2018 ICELAND Reykjavik 17 - Like Home in Reykjavik

I'm thinking we arrived about 17:00 to Reykjavik4You, an apartment hotel on Bergstadastraeti Street. It is located in the heart of Reyk, just two blocks from shopping and cafes and nearby to the famous Hallgrímskirja church and other walkable landmarks. Our condo neighbors Tom and Lisa had recommended it and we pass on that recommendation, for sure.

We checked in at the office, a cozy living room space with sofas and fireplace. There was a world map with pinpoints designating where visitors traveled from, so we added our pin to a very crowded Michigan.

Other travelers were seated on the sofa. Mike was wearing his Canada hat and another fellow had on a maize and blue University of Michigan t-shirt. Come to find out he was from Canada and we, of course, live near U of M. A little juxtaposition and a little laugh was had by all.

The receptionist fellow was fabulous. He explained that the developer of the complex originally had the idea to build and sell apartments. But that turned out to be right at the time of the bank crisis in Iceland, so nobody was buying. He re-evaluated the situation, continued to build, but turned the buildings into successful vacation rentals. There are studios and one- and two-bedroom units, each uniquely decorated.

We originally were booked on the fourth floor of one of the buildings, but no elevator!! He re-evaluated our situation and worked some magic. T&L ended up with a one-bedroom ground floor unit and we got a second-story studio. We were all happy with that arrangement. Parking was somewhat limited but we were able to find a spot near our units every time we arrived.

Our studio was perfect for two and decorated in vaguely African style, mostly wooden animal statues. There was a double door style vestibule. This must be common in Iceland. Maybe for cold and wet weather storage of clothes, boots, bikes, etc.

As you walked in, there was a small but fully-equipped kitchen on one side (including coffee, whitener, and sugar) and king bed on the other.

The only thing we thought was "different" was the bedding. It looked quite crinkly, but felt just fine once we hopped into bed. Even the pillows felt smooth under our heads.

There was a dining area with a quote on the wall. We often saw quotes in Iceland.

 

Ands we were doing it...traveling and exploring new areas.

In the relaxing area was a comfy lounger and chair and a French balcony.

The bathroom was large and linens were lush.

We even had two sets of robe and slippers to use during our stay.





Our view wasn't the greatest (more apartments), but the location was spectacular and made up for it. It actually felt good to be back in the city with its own set of amenities and views.

Mike still wasn't hungry, but T&L and I were. We headed out to find our dinner. In the same block as our apartment, there was a cat coffee cafe. We didn't have time on this visit to check it out, but we watched a minute or so every time we walked by. Here's one cutie cat.

We walked a bit checking out the restaurants, but ended up going to the first place we saw. I was still looking for lobster, but no such thing as the Maine style I craved for on these menus. Gave up on that one. This place was cozy (you know what that means), but the food was tasty. A place locals would go to for dinner.

We knew there was a grocery store nearby and I wanted to pick up some snacks for Mike after dinner. The waiter gave directions, but said they were closely shortly. We ordered, and Laur and I ran over for supplies. It was a Bonus Store with a pink piggy logo. We purchased bananas, oranges, Skyr (Iceland's version of a rich yogurt), crackers, and cream cheese--a nice variety for a snacks tonight and breakfast in the morning.

By the time we got back to the restaurant our order was ready. T&L both had the salted cod platter which they said was delish. I got the farmers veggie plate. It doesn't look like it would fill you up, but there were good grains and sauce underneath all the greens. It was also tasty.


Back at the apartment, Mike carved up a couple of oranges and other goodies. It was a good filler for him and a good dessert for me.
We spent three nights at Apt4You. It was a nice break not to have to unpack-pack-unpack for a few days.