RKV
When I was disembarking from the plane, the guy in front of me dropped his beaver-shaped neck pillow and exclaimed “Ah, weasel!” He seems very obviously Canadian(?) with his “CANADA” embroidered backpack. Did he confuse beavers with weasels? How does that happen? Was it possible he had named his beaver Weasel? That’s something I would do, I think. Would a Canadian deck himself out in Canadian gear like a beaver-shaped neck pillow travelling abroad…?
Front seat. City lights by my side and a waning crescent moon overhead. I’m on my way to the city. The bus ticket was 5500 Icelandic Krona, yikes (That’s about $60CAD). That’s the cost of adventure, right? Thank god for early bakery hours; my first stop is at a joint called Sandholt. I’m looking forward to some hot chocolate and some breakfast to warm me up. Not sure what the day’s gonna bring but I guess I’ll update as I go along. That’ll be a new fun thing.
Out from the cold and now sitting inside with a comfy spot by the window. Hot chocolate as planned, along with some snudur (like a cinnamon bun) and skyr (like yogurt). The portions are much too generous. I had some time to kill before the place opened up so I strolled up and down Laugaveguy. Christmas lights strung overhead streets and storefronts; these guys definitely know how to do festive. Familiar Christmas tunes with Icelandic singing on the speakers right now even. It’s nice to be here.
Spotted a lot of weird Chuck Norris novelty things like the “Chuck Norris Grill” and souvenir shops selling shirts that say “Chuck Norris can say Eyjafjallajokull backwards!” Weird stuff. Things don’t start opening up until 10 so I guess I’m back to studying for a bit.
Got to catch dawn at the church’s (Hallgrimskirkja) bell tower and had it all to myself. A nice serene moment until I forgot it was a bell tower and CLING CLANG CLONG… it scared the living shit out of me!
I got to try a pylsur, an Icelandic hot dog from the iconic popular chain, Bæjarins Beztu and it’s real good. A little sweeter than a North American dog but what makes it amazing are all the sauces they put on top. Mustard, ketchup, remoulade, and something with mayo, I’m not sure what. Also some diced raw onions, capers and some CRISPY BITS. Amazing, amazing. A++, totally would do again.
I had one of the best and worst foods, both at 3 Frakkar. Dared to try fermented shark and it was god-awful. The texture was like day-old sashimi and it was like chewing on ammonia. Thankfully I followed it up with a delightful creamy fish soup. Tomato-based with a ton of non-fermented fresh fish bits.
I caught the bus to the airport with just enough time to buy some sweets before my flight. Strolled through the duty-free to realize that Icelanders seem to have a bizarre obsession with liquorice so of course, I got some for myself. Opted for Lakrids Salty Caramel Chocolate Coated mostly because the packaging was pretty fancy-looking. Popped it open to try it right away; the outer later was a super nice balance of sweet and salty so I let it melt in my mouth, savouring it. When I hit the centre, it confirmed something that I already knew well before which was I do not like classic black liquorice. Went through the rest of the container sucking off the chocolate coatings and spitting out the liquorice cores. I’m a classy girl.