Monday, July 24, 2023

T Stands for Icelandic Breakfasts

Hi everyone. Happy T Day once again. 

It was fun celebrating 10 years of T last week, wasn't it? Thank you again Elizabeth for hosting this every week. Now we're back to regular  T days, but there's nothing regular with our weekly T days. I always look forward to seeing what everyone is up to.

Since I haven't shared any Iceland photos for awhile, I thought today  I would focus on breakfast photos. All the breakfasts we had in Iceland were pretty amazing, considering they were included in the cost of the room. (And yes, I am sure the cost of the room reflects breakfast prices.)

In  Iceland  the breakfast buffets were diverse and  outstanding.

Here's my drink for this week for T, over at    . It's from one of the 2 or 3 hotels I saw this drink put out in the breakfast buffet. And I must admit I didn't try it. 😕  But I did try  many other foods because for me, trying foods from other places is one of the fun things about traveling. This drink just didn't look very tempting though.

Would you like a glass of cod liver oil?


OK, I hope you either aren't hungry,  aren't a big fan of breakfast foods or aren't a fish person because let me share some photos, and I wouldn't want you to get too hungry. Grin. 
One thing I enjoyed a lot of was the smoked salmon  that was almost always out on the buffet.


And I'm probably going to really gross out/disgust a lot of you with this next photo with the various pickled fish on it (below the fruit). I know when I visited Iceland in 2016 with friends I really grossed them out having pickled fish for breakfast. My husband is used to my food choices I guess as he didn't react, but I grew up having 2 Swedish and 1 Finnish/Swedish grandparents so it wasn't unusual for a jar of pickled herring to be in the refrigerator. My Dad and I liked it, and although I didn't enjoy all the fish on this breakfast plate, much of it was delicious.

And FYI- I believe gross/ gross out is a New England term for disgusting.


And if fish aren't your favorite food, how about waffles with strawberries and whipped cream?


When we stayed in Reykjavik we stayed in a small studio apartment, but it even came with breakfast.  No smoked salmon this time, but you can see the basket of food that was left in the mini-fridge each afternoon when someone cleaned the room. Then at 8 AM someone would hang a bag with half a loaf of fresh rye bread on the door handle.


The sodas in the above photo were not included with breakfast; they were left over from a couple of days, but the liter of apple juice was included.


That bread was delicious. I bought some rye flour recently and as soon as the weather inspires me to bake again I am going to practice making rye bread to see if I can get something similar to this.




The basket wasn't quite the same on the 2 mornings we were there. The next morning we had grapes and different dairy products. It also was nice because anything in the basket you wanted to save for later you simply took out of the basket and put it in the refrigerator.  Food you didn't want at all stayed in the basket and went back into the frig also. We saved enough items that on the day we left we were able to make  a picnic lunch for the road from some of the items we didn't eat at breakfast for the 2 mornings we stayed at this "hotel".



The other great thing about a big breakfast, as many/most of you probably know, is that you don't need much for lunch so you can enjoy your day, which in our case, was exploring something interesting.

That's all for me. Have a great T day and week ahead. 





 

20 comments:

The Happy Whisk said...

Forever waffles for me. I love those things. Ma's side of family did the fish oil and pickled fish. Have a great week!

hels said...

I agree that an important part of the tourist experience is learning about, and eating local foods. Although having 3 Swedish/Finnish grandparents would have already prepared you for the local, luscious cuisine.

Mae Travels said...

I’m with you on smoked and pickled fish for breakfast. Starting with bagels and cream cheese and smoked salmon, going onward from there. I’ve seen a lot of recipes for the dark rather sweet Icelandic bread, but some bakeries have access to geothermal hot springs, and use the heat for baking, which is very special. Did you try their special kind of donuts?
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

kathyinozarks said...

I think exploring new foods would be a highlight with traveling. I have never heard of shots of cod liver oil-I don't think I could do that--but it is something in the old days that was suppose to be good for you.
My husband is Jewish so he grew up with allot of the smoked fish. I only liked the smoked salmon.
The waffles looked really good. thanks for sharing-I am enjoying your Iceland posts.

Christine said...

I am fine with pickled herring!

Angie's Recipes said...

I haven't had cod liver oil in ages..but I do LOVE cod liver. Actually just bought 20 tins of them :-)) The breakfast looks very yummy. No Skyr?

Iris Flavia said...

OMG - I would´ve passed on that drink, too. Eww.
No fish person. But my Mom would´ve loved it.
My Dad, btw, was a weirdo. He didn´t like fish but ate Rollmops (just writing it makes me gag! Well nearly ;-)...)

