Icelandic people have a phrase – ‘rúsínan í pylsuendanum’ – which literally translates as ‘the raisin at the end of the hot dog’. It is their version of the ‘cherry on top’.
Simply put it means a pleasant surprise or the highlight of a day.
Iceland had been on my bucket list for some time and after a weekend in Reykjavik, it is hard to say exactly what my ‘raisin’ was.
The incredible food, the stunning scenery, the amazing geothermal spa or the wondrous whale-watching – it’s hard to choose.
We based ourselves at the dockside Exeter Hotel for the three-night break. It’s a modern, urban-themed hotel that would not look out of place in the trendier parts of a UK city. It attracts a steady stream of young locals coming for a drink at the Le Kock & Tail bar.
The 106 compact yet stylish guestrooms continued the urban theme. Mood lighting and a mixture of dark woods and crisp, white tiling gave them a contemporary feel. As well as the usual mod-cons, they included a Bluetooth speaker, an espresso machine and a full range of Icelandic toiletries. Eating out in Reykjavik city centre is a big attraction for visitors so we booked a walking and eating tour. It did end with a taste of fermented shark and whale steak, although all the food choices are optional.
Truth be told, none of the food was even close to inedible, quite the opposite in fact.
Our guide, Olly, was funny, well-formed and full of interesting snippets. We learned as much about the city as we did about its delicacies. We sampled some more of usual local dishes too, including a delicious lamb soup, a sort of deconstructed fish pie from an Icelandic ‘chippy’, and a ‘dog’ from the briefly world-famous hotdog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, famous for serving former US President Bill Clinton in 2004.
Luckily, our next stop was the Sky Lagoon to float away the excesses. It’s one of Iceland’s two geothermal pools, the other, the well-known Blue Lagoon. Inspired by Icelandic bathing culture, the lagoon allows you to wallow in perfectly, naturally heated waters with the incredible spectacle of cliff walls behind you and the Atlantic Ocean in front of you. A natural waterfall, a swim-up bar and an infinity pool looking out over the sea added to the elegance and luxury of the spa.
Those after a more purifying experience could walk the ‘7-step spa ritual’, alternating hot and cold features to open the pores, stimulate immune systems, increase blood flow and probably cleanse your chakras.
Iceland’s landscape is like nothing on Earth with volcanoes such as Eyjafjallajökull, which made headlines when its ash cloud caused air traffic chaos in 2010. We stopped at two incredible waterfalls – Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss, the latter of which we actually walked behind.
We saw the Sólheimajökull glacier, which was very cool, even if it is retreating at a frightening rate due to global warming, and visited the famous, if deadly, black sand beach of Reynisfjara, with its basalt column cliffs and its vicious ‘sneaker waves’.
Our final day began early, as we boarded a boat for a whale-watching tour in Reykjavik bay.
This, as with the Northern Lights, is very dependent on the weather, but an impending storm held off for us long enough to spot minke whales and white-beaked dolphins. It was in marked contrast to a dolphin spotting holiday with the family, where I missed out on seeing them when I went to the cabin to get my camera.
The Perlan, a giant, dome-topped observatory in the city, is where you can learn about Iceland’s fascinating natural wonders. There’s an Ice Cave, a virtual aquarium and a Northern Lights show. Sitting in a darkened auditorium , the ‘voice’ of the aurora explained all about her life story, making it very easy to imagine we were in a different world entirely. And one to which I cannot wait to return.
Book the holiday
easyJet holidays offers three nights at the Exeter Hotel from £477 per person, room-only. Depart February 8, price includes 23kg baggage and flights from Gatwick. Food tour from £91 per person, Sky Lagoon from £73, South Iceland tour from £87, whale watching from £104, Perlan from £28. Find out more at easyjet.com/en/holidays.
You can also get more information at visiticeland.com.
