Day 1: Fly from Helsinki
We took the train from Helsinki central station to the airport in Vantaa. Inexpensive and easy.
While at the airport I got to deal with a travel hiccup. If you don’t want the details skip this bit, but I did learn something from the experience. We purchased our flights from the USA and back from Icelandair and used their free stopover feature. It’s very easy to book online, you can stay for up to seven days in Iceland, and you can do it in either or both directions. We did both, so our flights were: Detroit > Reykjavik, seven day stopover, then Reykjavik > Oslo. Coming back: Helsinki > Reykjavik, two day stopover, then Reykjavik > Detroit. Then Icelandair canceled the flight from Helsinki and rebooked us on the same flight the previous day. We really wanted that day in Helsinki, so we canceled just that leg and rebooked with Finnair for Helsinki > Reykjavik. Icelandair refunded us for that segment. But our Icelandair itinerary still showed the Helsinki-Reykjavik flight. I figured it was a data glitch and ignored it. Until today when our Reykjavik-Detroit segment disappeared. So I reached out to them and as I suspected, they automatically canceled our last segment when we didn’t show up for their Helsinki flight. When I explained that we had canceled it months ago they said they would get it fixed the following morning when everyone was in the office. (This was on Sunday.) And they did, and we ended up going home as scheduled. Lesson learned: If the flight data doesn’t look right, get it resolved sooner. It’ll save on minor stress getting it fixed later.
Anyway, here’s what Finland looks like from the air.
And this is Iceland. I’m pretty sure that’s a glacier over on the far left, and either glaciers or interesting snow patterns .
We landed about 5:00 PM, picked up our rental car, and headed for our hostel. There weren’t a lot of restaurants nearby (there was a KFC but no) so we walked to the supermarket and got stuff for dinner.
Day 2: The Golden Circle
There was a Brauð & Co. next to the supermarket so we stopped there for famous cinnamon rolls for breakfast. There was a very chatty guy there when we arrived. After hearing her explain the Happy Marriage Cake we got some of that too. (Kind of like rhubarb crumble you can pick up and eat.) They were both yummy.
Then we were off to The Golden Circle, after two trips back inside to grab my Kindle Fire (so I could have the travel guide open on that while we drove) and the charging cable for my phone (for navigation). Below is Gullfoss, one of the stops on the circle.
The drive itself is scenic. And it looks like when you can’t drive, there’s a snowmobile shuttle.
On our way back to Reykjavik we stopped at Ölverk Pizza & Brewery in Hveragerði for some excellent pizza and beer.
Day 3: Reykjavik
The mountains to the north got snow yesterday, resulting in road closures. It didn’t impact us, but it would have impacted the road trip we did when we were here a few weeks ago.
We checked out of our hostel and headed downtown. Our first stop was the Sun Voyager sculpture.
We were lucky enough to find a free parking space next to Hallgrimskirkja, probably the best known building in Reykjavik. The outside is stunning. So was the wind. It continues to be very windy today.
The inside is serene, with beautiful modern details. I liked the translucent hangings replacing more traditional stained glass.
After leaving the church we wandered around town. We saw some interesting murals, a Big Lebowski themed bar, and the famous Rainbow Street.
We still had some time to kill before we went to the airport so we drove up to the Pearl. We wanted to see the Northern Lights show but you could only buy a ticket for all the exhibits and we didn’t have time for more so we passed. We clowned around with the dancing figures outside instead. The other sculpture is the “Jet Egg” at the airport.
After minor adventures in filling the gas tank — the first station didn’t like any of our cards — we were off back home. Here’s a last photo of mountains.
Essentials
Lodging
We stayed at the Dalur HI Hostel. It’s in a nice residential area next to the largest swimming pool in Reykjavik and a park and zoo. Our double room with ensuite was nice. There’s free parking and an onsite cafe plus a shared kitchen, with a supermarket and bakery in walking distance.
Dining
There weren’t any restaurants in easy walking distance from our hostel so we got dinner from the nearby supermarket the first night and stopped for pizza and beer at Ölverk on the way back from The Golden Circle on the second night. The double pepperoni was good and so was the pizza with hot sauce on the side. We got breakfast from a nearby Brauð & Co. I wish we could have got more breakfasts (and bread) from them!
Transportation
We rented a car from Blue car rental for maximum flexibility but you could do the Golden Circle on a tour and use local buses around Rekyjavik. Downtown was nice for walking.