Saga Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland - bloodthirsty Viking history

Iceland has a thoroughly odd history. Much of it is known through sagas, which are longwinded and often exaggerated stories passed down through the generations.
It is mostly from these sagas that we know how Iceland was settled by Scandinavians running away from persecution in their homeland, that the country formed the world’s oldest parliament and that its people all elected to convert to Christianity simultaneously on one day.
This unique form of record-keeping is celebrated in one of Reykjavik’s best museums. The Saga Museum is in a strange building – the Perlan has been made out of huge water tanks, and stands on a hill above the city skyline.
Inside, it is crammed full of waxworks, all of which have been modelled on Reykjavik residents who volunteered to be immortalised as characters from the sagas.
Icelandic history is covered in a reasonable depth – enough to be interesting, and not enough to bore the pants off someone with only a passing interest.
More importantly, it’s all blood and guts. Models have been whacked with axes and riddled with the black death, while just about every character seems up for a fight.
Freakiest of the lot is the scary-eyed woman who is holding a sword to her bare breast, threatening to cut it off.

Getting to the Saga Museum in Reykjavik, Iceland
Nearest international airport: The Saga Museum is very near Reykjavik airport, but that’s only really used for domestic flights. All the major international carriers fly to Keflavik International Airport, around 45 minutes away by bus transfer or taxi.
Using public transport: Perlan and the Saga Museum are walkable from the main street, but it’s probably easier to take bus number 18 from Laekjartorg.

More information: Saga Museum

Eat rotten shark (hakarl) in Reykjavik, Iceland

Hakarl, apparently, is an Icelandic speciality, and it sounds absolutely revolting. Essentially it is putrefied shark, which is buried and rotted for three months in order to make it vaguely digestible. I can tell you’re all salivating now, aren’t you?
I went to Iceland in May 2008 for a few days, half with the intention of trying some hakarl. I never did in the end, but I have my excuses:

1. I only had a day in Reykjavik and couldn’t find anywhere that served it.
2. After eating puffin and whale on the same trip, I had more than adequately filled the dodgy meat quota.
3. I’ve already eaten shark (in Crown Point, Tobago), so I don’t need to eat hakarl in order to tick it off my childish list of animals consumed.

Usually, I’m happy to try anything. But in this instance, I suspect, I’ve had a very lucky escape.

Eat puffin in Reykjavik, Iceland - Laekjarbrekka restaurant

Puffins are possibly the cutest birds on the planet, with their multi-coloured beaks and sad, doleful eyes. But in Iceland, they eat them, and any visitor with a heart of stone can savour the local favourite.
A lovely – if tear-jerkingly expensive – restaurant in which to dine on puffin is Laekjarbrekka on Bankastraeti in Reykjavik. It’s a classy joint, complete with pianist playing through the meal, and its housed in one of Reykjavik’s oldest buildings.
More importantly, however, one of its special menus is the Puffin Feast - as seen on Gordon Ramsay's 'The F Word' on July 29th, 2008.
For this, the starter is a fresh salad with smoked and marinated puffin, which is followed up by a main of puffin with brennivín sauce.
Bizarrely, they meat tastes rather different in each one. In the starter it’s cold, and has a texture like calf liver mixed with a fairly strong, salty aftertaste.
The brennivín is a special Icelandic drink –it means burnt wine and tastes foul as a shot, but works really well in the sauce. It has the effect of masking the taste of the puffin a little bit, but in the main course the aftertaste is a little stronger. And, according to some, not particularly nice.
Be warned though – Laekjarbrekka is an expensive restaurant, and visitors that suddenly decide they don’t enjoy the taste of puffin are likely to be left crying into their wallet.

Getting to Laekjarbrekka Restaurant in Reykjavik
Nearest international airport: Reykjavik has its own central airport for domestic flights, but nearly all international flights land at Keflavik, about 45 minutes drive or bus transfer away.
Using public transport: If staying in central Reykjavik, Laekjarbrekka is in walking distance.
More information: Laekjarbrekka restaurant

Eat whale burger in Reykjavik, Iceland - Geysir Bistro and Bar

Iceland is one of the few countries in the world that thinks chasing down whales with big harpoons is perfectly OK – not a popular viewpoint in the rest of the world.
Therefore, there’s something a little bit wrong about seeking your teeth into a whale burger. But some of us are going to hell anyway, so why not give it a go if you’re in Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital?
The Geysir Bistro and Bar is one of the few places in Reykjavik where the ordinary mortal can afford to eat without taking out a bank loan, and it’s rather nice. It’s a laid back, modern-style bar, with cute touches in the lighting and wooden pillars.
But for the bad people, the most important thing is that it serves a whale burger with lobster mayonnaise.
Obviously, it’s not a whole whale, but the meat looks rather like a steak. More horse-meat than prime rump cow, though.
And it’s what some would call an “acquired taste”. The burger is very chewy and packs a hefty meaty bang. The problem comes with the aftertaste – it’s overly salty and bordering on pungent. To be honest, it’s a battle to get through it, even for someone who loves trying out new meat.
The campaign to keep the whaling ban starts here...

Getting to the Geysir Bistro and Bar in Reykjavik
Nearest international airport: Keflavik International Airport is approximately 45 minutes away from Reykjavik by car or bus transfer.
Using public transport: For those staying in central Reykjavik, none is necessary – it’s in walking distance. The address is 2 Adalstraeti – it’s in the same building as the Tourist Information Centre.

More information: Geysir Bistro Bar