Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [29]
Like a turkey dinner is to American Thanksgiving, rjúpa (ptarmigan), a plump but tough bird related to the grouse, is the centrepiece of celebrations during the Icelandic holiday season. The bird is officially protected and you won’t find it served in restaurants, but rjúpa hunting is still a popular pastime.
Sweets & Desserts
Don’t miss out on skyr, a delicious yoghurtlike concoction made from pasteurised skimmed milk. Despite its rich and decadent flavour, it’s actually low in fat and is often mixed with sugar, fruit flavours (such as blueberry) and cream to give it a wonderful taste and texture. Skyr can be found in any supermarket (it’s a great snack for kids) and as a dessert in restaurants.
Icelandic pönnukökur (pancakes) are thin, sweet and cinnamon flavoured. Icelandic kleinur (doughnuts) are a chewy treat, along with their offspring ástar pungur (love balls), deep-fried, spiced balls of dough. You’ll find these desserts in bakeries, along with an amazing array of fantastic pastries and cakes – one of the few sweet legacies of the Danish occupation.
Recently, homemade ice cream has become the it craze. Local dairy farms are churning out scrumptious scoops by the gallon – they’re often featured on the menus of nearby restaurants. You can visit certain creameries for sample-filled tours (see the boxed text).
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DRINKS
Nonalcoholic
Life without kaffi (coffee) is unthinkable. Cafes and petrol stations will usually have an urn full of filter coffee by the counter, and some shops offer complimentary cups to customers. A coffee costs anywhere from Ikr200 to Ikr350, but normally you’ll get at least one free refill. European-style cafes, where you can get espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha and imported coffee, are quite popular in Reykjavík and Akureyri. Tea is available but clearly doesn’t offer the caffeine fix Icelanders need.
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Clink your steins and say ‘skál!’ – the Icelandic version of ‘cheers’ or ‘good health’.
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And they really are caffeine addicts. Besides all that coffee, Icelanders drink more Coca-Cola per capita than any other country. Another very popular soft drink is Egils Appelsín (confusingly not apple but orange soda) and the home-grown Egils Malt Extrakt, which tastes like sugar-saturated beer.
Bottled water is widely available, but tap water is delicious and free.
Alcoholic
Icelanders generally don’t drink alcohol to savour the taste – getting trollied is the aim of the game. Particularly in Reykjavík, it’s the done thing to go out at the weekend and drink till you drop (Click here and Click here). Nevertheless, you might be surprised to learn that drinking during the week hasn’t been culturally acceptable in the past. It’s becoming more common but, if you order a midweek pint in the countryside, people may assume you have an alcohol problem!
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Kaldi, Iceland’s only microbrewed beer (and our personal fave), offers tours of their production plant, just north of Akureyri.
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WOULD YOU BELIEVE…
…that beer was illegal in Iceland until just over 20 years ago? In an attempt to circumvent the law, several Reykjavík pubs began serving nonalcoholic beer mixed with vodka, until this too was banned in 1985. The nation gathered in protest, held mock funerals and sang dirges for the swill that had become a national staple. Suddenly, in 1988 a vote was taken to legalise real beer, and on 1 March 1989 the amber fluid began to flow. Reykjavíkurs have never looked back!
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You must be at least 20 years old to buy beer, wine or spirits, and alcohol is only available from licensed bars, restaurants and the government-run Vín Búð liquor stores (www.vinbud.is). There are roughly 50 shops around the country; most towns with more than two streets have one; the greater Reykjavík area has about a dozen. In larger towns and cities, the opening hours are usually from