Reykjavik: day three

August 13th, 2010

Well it’s day three, and the last full day of our trip to Reykjavik. We started the day off right with breakfast at Tiu Dropar. We attempted to have breakfast here the day before but we were too early.

At this point I have to mention that all the lattes have been delicious, and I’m convinced it’s because they use unpasteurized milk.

The wallpaper was pretty amazing.

We had “The truck” breakfast which includes eggs, bacon, potatoes, tomatoes, and of course waffles!

After breakfast we visited the Listasafn Reykjavikur (Reykjavik art museum).

The different uses of oxidized materials was beautiful. It really makes us want to re-shingle the peak of our building with copper.

The lighting in the gallery was amazing!

The sitting area of the museum had a really interesting sofa. The arms were leather, the body was tweed wool, and at the end there is a sheep skin upholstered cushion.

What a lovely fence.

We had our last meeting of the trip at Farmers Market. Their studio and  retail store is located in the fish packing district right near the water. We’re really excited to expand on the brand this fall, when we first got the sweaters in we only had 2 patterns so we’re happy to get more of a variety this time.

These chairs belong to Bjork (no seriously).

A trip to any Scandinavian country wouldn’t be complete without a hot dog or two. Especially when it comes from Bill Clinton approved Bæjarins Beztu. On the ads coming over from Toronto there was one that said something along the lines of  “Iceland is wonderful because their most popular restaurant is a hot dog stand.”

We meant to go to the grocery store to get whatever the mustard was on these hot dogs to barbecue some wieners at the cottage. Unfortunately time wasn’t on our side, but at least we can pick up some dehydrated onions and try to make as close as we can.

It seemed as though we’ve saved the best for last with a visit to the Nordic House. We arrived for our 8pm reservation at Dill restaurant, so the building was mostly closed, but we were able to sneak a few pics of the interior. Strangely, I missed snapping any of the restaurant!

The Nordic House was designed by one of our favorite architects, Alvar Aalto. The second you walk into a space designed by Aalto there is always a sense of warmth and comfort. The Nordic House is the only building in Reykjavik designed by an internationally acclaimed architect.

The library: note the shelves and lighting!

The Auditorium.

And so begins an epic meal that rivals last year’s Alberto K. We were given a glass of champagne and the menu, from which we could choose the 3, 5 or 7 course meal. We’re a go big or go home twosome, so 7 courses it was! They don’t have a wine list so in the end we succumbed to the wine pairings (always dangerous)…everyone was doing it.

Amuse bouche #1 – salmon and roe with dill. How can something so small taste so good?

Amuse Bouche #2: Apple and arctic char (totally guessing here).

Fennel salad.

Gorgeous view of a pond and the city beyond. They have a little herb garden right outside the window which they use daily.

Ok, I am a serious bread monster. This was absolute heaven. The whipped butter on the left went with a dark molasses bread and the liquid gold on the right (burnt butter) went with a light bread. I know it’s not right to ask for more bread when one is consuming a 7 course meal, but I HAD TO.

Icelandic Beer! Made with 1000 year old glacier water.

Every time this group of lawyers go out for a nice meal, they pick a table to buy shots for. We were the lucky pair!

Of course, this meant the night was going to get dangerous.

A refreshing desert to clear the palate.

I think this is around 7 glasses of wine each.

Getting distracted and artistic.

The Aalto A110 pendant lights were being used as hot lamps!

Icelandic treats and french press coffee.

That bottle there is known in Iceland as “Black Death”, it has a black label because it was one of the first alcohols to be sold after prohibition and it could only be sold if the bottle had a big black label so it didn’t look attractive to shoppers. After 7 glasses of wine, 1 glass of champagne, 1 glass of beer, and 2 licorice flavored shots each, this took us over the edge.

The restaurant had about 2 larger groups and 5 smaller groups, a total of about 30 people and two friendly servers. Definitely make a reservation! The pacing was also really great, however we paid for our indulgence the next morning…

Well it’s time for us to catch our flight, but there’s one last thing you need to do before leaving Iceland. You need to take a quick trip to the Blue Lagoon! There are buses that leave Ryekjavik that stop by the Blue Lagoon on the way to the Airport. Sadly we were in a bit of a rush so we didn’t get a photo of the lagoon. Oh well, next time!

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