutely need to slather on the conditioner, I'd taken a swim cap too and this way didn't have any problems with dry hair, some friends complained the waters left their hair feeling like straw.
You absolutely need to slather on the conditioner, I'd taken a swim cap too and this way didn't have any problems with dry hair, some friends complained the waters left their hair feeling like straw.
Sep 21st, 2012, 05:25 AM
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Enjoying your trip report. I've never been to Iceland or the Scandinavian countries, so I'm living vicariously through your report. Hope to go some day. What is typical Scandinavian food? Lots of fish, I assume? I like the details you provide, such as weather, temps & clothing.
Sep 21st, 2012, 07:16 AM
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We kept all of our luggage covered and locked in the back of the car at the Blue Lagoon and it was fine. I'm not sure what you'd do if you rode in on a bus with your luggage. (The lockers in the changing room aren't big enough for luggage.) >>
biblitecaria - we did the same. i think that if you are in a bus, it is likely to be the same bus that is taking you to [or from] the airport so i suspect that you just leave it on the bus.
glad you enjoyed Iceland. i would overall describe our 10 day holiday there as "interesting" but i wouldn't have missed it, and the golden Circle was certainly a highlight. not so the lamb stew, at least not the one we had, but then you don't go to Iceland for the food.
biblitecaria - we did the same. i think that if you are in a bus, it is likely to be the same bus that is taking you to [or from] the airport so i suspect that you just leave it on the bus.
glad you enjoyed Iceland. i would overall describe our 10 day holiday there as "interesting" but i wouldn't have missed it, and the golden Circle was certainly a highlight. not so the lamb stew, at least not the one we had, but then you don't go to Iceland for the food.
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