Iceland: 1st year anniversary / honeymoon
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Flying with Icelandair, we finally arrived in Keflavik airport, Iceland! This is our long-awaited trip and rest! =) Looking from the airplane window... we thought we arrived at the Sahara desert! Where's the ice? Where's the beautiful scenery?? There's not even a single tree or blade of grass down there....
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Well... thank goodness there's some form of civilisation amidst the desert! =P
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Many people have the misconception that Iceland is covered with ice. Actually, the weather here is quite mild. >90% of Iceland is uninhabitated... because of the volcanoes, lava fields and glaciers. Therefore, only the coastal areas are populated. On the journey from the airport to our hotel in Reykjavik... the bus drove along the coast of the Atlantic ocean.
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After a quick wash up at the hotel, we rushed outside and within 200m, we came face to face with the Atlantic ocean!
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The weather was warm and the sea was blue!! What better way to kick start our relaxing holiday than to be welcomed by the sea breeze?
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It felt wonderful to have the ocean wind blow in your hair!! =)
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So Iceland is not so 'lifeless' afterall!! We spotted some pretty little flowers along the coast!
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We wanted to start our first day with a bang so we made a reservation at one of the best restaurants in Iceland - Lækjarbrekka, which is located in the oldest, and most traditional house in Iceland. (Note: It was 7pm and the sky was still so bright!)
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To start off, we had freshly baked bread served with 'Oh-so-creamy-yummy' Icelandic butter, delicious tomato-pesto puree, and sea salt. It was so good we finished all the bread and tomato-pesto puree! The complementary appetizer was some sort of fish carpaccio, which means 'Very thinly sliced raw meat or fish, especially beef or tuna, garnished with a sauce'.
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Kristal ordered the Lobster feast 3-course meanu and this is the starter: Cream of Lobster!!!!!! It was so sweet and delicious that I wanted to lick the last drop off the bowl!
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Yonggeng had to try his favourite meat - lamb - which happened to be the national meat of Iceland! Here's his starter: Lamb carpaccio!!! although it was raw and had the lamb smell.... it was delicious!!! =) "Lamb sashimi!" exclaimed Yonggeng
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In this photo you can see the nice tradition design of an old Icelandic house! =)
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Yonggeng was extremely pleased with his main course, which was also lamb!!! =) Kristal tried it too and agrees that this is the BEST lamb we have tasted over the years and across the many countries!!!! It was extremely succulent, super tender, and just so tasty!! we would give it a score of 12 upon 10!!! [Info: Iceland has the BEST lamb because their sheep are not kept in farms, but are allowed to roam around freely all over Iceland!!)
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Iceland, being an island surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, is obviously famous for its seafood!! And here you'll see my delicious main course comprising of (top right, anti-clockwise) pan-fried langoustine with garlic-butter sauce, langoustine pasta in saffron sauce and the best of all.... langoustine tempura!!! If you think prawn tempura is nice, this langoustine tempura is even better!! =)
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sadly... we came to the end of our meal... and here's our dessert... icelandic ice-cream... mostly sorbets and one very weird ginger-flavoured icecream.... not really to our taste! =P
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and here's the chocolate-lover's favourite: (from right) chocolate icecream + chocolate cake + molten chocolate lava cake in a cup!!! the lava cake was splendid!!!! =)
Overall, this dinner is one of the best we have ever had!!! We simply adore the tender Icelandic lamb and fresh seafood!!! =) -
Day 2: We started the day with a relaxing stroll down the shopping street of Iceland. We saw some interesting art-work on houses... like this snow-capped roof! We didn't expect to do much shopping... since we associate Iceland fashion with lots of woolen clothing and mountain-climbing gear! =P
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Here's a cute little polar bear outside a souvenir shop. Unfortunately, you wouldn't find polar bears in this warm country. They are often spotted in Greenland though... and have been known to lose their way and float to Iceland, where the coast guards would have to reject their entry! =P
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Since there wasn't much shopping to do... we proceeded to The Pond! (That's exactly it's name) It is a very big pond with lots of ducks, birds, etc.! =P
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Upon the serene waters, we can see the clear reflection of the colorful houses. I would love to stay in one of those houses! =)
