Travel Postcard: 48 Hours in Reykjavik, Iceland

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-26 07:37

SUNDAY

10 a.m. - Relax at the Blue Lagoon spa. Located some 40 km (25 miles) west of Reykjavik, near the Keflavik international airport, you can take a bus for 5,000 Kr ($41) which includes admission to the vivid blue pools, saunas and steam baths set in a black lava field. The water comes from the geothermal power plant next door. When the outdoor temperature is freezing, steam rises from the 38-degree C water where visitors can swim, daub themselves with exfoliating silica mud or get a massage.

Admission plus a treatment and towel and robe rental costs about 8,500 Kr ($70) per person. A cafe serves sandwiches and there's a fancy restaurant where you can eat lamb and seafood and sip wine.

4 p.m. - After the spa for those returning home the airport is only a 20 minutes drive away, or visitors can head back to Reykjavik for dinner.

8 p.m. Laekjarbrekka, on Bankastraeti in the city center, specializes in traditional Icelandic fare. Try the prix fixe for 5000 Kr ($41) lamb special or the one featuring puffin (lundi), the cute clown-faced birds that symbolize Iceland.

Puffin is served sushi-style in a salad, as hors d'oeuvres or grilled with vegetables in a rich berry sauce as an entree. Unlike many exotic meats that compare invariably to chicken, puffin does not. It tastes like tough liver.

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