Today was the day we planned to stay in Reykjavic and make sure we had seen all the local sights. Frank slept late and I got some yoga in – travel mat goes everywhere with me. (I won’t even mention what the weather was like. I’m pretty sure you can guess.) We cooked up omelettes with the rest of the cheese and ham and pepper we had left in the fridge. Then it was off on the first job of the day: a little shopping.
Now I am not much of a shopper so the thought of going to a mall while on vacation absolutely horrifies me but I had a very specific purchase to make: an Iceland national jersey for my soccer-daft nephew. Apparently, Iceland has qualified for it’s first Word Cup so it seemed an appropriate Christmas gift. (Shh, don’t tell him. It’s a surprise.) We had seen some knockoffs commemorating the achievement in the tourist shops but we wanted the real thing and it had to be in kids sizes. So off to the mall we went to the inevitable sporting goods store where said jersey was procured (and on sale- bonus!)
Next stop: Alafoss, home of Lopi wool. Yup, the yarn tourism continues and I picked up enough yarn to knit myself a coat now that I’ll be living somewhere I can actually wear it. (For the curious, it’s the Einstein coat from the old Sally Melville book. I’ve been dying to make it for years). A lovely moss green heather and about half the price of what I’d pay in the US. Score!
Items procured, it was time to head back for our tour of the town. We filled up the car and parked it and walked down to the harbor to secure tickets for a puffin watching trip. We had just enough time before the boat sailed to walk to the famous Hallgrimskirkja, the starkly beautiful Lutheran church that sits on top of a hill in the middle of town. We took pictures of it during our flying visit in 2014 so no reason for new ones now. Then a wander back down the hill in search of something to eat where we ran across GLUTEN FREE CREPES! Now Iceland hasn’t been the easiest place to navigate for a Celiac traveler. It’s not the worst but I really haven’t had many choices and there were many highly recommended restaurants that just didn’t seem to work. So to find a crepe and gelato shop (Joylato) where everything in the shop is gluten free (and can be vegan) was heavenly.
The little dots are puffins. Really.
And it was time to sail! We jumped aboard a small boat (which apparently used to be a houseboat off the coast of the Carolinas!) to head to Akurey, an island just outside the harbor where there is a puffin colony. We did see about a dozen but photographing them without a massive lens was less than successful. We also saw harbor porpoises and a few other birds and got a lesson in local ecology from our guide Rodrigo Martinez – not your typical Icelander!
Last attraction for the day was the National Museum of Iceland. They have a large collection of items from the early settlement days (around 900 AD) through the end of the 20th century. But the organization and layout of the museum confused the daylights out of me and I felt like I missed something along the way. For example, I wanted to know what happened to all the trees and when. There was a display showing the coverage of birch trees in the middle ages compared to today but no further explanation. Grrr. But the building did have gorgeous stained glass windows – something the harsh Lutheran church did not so that at least makes me happy.
Back to the flat to pack and change before dinner. We had booked a table at Tapas Barinn because of course Icelandic tapas is a thing. Actually, we chose it because I had read good things about their ability to do gluten free options so that seemed like reason enough. I had mentioned it when we booked the table the night before so when we seated, the server knew all about it. 
In fact, even when I ordered my sangria, the manager came out to double check and assure me that all the liquor they used was gluten free. I know that but I appreciated the thought. And what a drink it was! It had star fruit, dragon fruit, and a kumquat in addition to the usual citrus slices. For $25, it deserves it’s own picture. Then the 7 course Icelandic feast commenced. We had puffin, whale, arctic char, ling, lobster, lamb, and (of course) Skyr pudding for desert. At each course, they explained what was different about my dish than Frank’s – usually the sauce. They were incredibly attentive and the food was spectacular. Even the weird stuff like puffin and whale. I cannot say enough about how attentive they were and I can’t recommend the place highly enough. Fellow Celiacs, put this one at the top of your list.
But then it was off to an early bed. We have a 7:35 flight to catch so it’s up at 4am for us. Frank is a little put off that he’s going to potentially miss the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup but the game starts at midnight and we haven’t figured out how to get it here. (We even tried subscribing to Hulu but the live TV part doesn’t work here.) So we’ve asked friends and family back home to cheer for us and we’ll have to see what the morning brings.
Data for today:
Steps: 18,983 (8.6 mi)
Amount I can claim back in VAT for the yarn I bought: 850kr (~$8)
Amount of time the form says it takes to claim tax back at the airport: 60 minutes.
Probability I will get up extra early to wait in line for $8: 2%
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