Monday, July 22, 2013

Iceland by Food

At last, the grand vacation is over, as I am on a train hurdling towards Providence and scrapping together an article about Iceland for my job council's monthly newsletter.  I'm weighing the options as to what to write about, and none of them seem particularly interesting. Most of what remains of the trip lies in the Lululemon grocery bag of candy and cookies for coworkers and loads of pictures (in addition to the mounds of luggage in my possession today).  Let's be honest here, I've never been terribly good at being an efficient packer, but pictures of what I ate always made a compact souvenir.
Here's what I can deduce about the culinary scene in Iceland in so few words:  seafood, soup, Skyr, and super expensive.  Early on in the trip, Kalie and I learned the hard way that eating cheaply in Iceland was nearly impossible.  The average "decent" meal went for over 2500+ krona at least (about $20).  After gutting out loads of cash on a car and a hotel, it made it a little harder.  The bright side?  When you're cold and hungry, you get satisfied easily by soup and sandwiches, and then when you finally get sick of that, you spoil yourself regardless.
The cost efficient comprised of delicious lamb soups in Gullfoss' park cafeteria, which served all-you-can-eat soup and bread for about $15, to a beautiful egg sandwich at a gas station outside of Skaftafell National Park.  For breakfast, we dined on Trader Joe's/Whole Foods granola bars from home, and along with the national food of Iceland, Skyr, a yogurt.
When we did spoil ourselves, we had whale kabobs and lobster soup at a shack in Reykjavik called the Sea Baron.  My personal food-related highlight had to be the Belgian waffles with rhubarb jam, chocolate and whipped cream with a latte at Tíu Dropar.  Assuredly, I will continue having dreams of that meal for the rest of my life.
Let me know your thoughts if you have any.  Got any favorite foods you've eaten in your travels?  Until next time!

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