Iceland

[viewfrommyveranda]

^^ Thanks, Sis. Will check out the restos :-) And who knows, I might be a lamb convert after this trip!

^I did hear about the gas stations. Hotdogs are famous, right? Oh yes to the thermos flask! All of us have one each, and even took them for a test use, just to see how long hot drinks will keep from hot to warm. A friend suggested that, particularly when Aurora watching. He stayed at one of the cottages and would bring a cup of hot coffee out to keep him warm. It gets cold in just a few minutes, hahaha! I imagine we'll need all the coffee to keep us warm and awake while driving. With water we plan to buy bottled water on arrival and just reuse the bottle.

Thanks so much ladies for all the tips. One more weekend, and we're off!!!

[littlemissbiatch]

^ I was going to mention nga the hotdogs, pero they're mostly lamb din kasi so I hesitated  Pero they're good nga. Not life-changing or anything, but good.

If you're planning to buy pasalubong pala, sweets are 50% off on Saturdays. We bought Ris Buff, parang nothing special - marshmallow na covered with chocolate and rice krispies - pero for some reason it's so good! Everyone loved it din pero no one can explain why kasi nga it looks so ordinary lang. Their other specialty is lakris (licorice) pero I really can't get on board with that.

[viewfrommyveranda]

Hi Ladies again -- Question regarding Wow air -- I'm slighthly confused and just want to be sure -- the carry on bags, my ticket says (as in underlined) included is a carry on bag with  a specific dimension. Question:

1) How strict are they with the size of the bag? Do they actually go and measure it?
2) Using their definition, is a carry on bag and a personal item one and the same?

Thanks :-)

[kachich]

Reading your posts here makes me want to go back to Iceland all the more! I had crappy pictures during my first time and I wasnt even able to see the Aurora.

Re wowair, personal and carry on - if same lang with budget airline like cebu pac and airasia, pwede 2 different ones. I flew from Paris and they were not strict with the carry on luggage-no check on the hand carry during check in, then pass thru lang sa security check.

Hth!

[viewfrommyveranda]

Oh my, I'm more excited now!!!! :-) 3 more days!!! What's your most favorite among all the sites? Any resto recommendations too? We're so scared of the "restaurants and grocery are far in between..." we brought food!

So sis, hand bag + carry-on? So 2 pieces?

Thanks!

[kachich]

I enjoyed Sn?fellsnes, the waterfalls that we pass thru (during my tour with Extreme Iceland) and Jokulsarlon and Ice Caving!
To be honest, the only restaurant I enjoyed in there was this Vietnamese restaurant that sells delicious Beef Noodle soup. Not sure if it was just me pero parang bland yung mga na try ko dun.

 Yes, 2 pieces -- as long as the hand bag is not so big ha.

[Chili1113]

^same here! I really enjoyed Snaefellsness. Not too many tourists on that route too.

[viewfrommyveranda]

Thanks Ladies. I'm so looking forward to this trip :-) I'll give an update midway through the trip.

[zherealle]

^^ I'm looking forward on your travel updates! I'll be on Iceland too from Feb. 22-28! Sayang hindi same travel dates natin, it would be nice to meet fellow Pinoy travelers along the way sana lalo na I'll be traveling alone and DIY pa. I'm super excited na! Pls. do share some tips here. :)

[chimponzi]

following this thread. will travel here from feb 24-27. im with husband, our 2yo son and a friend. plane ticket pa lang ang meron kami. lol. walang pang mahanap na accommodation. share away sisses!

[viewfrommyveranda]

Where do you plan to be based and how do you want to do your trip?

AUrora was a no show of us :-( But we totally enjoyed our trip despite the bitter cold, rains, hail,
winds, snow. There was a typhoon that seemed to follow us everywhere. We'd literally have only an hour or 2 of dry weather conditions every day. Pero go pa rin. Good thing we're water proof everything gear :-)

I'll write more about it once we're back in Manila. I did try the lamb stew and the lamb hotdog. No to lamb pa rin.   :-)

[Chili1113]

^I agree. Waterproof gear is a MUST in Iceland. It is pricey but you have to invest in the ff:

1. Waterproof, all terrain hiking boots. - Sneakers or regular boots won't do. You can slip and get injured. OR your feet will get wet, and you have to endure soggy wet shoes in the bitter cold which is no good either.

