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03 March 2019 / 21 Comments

Weekend in Reykjavik - some highlights

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Here is a greeting from our weekend in Reykjavik! We experienced a lot in just a few days, from swimming and nature to food experiences and ... meeting the President! We present some of the highlights.

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A weekend in Reykjavik

We are spending a long weekend in Reykjavik for the "Food and Fun" food festival. We are here with a bunch of other Swedish and Finnish bloggers, on a press trip with Food and Fun, and Icelandair.

The programme has been really packed - lots of good food of course, but also a lot of other things! It is difficult to blog during the trip, but here are some snapshots from everything we have been through.

Lysi
Veera from Veera Bianca and Christian from Matochresebloggen start the morning at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica with Lýsi (fish liver oil). Peter does not look like he is attracted to this Icelandic habit ...

City walk in Reykjavik

Even though this trip is a press trip, you can also do things on your own! One morning we went on our own little city walk around Reykjavik to see some of the city's sights. We checked out various famous buildings and strolled along the main street Laugavegur. We also went to Lake Tjörnin, which is full of swans and other birds.

svanar reykjavik

At Tjörnin we saw a bunch of Asian tourists feeding all the birds. We also came across a man who looked very heavy ...

Icelandic design

Icelanders are not only good at food, but have also long been prominent in things like music, art and design. We visited the designer Steinunn, who worked in New York for many years and designed Icelandair's uniforms. We checked out her stylish collection during our weekend in Reykjavik, and here you can see a small sample!

design reykjavik

Boat trip to Viðey

We have also had time to take a boat trip in the lovely (well) weather. The trip went to the island of Viðey, located just outside Reykjavik. There we got both good food and hear exciting stories.

båttur reykjavik

Reception at the President's residence

Visiting the presidential couple was definitely the biggest surprise of our weekend in Reykjavik. This item was in the latest version of the programme, which we missed reading. So the visit to the presidential couple came as a total surprise to us! As part of the Food and Fun festival, we were invited to visit President Guðni Jóhannesson and First Lady Eliza Reid at the President's residence in Bessastaðir.

Residence of the President of Iceland Bessastaðir

It is fascinating that there is almost no need for security guards or similar around the Icelandic President's residence. Incidentally, the Icelandic presidential couple are extremely humble and relaxed.

We talked to both of them for quite a while, which was very nice. Our crazy faces during the conversation with the President? Hmm, I hope we didn't appear quite as crazy as it looks... Thank you Christian from Food and travel blog for the photos!

In conversation with First Lady Eliza Reid
In conversation with President Guðni Jóhannesson

The President spoke warmly and humorously about the Food and Fun festival, now in its 18th year in Reykjavik. This was followed by a few hours of mingling at the Icelandic presidential residence ...

Finnish travel bloggers mingle at the Icelandic presidential residence
Typical Icelandic snacks, including salmon, hángikjöt (smoked mutton) and herring.

And much more during our weekend in Reykjavik

As you may have realised, this weekend has been fast-paced and there's no way we can tell you everything at once. We have tried several restaurants with different tasting menus as part of "Food and Fun",

We also went on a tour of classic sights such as Geysir, Gullfoss and Þingvellir National Park. And of course we visited the geothermal spa Blue Lagoon! Here you can read more about things to do during a weekend in Reykjavik:

All our top tips about Iceland. Click on the image!

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03 March 2019 6:00
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20 Comments

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  1. Steve says:

    Wow, so many exciting things have happened to you.

    03 March 2019 - 8:54

    Reply

  2. Lena - gott för själen says:

    Not bad for a dinner in a presidential residence! Haha, nice faces. But he looks at least as crazy as he does 🙂 .

    Hug Lena

    03 March 2019 - 9:43

    Reply

  3. Ama de casa says:

    WOW!!! Cool to visit the presidential couple! If you had read on so you knew about it, you might not have looked quite so crazy... 😉 😀 .

    03 March 2019 - 9:47

    Reply

  4. Ditte says:

    How exciting and so much fun. It will be fun to read more.

    03 March 2019 - 13:36

    Reply

  5. Liniz Travel says:

    Wow what a fun trip! Is so jealous! Hugs

    03 March 2019 - 14:24

    Reply

  6. Resfredag says:

    Great Helena! And extra fun for you to go back - having actually lived there! Did you get to speak any Icelandic?

    03 March 2019 - 15:50

    Reply

  7. dianasdrömmar says:

    So lovely looking forward to reading more as Iceland is on my bucket list hugs

    03 March 2019 - 16:20

    Reply

  8. BP says:

    WOW! Soooo much you have done. The visit to the Icelandic president's residence and meeting the presidential couple must have been an absolute highlight. What a memory. I guess it was the first time you mingled "on that level" - WOW!

    PS. Couldn't help but laugh at Peter's face at the dinner table. He looks a bit "worn out" - poor guy. Also, I loved the statue that looked cloth. How delicious. Googled the statue and it is called "The Unknown Bureaucrat" - an absolutely perfect name.

    03 March 2019 - 18:18

    Reply

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