Monday, September 9, 2013

Reykjavik Culture Night

It was a quick flight from Akureyri to Reykjavik, and we hitched a ride to our hotel. It turned out that it was Culture Night in Reykjavik, and we got back just in time for the festivities. Unfortunately, it meant that the roads around the hotel were closed, but we we got there just the same.

Hotel Centrum was really nice and it looked like it had been recently renovated to a high standard. J and I lucked out with an upgrade to an apartment in the building next door, and it felt a bit like we were locals for a night!

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We unpacked our things and joined the crowd milling around outside and saw a blacksmith at his forge. Hm, never thought I'd see a blacksmith in action!

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J and I didn't have much of a chance to look around since we were pretty hungry and we showed up thirty minutes early for our reservation at the Fish Company. The place was really cosy and well-decorated, but the food was the real star.

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After being in Iceland for a week, we got used to have really fresh seafood, but this was just out of control deliciousness. I had a plate of pretty much everything that could be fished out of the water, and J had a beef and potatoes dish that he loved. I think it was definitely one of the best meals we ever had, and we didn't expect it in Iceland!

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By the time we waddled out of the restaurant with our stomachs full, pretty much everyone had poured into the streets for the celebrations. All the roads were pedestrianised, and everyone was out and about despite the inclement weather.

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J and I walked around town and bopped along to several of the ongoing concerts in the different parts of town, but our bellies forced us to retreat to our hotel lounge to sit down and try to digest our dinner. I'm guessing the carrot cake and hot chocolate I had in the lounge probably didn't help.

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We were pretty drowsy with the combination of travelling and the large dinner, but I forced J to stay up to watch the fireworks that were scheduled to go off at 11pm.  And I'm glad I did as we got quite the show! The central plaza where we were watching was pretty empty, and it was a really amazing end to our stay in Iceland.

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After the fireworks, we went straight to bed and hopped on the plane the next day to go back home. I was more than excited to see my cat again! I'm happy to report that he gained a full pound while we were away - we are now the proud owners of a seven pound kitten. Lol.

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