Reykjavik recommendations

[+ pitman]

I don't plan on hiring while I'm there (no listings in Rentmen), but would appreciate any hotel recommendations or ideas on things to do during those long cold winter nights.

[+ Charlie]

Trekking on Icelandic ponies. It was the most fun I ever had on my trips to Iceland. There are also day tours that take you into the countryside, which is IMHO more interesting to see than Reykjavik. But those activities are definitely for daytime, not the long, cold winter nights.

[+ Truereview]

Since you are going in the Winter, check out the Northern Lights as Winter is best season for them. Are you spending Christmas there? If so, prepare to celebrate it for two straight days, much like we do here in Latin America. Be prepared to cope with the sun not coming up until 11am in the Winter, but when it breaks, Reykjavik is breathtaking- it really looks like a postcard. You only get about 4-5 hrs of sun, so a major activity on the weekends is pub crawls. Fun the first couple of times, but it can get old after a while. The cold is actually not that bad. I was expecting frigid temps, but it was just like most cold places in the US. I did swim in the geothermal baths and it's was heavenly...btw, be prepared to gawk...some gigantic Schlongs in dear Iceland. If weather permits try to check out icebergs and volcanoes...watching the lava flow on the frost is magical. Please pay for a tour guide if you venture out to see sites. I've been to Iceland in the Summer and it was a snap getting around outside the capital -kinda like driving around Patagonia. However, I nearly peed myself in the winter watching our guide drive us to our inn near the Landmannalaugar (SP?) valley - a must do. As for lodging, We rented a condo smack in the middle of the action in the capital. We cooked what we liked cuz Icelandic food is just meh. Enjoy & report back please!

[+ glennnn]

@Truereview

 

So I take it the thermal baths are clothing optional? The biggest free-floating cocks I ever saw were at a men only nude night at the indoor Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. I was embarrassed by my woody until I noticed there were plenty of others. Was this a problem in Reykjavik?

[+ Truereview]

@Truereview

 

So I take it the thermal baths are clothing optional? The biggest free-floating cocks I ever saw were at a men only nude night at the indoor Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. I was embarrassed by my woody until I noticed there were plenty of others. Was this a problem in Reykjavik?

Ah! I'm so glad you pointed this out. No, I did not swim naked in the geo pools. Actually, I was told swimming naked would cause a scene of sorts. Here is the key: before you get in the pool, you have to take a shower and wash thoroughly, and if you shower in your swimsuit, it is a no-no. it is customary to just shower naked and acrub your pits, pubes, etc. it is good etiquette to do so. In the guys locker rooms, pretty much everyone walks around naked...that's where you might be shocked by large dicks. I did not try to find pools where I could swim naked, but I'm guessing there are some. I did see a few woodies up close and personal in the locker room. I even tasted one...tasted like human!

[evensteven]

Speaking of cocks, they have a whole museum dedicated to them in Reykjavik, probably the only one like it in the world. In addition to the enormous whale penises preserved in formaldehyde, they somehow got the Icelandic handball team to provide castings of all their “members,” standing at erection. Quite a collection.

 

http://phallus.is/en/

[Zman]

Quite a collection.

http://phallus.is/en/

 

I commend the effort to create such a collection. But I wouldn't expect it to be very stimulating. The pictures on the website are non-erotic and all those penises in formaldehyde are kind of icky IMHO. :confused:

 

But I'd probably go if I knew the collection of handball player castings was a hands on exhibit.

[+ azdr0710]

Speaking of cocks, they have a whole museum dedicated to them in Reykjavik, probably the only one like it in the world. In addition to the enormous whale penises preserved in formaldehyde, they somehow got the Icelandic handball team to provide castings of all their “members,” standing at erection. Quite a collection.

 

http://phallus.is/en/

 

 

HELL, couldn't let that go by without further research.....one of those dudes is pretty damn lucky, apparently

 

http://phallus.is/media/com_twojtoolbox/Artwork9.JPG

[+ pitman]

Since you are going in the Winter, check out the Northern Lights as Winter is best season for them. Are you spending Christmas there? If so, prepare to celebrate it for two straight days, much like we do here in Latin America. Be prepared to cope with the sun not coming up until 11am in the Winter, but when it breaks, Reykjavik is breathtaking- it really looks like a postcard. You only get about 4-5 hrs of sun, so a major activity on the weekends is pub crawls. Fun the first couple of times, but it can get old after a while. The cold is actually not that bad. I was expecting frigid temps, but it was just like most cold places in the US. I did swim in the geothermal baths and it's was heavenly...btw, be prepared to gawk...some gigantic Schlongs in dear Iceland. If weather permits try to check out icebergs and volcanoes...watching the lava flow on the frost is magical. Please pay for a tour guide if you venture out to see sites. I've been to Iceland in the Summer and it was a snap getting around outside the capital -kinda like driving around Patagonia. However, I nearly peed myself in the winter watching our guide drive us to our inn near the Landmannalaugar (SP?) valley - a must do. As for lodging, We rented a condo smack in the middle of the action in the capital. We cooked what we liked cuz Icelandic food is just meh. Enjoy & report back please!

