Day 1 in Iceland: First Impressions and First meals

After a grueling series of flights, I landed in Iceland around 10:20am or so. The weather was almost immediately comparable to London: A weird pairing of foggy, overcast skies and sunny weather. The ride from Keflavik International Airport to Downtown Reykjavik was close to an hour.

The driver was a kind, hardy man from Lithuania. He said he came to Reykjavik to work for a year... and fell in love with the clean atmosphere and level-headed and kind people. In a matter of hours, I too would be in love with the atmosphere and people.

I had lunch at Cafe Loki, a place right next to Hellgrimskirja (see picture) that serves traditional Icelandic cuisine, which in essence is very basic. Most dishes consisted of Pumpernickel bread, fish and local plants.. But on the menu are 2 things that most people would cringe at: Fermented Shark Meat, and Jellied Lamb's Head. Sadly, I forgot my camera during lunch, so I didn't get a picture of the Shark Meat. Though I am returning to eat the Lamb's head, so expect pictures later on in the week!

Hellgrimskirja Church

The fermented shark meat was extremely potent. The scent was similar to pure ammonia, although I eat a lot of fermented foods, so it didn't bother me as much. The taste, however, was amazing. If you can put up with the stench long enough to get it to your mouth, you'll enjoy it. It tasted pretty similar to pickled whitefish (man... I really eat a lot of old-people food).

Afterwards, I went and got my camera and just started walking, and walked back to Hellgrimskirja to take a picture of it really quick.
The tourists were flocking to it from the front, but no one really appreciates it from the side. I'm heading back to the church tonight after all the tourists have headed back to their cruise ships and whatnot. It's only a 5 minute walk.

In matter of minutes later I ended up by the coast, in front of the 'Sun Voyager', a contemporary sculpture made to envelop the spirit of exploration, so as you can imagine, I was quite a fan. You can see Mt. Esja from there, one of my main reasons to come to Reykjavik. I'm climbing it tomorrow.

The Sun Voyager

I walked along to coast until I came upon it...

                                       My mouth watered and my knees trembled...

                                                                                    I saw the light of lord Krishnu himself:

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur.

Pure Beauty

Bæjarins Beztu is the hot dog Holy Grail, 

The sausage Shangri-La. 

It's a shack no bigger than the single table sitting next to it. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur means ´Town´s Best Hot Dogs´ in Icelandic, and that name could not be more true. 

I waited in line for about a minute, which is a minute too long when standing in the holy light of the universes most decadent hot dogs. When It was my turn I uttered the words I´d practiced perfecting for this very moment: "Eine með öllu" (One with everything). In seconds my little miracle materialized in front of me.

So what makes a mere hot dog so great, so much so that I treat it like the second coming?

Well this isn't any ol' deer-frank. It's a sausage made with lamb, beef and pork. Beneath it a majestic parade of fried and raw onion. Above it, 2 sauces, one of them a house gravy and the other... I don't know. Pair it of with some Icelandic Coca-Cola and you've just justified your entire trip to Iceland....

But alas, my hot dog met his end, shortly thereafter... I found myself sitting on the rocks by the ocean, as my coca-cola dwindled away slowly. It was a great opportunity to just think... but I spent most of the time thinking about going back for seconds at Bæjarins Beztu... At this rate I better be getting an endorsement from them. 

And alas, my first day is winding down. Far from over, as I only took a break to write this. Reykjavik is amazing, and despite tourists and the strange clash of contemporary and old-steel architecture, feels quite cozy... But I'm happy to be getting out of here and going to the mountains tomorrow morning.