Iceland Part III: Modern Reykjavik
My Journey: Reykjavik, Viking Hotel, Sky Lagoon, and Nightlife
4/26/2024, Friday
After the day’s Viking/Norse museums and sights, we headed over to The Icelandic Phallological Museum (Hið Íslenzka Reðasafn). (The Penis Museum). We have known about this for years and even watched a documentary on it called “The Final Member.” This was on the must-do list cause you know…
The Icelandic Phallological Museum (Hið Íslenzka Reðasafn)
The museum’s primary focus is on biological samples but there is also quite a collection of art, and some molds of human penises.
If I had it to do again. I would have done this on a day when we were well rested and could take our time and enjoy all the things to see. It was definitely worth the time if you like this sort of thing.
Glass Penis Art
This ended our museum adventures for the day. As we headed back to the car, we did a little sight seeing and window shopping.
We were now back on the road and It was now time to check into Hotel Viking in Hafnarfjörður. I chose the hotel for its blatant, over the top, tourism driven take on the Vikings.
The Viking Hotel Restaurant
We stayed in the Loki room, which is one of the outdoor cabins. Dez took a nap and I took a dip in the hot tub and enjoyed the sauna. There is a little shower next to the sauna for you to use before taking a dip. After a bit, I took a nap.
We got up from nap time with little time to enjoy dinner before heading out for the night. We, of course, ate at the Hotel’s restaurant, the Fjörukráin. We ordered the Viking Dinner that came with bread, seafood soup, fermented shark, salted Haddock, a shot of the “Black Death,” leg of lamb over mashed potatoes, a dessert, and beer. They almost forgot to bring us our beers. Dez substituted a different dessert than what came with the meal. He was very happy with his chocolate cake and the lamb was great. The fermented shark was not as rough as I had been made to think it would be.
We did not have time to completely enjoy the beers as we needed to head to Sky Lagoon before it was too late. Most of these thermal baths close at 10:00 some at 9:00 and you need at least 2 hours to make the most of them. Sky lagoon was very busy and they only had tickets for the top package so we forked over a ton of Icelandic Krona. This package came with a 7 step ritual cleansing and private changing and shower room.
Sky Lagoon
You take your shoes off before entering the changing rooms. You are expected to do this as well before entering a person’s home. With all of these thermal baths (spas), you are expected to shower nude and wash your feet, groin, rear, pits, and hair thoroughly before entering. You will need to bring your own towel or you will pay to rent one. No need to take money into the pool area as you will use an electronic arm band to generate a tab should you use the swim up bar.
Sky Lagoon has both a sauna and steam room. The view from the infinity pool is striking. The 7 part ritual entails the lagoon, glacier pool, sauna, energizing mist, cleansing scrub, steam, and shower.It is done in a little Norse style building.
Me
We stayed till closing thoroughly enjoying the view, the warm water, the waterfalls, and each other’s company.
As the place began to close, we headed back to our showers and ready to enjoy the rest of the night on the town.
The Lagoon
Back in the car to find parking downtown.
Hallgrimskirkja
We ended up parking across from the Embassy of Denmark. Because it was after 10:00, most things were closed with the exception of restaurants and bars. Pretty much everything is within walking distance of Hallgrimskirkja, which is the iconic church.
I definitely enjoyed the street art from the Viking themed murals to the Rainbow buildings and street. The area around the church definitely felt very LGBTQ inclusive.
Dez and I on the Rainbow Street
We ended the night with a drag show and some drinks at Kíkí Queer Bar.
Once the show ended, they cleared the floor for some dancing. We had a drink and after a while, headed back to the car.
Rainbow Street
After a stroll down the Rainbow Street, we were back off to the Hotel. The Aurora Apps said there might be Northern Lights but I did not really know what to look for. While I did not see them that night, I think they were out and I just did not know what to look for.
Tips and Lessons Learned:
It is very easy to get around the city on foot.
Make reservations for Sky Lagoon to avoid having to pay top shelf prices to get in. You’re fine. You do not need to use a private shower and changing room.
Wear slippers, sandals, or flip flops into the geothermal baths because you are just going to take them off anyways.
Even if you do not see the Aurora with your eyes, if it supposed to be out, take a picture. Sometimes your camera can see it better than you can.