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Warm winter streets
There's something subtly chilly yet warm about the heart of Reykjavik. Walking along the Skólavörðustígur shopping street, the temperature has now dropped close to zero.oC, just extending your hand outwards is enough to make your whole body convulse.
Christmas in Reykjavik is lively but not chaotic. Shops stay open until 10 pm, and locals and tourists mingle, creating a truly vibrant festive atmosphere.
I wonder what people here do in winter besides sipping cappuccino and reading a good book. Sunrise at 11 am and sunset at 3 pm usher in the night, but it's not as dreary as I imagined.
I am happy to be here right now, to experience a true Christmas season with its blend of cold and wonderful warmth. Everything is enough to make my young soul eager to live many more days, months, and years, to experience this short life.
Discover the charming Christmas market.
When you arrive in Reykjavik, you'll find small Christmas markets scattered throughout the city center. These stalls selling Christmas decorations are set up in wooden booths with wooden roofs, adorned with strings of lights and decorative trees.
At the market, in addition to Christmas decorations, gifts such as ceramic mugs and furniture are also widely available. Furthermore, the market also features food stalls where you can order a fragrant cinnamon latte or peppermint latte for the perfect Christmas experience.
The market also serves as the perfect backdrop for capturing Christmas memories in Iceland, thanks to its numerous decorations and the giant Christmas tree placed in front of the market.
Listen to fairy tales from Iceland.
Iceland is full of fairy tales about ghosts and elves. When I joined the day tours, the driver, a man in his 60s who also served as my guide, never ran out of stories to tell.
The arrival of the Yule Lads marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Iceland. These thirteen siblings, direct descendants of trolls, live in dark mountain caves with their ogre parents—their mother Grýla and father Leppalúði—and the devourer child Yule Cat.
Originally, the Yule Lads were criminal swindlers who would sneak into rural communities where they stole, harassed, and robbed, each with a descriptive name reflecting their favorite form of mischief; “Door Slammer” liked to slam doors in the darkness of night, “Sausage-Swiper” would hide in the rafters where they would smoke sausages, and “Candle Stealer” would steal candles, the kind made from animal fat.
Today, the Yule Lads have taken on a new form and play the traditional role of Santa Claus. Each of the thirteen nights leading up to Christmas Eve, one of the thirteen Yule Lads will leave moldy potatoes in the shoes that children place on their windowsills, depending on the child's behavior throughout the year.
A more chilling legend tells that Yule Lads' mother, Grýla, had a habit of stealing children and eating disobedient ones, and that Yule Cat would feed children who weren't dressed in new clothes for Christmas.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Travel to Reykjavik
The only way to get to Reykjavik is by flying with a layover. From Vietnam, you won't have the option of flying directly to the Icelandic capital; you'll have to make at least one layover. First, you must fly directly to Paris or Frankfurt, and then continue on to Reykjavik.
Airlines that fly to Reykjavik
- There aren't many airlines that fly to Reykjavik, so you'll have a few options:
- Low-cost airlines: Norwegian Air and WOWAir are two popular low-cost carriers. A major drawback is that they don't offer free meals on the approximately 3-hour flight from European countries to Reykjavik.
- Good airlines: Lufthansa is a good airline because it offers free in-flight meals (you just need to buy extra baggage allowance). Icelandair serves water, but food is extra; however, they have a pretty good in-board entertainment system.
