While getting ready for my first trip to Iceland in 2012, I started doing some casual online research, looking for things to do aside from the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, which I was in town to attend. This is when I stumbled upon the Iceland-focused blog I Heart Reykjavik, which turned out to be a treasure trove of good information for travelers in Iceland. I’ve used her very-helpful posts to help plan parts of each of my trips to Iceland. When I found out that Auður (the woman behind IHR) was leading walking tours of the Reykjavík, I knew I had to check it out.
Our small group met in front of the famous Hallgrímskirkja (the big church) and went on to weave our way through the surrounding neighborhoods. The tour felt casual and fun, but with a ton of serious information. Auður is very knowledgeable, and provided some great historical information about the places we explored–everything from the building style of the houses, to the naming of the streets–sprinkled with recommendations for good restaurants, cafés, and bars to check out in the neighborhood. She pointed out some street art of interest, and gave us some great info about the Reykjavík street art scene. Though I had spent a fair amount of time exploring Reykjavík in previous visits, I didn’t feel at all like I was repeating things I had already done, or hearing things I had heard before. It was great to have a fresh view of a city I had already come to love.
Auður giving us a nice outdoor Icelandic lesson
My favorite part of the tour was our short Icelandic lesson, held on the top of a large hill overlooking the harbor. Our hands full of fresh kleina pastries (hand-made by Auður’s mother), we learned how to say some key Icelandic phrases, including how to properly order a hot dog at the famous Bæjarins Beztu hot dog stand.
Long story short: I would absolutely recommend this tour. At 5,000 ISK (about $45 USD) if you book online this tour is a steal, and a great way to spend a morning or afternoon in beautiful Reykjavík.
Disclaimer: As a travel blogger, I was offered a free spot on this tour. This did not influence my writing in any way, and all opinions are, as always, completely honest.
I’m Katy, a Seattleite quitting my normal life to pursue my two greatest passions: travel and music. I’m documenting my general travel adventures, as well as great record stores, labels, festivals, and music I find around the world.
[…] sure to order eina meö öllu or “One with everything” (thanks to I Heart Reykjavik for giving this important vocab lesson on her walking tour). Or if you’re feeling like a […]