Atlantica - 01.04.2006, Page 96

DRINKING
b5. The latest addition to Reykjavík’s crowded café
scene is b5, a swanky bistro located in the belly of
101. By day, the elegant café, which used to be the
headquarters of a bank, is the perfect place to enjoy
an espresso while surfing the net. With large windows
reaching out onto downtown, even on the darkest,
rainy day, b5 is bathed in that precious commodity:
light. When evening comes, feel part of the moneyed
elite while you sip on a cocktail, sitting on the wall-
length sofa that feels as cozy as a love seat for two.
Bankastræti 5. 552-9600. www.b5.is
OLIVER. While Cafe Oliver is not smoke free, it’s
one of the few Reykjavík bars where revelers can
actually breathe in the air. During restaurant hours,
smoking is only permitted on the second floor. After
10pm, when the beautiful partiers show up, smoking
is allowed on the first floor, but because Oliver is so
spacious, there are no cumulus clouds of smoke suf-
focating you while you try to chat up that blonde.
Laugavegur 20a. 552-2300. www.cafeoliver.is
KAFFIBARINN. Packed with beautiful, young, drunk
Icelanders who fancy themselves as writers, filmmak-
ers, artists and bohemians. Dress down because the
beer spills and the bar is thick with cigarette smoke.
Wear sunglasses if you prefer. Just show up before
2am, when the line to enter floods down the street.
Bergstadastræti 1. 551-1588.
SIRKUS. Go before the line starts out the door
around midnight, install yourself at a corner table or
on a barstool, and watch the evening unfold.
You’ll find it.

SOAKING
You haven’t seen Reykjavík if you
haven’t been to the pools; there are
16 in the capital area alone. Bring a
towel and a suit and you are in busi-
ness. (Or not. You can rent them at
any pool before you take a dip.)
LAUGARDALSLAUG. The grand-
daddy of Reykjavík’s pools. It has
both indoor and outdoor 50-meter
pools, hot pots, a steam room, sun
lamps, and a waterslide to boot.
553-4039.
SUNDHÖLLIN. If there is ice on
the deck at Laugardalslaug, you
may want to check out the oldest
indoor pool in Iceland, dating back
to the 1930s. You can still get your
Arctic Jacuzzi fill if you take a dip
in Sundhöllin’s art-decoish hot tubs.
551-4059.
VESTURBÆJARLAUG. The pool
for you if you are looking for the
neighborhood experience in Reyk-
javík. In addition to the 25-meter
pool, there are hot pots, a steam
room, and the only Finnish sauna
found among Reykjavík’s public
pools. You have to pay a little extra
to sweat it out like a Finn, but it is
worth it. 551-5004.
Sleep, Drink & Soak
94 AT L A N T I CA
SLEEPING
HÓTEL 101. The glossiest boutique hotel in
Reykjavík, 101 is stylish and stylized in all shades
of black, white and stainless steel. With 38 rooms
and a very cozy hotel bar with a fireplace and
enough international design magazines to keep
you busy for weeks. Hverfisgata 10. 580-0101.
www.101hotel.is
HÓTEL FRÓN. A modest 63-room Scandina-
vian hotel, Frón is comfortable, low key, and
surprisingly quiet for being smack in the middle
of Reykjavík’s shopping street. Klapparstígur 35a.
511-4666. www.hotelfron.is
ROOM WITH A VIEW. Stay for a night or two
weeks in your own pied-a-terre in downtown
Reykjavík. Not your typical apartment hotel,
these sleek apartments range from stylish to
vampish. Stainless steel, black leather and Jacuzzis
abound.
Laugavegur 18. 552-7262. www.roomwithaview.is
NORDICA HOTEL. ‘The hotel to the stars’ is
what they should rename the Nordica Hotel.
When celebrities travel to Iceland for film festivals
or New Year’s Eve parties, many stay at the plush
Nordica Hotel, overlooking Reykjavík’s Laugar-
dalur valley. Why, just last January we received an
e-mail from a guest who was all giddy about the
breakfast table he shared with director Quentin
Tarantino. Yet Nordica has more than star sight-
ings. There’s Vox restaurant. The hotel features
live jazz three nights a week. Then there’s the
view of Mt. Esja rising above the deep blue of
Faxaflói Bay. Sudurlandsbraut 2. 444 5000. www.
nordicahotel.is
ICELANDa
SPECIAL PROMOTION
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