Day 1 - Reykjavik, Iceland - August 31, 2025

Spoiler alert! We made it! Our flight landed at 9AM, we both got a few hours of sleep on the plane and we were ready to get the day started. We got some Icelandic Krone for the local remote places and took the shuttle to go get the rental car. We ended up with a Hyundai Tucson, need the 4WD for the off roads.

Hotel in Reykjavik

It was about a 45 minutes drive from the Keflavik Airport to downtown Reykjavik on a paved highway so not so bad! Parking in Reykjavik is terrible, all paid street parking, no parking lots at hotels or restaurants. After circling awhile we finally found a spot and checked into our room for the next 2 nights at Center Hotels Plaza Reykjavik. Great front desk and room was nice, but Lord knows I HATE a sulphur water shower.

Dinner and Drinks in Reykjavik

We were a bit ambitious with our energy levels and knocked out for a couple hours to nap and get over the jet lag. We woke up refreshed and hungry! We stopped at Pósthús Food Hall & Bar to grab a quick bite to eat. They have 8 small business food stands to choose from ranging from pizza & pasta to sushi & curry! Taylor decided she wanted to try sushi for the first time which was exciting! The restaurant was called Djúsi Sushi she got the Crunchy Chicken Roll (Chicken, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo teriyaki, red onion) and I got the Surf’N Turf roll (lobster tempura, beef carpaccio, teriyaki, chili crumble. Both were very unique and VERY delicious!

We heard Reykjavik has one of the best and cheapest happy hours so we decided to check it out! We first stopped at Jungle Cocktail Bar, the drinks were great and the scenery was incredible. It was quiet when we got there but really started to pick up as we left. Our next stop was at Tipsy Bar & Lounge, right across from our hotel, these drinks were ok but the vibes were fantastic!

Local Football in Reykjavik

We spend our first evening away at a professional fútbol game support Vikingur Reykjavik against Breidablik The game was about 15 minutes away so we took our first taxi and were sporting the teams red and black! The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, even though the stadium only seats 1200 people there were roughly 2000 people in attendance. We were sitting on the stairs on the bleachers. We saw lots of goals (and a red card) and the game ended in a 2-2 draw, but all in all was amazing.

We couldn’t find a taxi back for the longest time but this kind woman told us she would take us home, she just needed to drop her boys off at home first. Her son was one of the ball boys at the game! She didn’t ask for any money and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation on the drive back.

Looking forward to some pastries tomorrow morning! Stay Tuned!

Ben :)