Eating like a native (Ryan more so than me)

Ryan begin practicing for his eventual Amazing Race audition by trying several authentic Icelandic dishes during our stay:

• Fish stew (mashed fish and potatoes on rye bread)
• Smoked lamb on a thin crepe
• Dried fish (think jerky)
• Smoked trout and cottage cheese on rye
• Hard-boiled egg slices and pickled herring on rye
• Fermented shark followed by the cursory shot of Black Death

Our very kind waitress is on her way with the shot of Brennivin (Black Death) to help Ryan chase the fermented shark.

Admittedly, the pickled herring was technically part of my platter, and I simply couldn't eat more than a single bite. The texture was too slimy and jellyish-like. So Ryan had to finish that for me (though I didn't give up any of Cafe Loki's delicious house-made rye bread - so good they put its crumbles in ice cream).

Elizabeth is excited to dig into her mashed fish. A few minutes later, she was not that excited about the pickled herring. 

Other dishes I sampled was Skyr, which seems like yogurt, but Wikipedia says is actually cheese, and star-shaped lemony waffles (for I couldn't find an official name).

Not surprisingly, we skipped the optional dose of cod liver oil available at the hotel breakfast buffet after seeing this photo at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography.