An Icelandic Road Trip

The beauty of the glacier-swept region has topped bucket lists for decades, spurring a love for a winter-kissed Nordic escape blessed with icy volcanoes and boiling geysers. As the night sky parts with a curtain of lights, explore the dazzling city of Reykjavik and discover what more Iceland has to offer.

DAY 1

With bubbling anticipation, my three travelling companions and I made our way through Reykjavik airport on a sub-zero February morning. The assistant at the car hire desk immediately warned us of the harsh storm that was sweeping towards the South, and casually remarked that we ‘should be okay’ if we left promptly. This was our first brush with the glorious but ever-changing weather of Iceland, reminding us that how one spends his time here is often unpredictable.

Thinking of the many scenic landscapes we’d unravel for an entire week, we embarked on an icy drive to our apartment in Reykjavík city and then headed out in search of dinner. As we wandered into the many enticing food stalls at Hlemmur Food Hall, we settled on SKÁL!, a restaurant that focuses on foraged Icelandic ingredients and local traditions. The mouth-watering small dishes were so good that we returned the next evening!

DAY 2

The sun was still rising over the city at 10 am, the perfect hour for a good cup of coffee. Fortunately, premium coffee shop and roastery Reykjavík Roasters serve a fantastic flat white, as well as an array of good music, with its vinyl player and a library of records available for customers to choose tunes of their own liking. Breakfast was warm cinnamon buns and other Icelandic baked goods from the acclaimed bakery, Braud & Co. Hunger quelled and completely satisfied, we sauntered the quiet streets and admired the looming minimal structure of Hallgrímskirkja church. This prominent Reykjavik landmark can be seen from anywhere in the city.