2. Water resistant and wind resistant pants - Jeans will not do. I only had water resistant pants and not water proof ones. Water resistant up to 1 hour in the rain. Under my loose water resistant pants I had several more layers of leggings and thermals.

3. Waterproof AND WINDPROOF jacket with hood-- very very important.

I was there in November and I was so glad I invested on these. It is costly and difficult to find the boots especially in Manila =( =( Which is why we bought our gear in an outlet in Berlin before flying to Iceland.

[viewfrommyveranda]

^Oh and no to those cutesie moon boots. Saw a couple who tripped when walking on gravel / stone surfaces. You need the ankle support. There are good waterproof Merrel or Timberland boots in Manila. It's so important to have the right gear to fully enjoy Iceland. Yes to windbreakers too!

Btw - we brOught tons of food from Manila. We stayed in cottages so we're able to prep dinner. Food is generally expensive like what the others mentioned, but worth experiencing. It was great shopping for fish. We asked the locals for their recommendation on "fish good for soup" and they recommend this cod like fish. So you can guess we had sinigang! :-)

[chimponzi]

+1000 to investing in winter gear. we bought gore-tex boots the week we arrived here in stockholm because the streets are slippery. got waterproof pants din from a sports outlet.

we're leaving on friday! im not sure about our itinerary. hindi kasi ako ang in-charge haha. but i think we're going with the super jeep ba yun.. we're not lucky to get tickets to the blue lagoon but we're going to the Secret Lagoon instead. i really hope we get to see the northern lights! but most of all... i hope that my toddler cooperates!

[Chili1113]

^Superjeep is really good! My friend recommended them to me. But they were a bit pricey so we opted to go with other tour companies. But I heard it is worth it because they take you off road =)

[viewfrommyveranda]

^Saw those super jeeps and they looked really cool!

Back in Manila now and looking back at our Iceland experience, here are some points that I can share:

1) Waterproof/windproof gear - much has been said, period. This is absolutely non-negotiable. Weather conditions change by the minute so best to be prepared.

2) Water - best water I have ever tasted is from the tap from our cottage in Vik! Can't say the same for Reykjavik. It had a sulphuric smell, must be from the heating pipes.

3) Glaciers - the view from afar and up close is just breathtaking. I've been to 2 locations - Solheimajokull and Skaftafell National Park and each one has its own charm. Didn't do the glacier walk as I was too chicken to do it! In Skaftafell, we were able to walk up to the tongue of the glacier and I was able to told a chunk of broken ice. Not sure if that's allowed, yikes! Both required a bit of hike (maybe 3kms on gravel grounds) but so worth it!

4)  Meals - like what our sisters mentioned, only basic meals are available at the tourist centers. Soups & bread, sandwiches, etc. Gas stations have the infamous Iceland hotdog that's really lamb+beef+pork. Some have local burger restos which are not bad at all. Did I say we ate at KFC? A 2 piece chicken meal comes to about P700. There are of course more dining options in Reykjavik. 

5) Currency - Icelandic Kronos is the main currency. Some accept Euros but change is in Kronos. Credit cards are widely accepted. The only place where our card (credit and debit) was not accepted was at the automated petrol machines. A work around is to buy pre paid gas cards.

6) Chocolates - Oh they are glorious! Try the one that has licorice. Different but really good :-)

I love Iceland. I feel I have only scratched the surface, and will definitely be back to see more of it!
 

[littlemissbiatch]

^ Our tour guide mentioned that hot and cold water in Reykjavik come from two different sources. Hot is geothermal hence the smell of sulfur, and cold is from spring water, so that's what they use for drinking and cooking. I just let the tap run for a couple of minutes before drinking and wala naman sya smell. 

[Chili1113]

^^ Yes the chocolates in Iceland are divine!! Actually ALL Dairy in general are good. There is only one big company but gosh I drank milk everyday!  Their butter is sooo yum hehe. Ice cream is big in Iceland too. Our tour guide even mentioned this to us. I think the secret of the quality is the milk which is very high quality.

And yup I am a bit OC when it comes to my drinking water. But drinking water from the tap in Iceland was good =) They virtually have no pollution so water there is very very safe.

[viewfrommyveranda]

^I bought butter and took it back to Manila! Hahahaha! It survived 2 plane and numerous train rides!

[michi247]

Sa mga nagpunta sa Blue Lagoon, as in naked ba na magshower and kasama ng iba before punta ng pool? Need din ba ng reservation?