 

I'll be there in late Feb/early March, so the days will be a little longer than they are now. Will definitely go to the Blue Lagoon, and possibly some other geothermal baths. Also some day trips from Reykjavik.

[+ pitman]

Speaking of cocks, they have a whole museum dedicated to them in Reykjavik, probably the only one like it in the world. In addition to the enormous whale penises preserved in formaldehyde, they somehow got the Icelandic handball team to provide castings of all their “members,” standing at erection. Quite a collection.

 

http://phallus.is/en/

 

BBC made a doc about the museum several years ago.

 

http://www.thefinalmember.com/

 

At that time the museum was in a remote village. The focus of the film was the effort to obtain a human member to put on display.

One crazy American lobbied very hard (no pun intended) to have his penis (named Elmo) be the one, and even offered to donate Elmo while he was still alive. The handballers' castings were not part of the collection at that time. Perhaps they were added as a substitute for the real thing.

[+ Truereview]

One crazy American lobbied very hard (no pun intended) to have his penis (named Elmo) be the one, and even offered to donate Elmo while he was still alive.

http://gifsec.com/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/03/Shocked-animated-gif.gif?gs=a

[Zman]

This discussion brings to mind The strange journey of Napoleon’s penis.

Apparently, his little Napoleon was surgically removed and preserved after his death.

 

There are even some (rather yucky)

pictures online. (Please don't post them here. )

[nate_sf]

I ended up going on a spur of the moment trip to Reykjavik last month, in part based on the discussion and recommendations here in this thread. I'm glad I did!

 

The Blue Lagoon is indeed wonderful and a must-do, even if the weather is chilly. I found it a great way to get over the jetlag on the first day, and in fact you can even go directly from the airport which is in the same vicinity. The water is the perfect temperature, and they have a bar in the lagoon so you can swim around with a glass of champagne, beer, smoothie, etc. My companion thought it would be nice to book an "executive" changing room to avoid the lines and crowds, but this had the disadvantage of not having access to the sight of the gigantic Schlongs in the general locker room mentioned by @Truereview. Damn! So tempting as it may be to book something fancy, I'd forego it in this instance. They now require appointments to visit, so this helps manage the crowds so it's not as much of an issue as it used to be I'm told. Along those lines, be sure to book in advance as the midday blocks fill up first.

 

http://natebeck.us/IMG_20170119_102714_123.jpg

 

We had one day where it was heavy snow, so excursions out of Reykjavik was out of the question. But spending the day strolling around town, eating and drinking, was a good time. I thought of @FreshFluff when I saw this store:

 

http://natebeck.us/IMG_5359.JPG

 

There is a handful of gay bars, though I didn't have a chance to check them out. The social scene is focused more on the weekends, and things are quieter during the week. Alcohol is absurdly expensive, which might be part of the reason for this. As a tourist, just don't ruin the experience by doing the currency conversion, or you won't enjoy your cocktail!

 

The escort scene is definitely non-existent, at least in the winter. Given that the population of the entire country is only a bit over 300,000, this shouldn't be a surprise. In chatting with an Icelandic guy on Grindr he confirmed the lack of an escort scene, telling me the only guys he had seen offering male escort services were from Eastern Europe, and he thought their culture might be more tolerant to male escorting than in Iceland. He said if an Icelandic guy is asking for money for sex then he would likely be on drugs or "in deep shit." So there you go! Where escorts are available, he said they can occasionally be found on hookup apps like Grindr or PlanetRomeo.

 

Speaking of Grindr, I found it pretty active in Reykjavik, with a mix of both tourists and local guys. Scruff seemed less active, at least on first review, as when I opened it up it pulled up profiles of guys who had been in the location several months ago, and in some instances more than a year ago. It was sort of like ghosts of hookups-past, in that these were probably guys who had been staying in my hotel many months ago and their profiles lingered long after they'd left town. Weird. That aside, I ended up talking to some guys on Scruff located further into town, so it seems to work OK.

 

I had a great time all in all and really want to go back. Apparently the summer season is crazy-busy with tourists... the winter is very manageable, as long as you don't mind the weather constraints. But then again, there is a Bear party in August/Sept called "Bears on Ice" that looks like it could be some fun...