The waffles aren´t better, LOL. I need to make some hearty ones, though!
To breakfasts and holidays, hugs and happy T-Day!

Amila said...

It seems like a good breakfast option while in Iceland. I learned new food too including pickled fish. In Sri Lanka there is a way of cooking fish that can preserve for a few weeks other than dried fish. The fish pickle photo reminded me of that dish too...Well, I like big breakfast,specially when I have some task to attend or when I travel. It allows me to spend more time until I have my lunch or sometimes a late snack :)
Thanks for sharing all these with us. Happy T-Tuesday!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

My grandmother used to give me a teaspoon of cod liver oil a day when I was a child. I liked it so much, I climbed on a chair and got it from where she hid it on top of the refrigerator. I'm not sure how I feel about it now, though.

I just threw away a container of herring I actually bought for the tin it came in. Sadly the tin was not the type that had the key that opened the old ones. Since it was out of date, I threw the herring away and ditched the tin and my hopes of creating something memorable from the tin.

LOVED the waffle. Sounds like you had enough food every breakfast to last till your evening meal. It's been forever since I've had apple juice, so I think it and the bread sound marvelous. Thanks for sharing your awesome breakfasts in Iceland with us as well as the apple juice and cod liver oil with us for T this Tuesday, dear Erika.

Valerie-Jael said...

My husband used to eat pickled or smoked fish for his breakfast every day, he loved it, as did our cat. The breakfasts look great, but I am not a fan of cod liver oil. When I was at primary school in the first half of the 1950s we each got a teaspoon of cod liver oil and one of malt - I don't mean malt whiskey - every day. It was port of the post war welfare campaign to make children healthy. The oil was horrible, but the sweet and sticky malt was lovely! I would love smoked salmon for breakfast, too. Hugs, Valerie

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I think I too would pass on the cod liver oil for breakfast, but the breakfast with the bread delivered to the door looks delicious. I am quite sure we could have used some of it for sandwiches for lunch. Smoked salmon is always a treat! Hugs - David

Tom said...

...what a spread!

DVArtist said...

Uhhhg no cod liver oil or fish for breakfast. Everything else is good for me especially the bread. LOL Always nice to see what others eat. Have a great day today.

CJ Kennedy said...

I wasn't grossed out by the fish, but it wouldn't have been my choice for breakfast. I would have been happier with the waffles, fruit, bread, and yogurt. Amazing how you got a pretty substantial breakfast at the buffet and in the basket. Hotel buffet breakfasts here pale in comparison. Stay cool today and especially the rest of the week. Happy T Day

Kate Yetter said...

What a great looking breakfast! I haven't ever tried pickled fish but I could be persuaded. We don't eat breakfast when we travel because they are usually so big they mess up our eating schedule.
Cod Liver Oil...interesting. I can't believe people still drink that. It must have some health benefits? Thanks for sharing your trip!
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Divers and Sundry said...

It'd be great fun to try these new-to-me foods. I tend to skip breakfast entirely...

Carola Bartz said...

I guess they have the cod liver oil for their vitamin D. We used to get it as children and I've just read that it actually seems to make a comeback in Germany. I know that it is a bigger thing in Norway as well - probably all those countries that are short on sunlight for much of the year. Fish for breakfast sounds just about right. I love smoked salmon but also like pickled fish. We always have some pickled herring in the fridge - so good. Have a great T day, Erika!

nwilliams6 said...

Breakfast is my favorite so I was thrilled to see these pictures. I would skip the cod liver stuff but would try the pickled fish for sure. Super cool pictures and I with you - try the fun new stuff always. Still jealous of your trip - you are so lucky! Happy T-day and hugz

Lisca said...

Trying out foods is my favorite bit of traveling- I've never been to Iceland (sorry, it's just too expensive), but I've been to Denmark several times and I love the food there. Yes, I had pickled fish too and I quite like it.
I remember taking a spoonful of cod liver oil as a child. I still take fish oils in capsules. I think it's good for the joints.
That bread looks delicious! It's the sort of bread I like, and sadly not available here. You are right, a good breakfast makes you want less at lunch time. A snack will usually do then.
Sorry for the late reply. As per usual I don't have time on Tuesday.
A belated happy T-Day,
Lisca

pearshapedcrafting said...

All of this food looks amazing. I don't dislike pickled fish - had it in Sweden but it wouldn't be my first choice! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx