Reykjavik Pride felt like a good excuse to head back to Iceland. I’d been twice before – once at Christmas, once in summer – and it is one of my favourite places on Earth. Still is, even after the third time around. It is, of course, ridiculously expensive. Honestly, the flight is usually the cheapest thing about the entire trip; food is what will send you bankrupt.

I was fortunate that I had an Icelandic friend who could put me up for part of my trip, which made everything much easier, especially to enjoy Reykjavik Pride, which was happening just down the street from his place.

I arrived on Friday afternoon to pretty crap weather. It was the middle of summer and after a couple of weeks of mostly glorious warmth elsewhere in northern Europe, landing in the rain was a little crushing. I’d packed a small number of warmer clothes, which were needed for my upcoming four-day hike, so survived the little dip in the weather.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, I still loved stepping out onto the tarmac on this volcanic landscape. The grey added to the drama. Bit of a wait for the luggage, then standing in the rain to board the shuttle bus. I would have thought that after the past ten years of booming tourist numbers, some better shelters would have been built. But the people keep coming so why spend the money?

Got into Reykjavik and to Oli’s apartment around the same time he got back from work – he’s a tour guide and does long days. We had dinner and caught up, then it was off to bed for me. 

The next day was the Pride Parade which started at 2pm. The morning was spent at the gym and I then went for lunch. The city centre was heaving with people, possibly because of just the sheer number of tourists who come to Iceland now, but numbers there had swollen because of the solar eclipse that was going to take place later in the week. They were expected 100% totally in Snæfellsnes (the westernmost part of Iceland) with 95% elsewhere, so the people were flooding in. Cloud was forecast though…

I managed to get a table and order a pizza, then watched as the panicked staff tried to sort out the neverending flow of people looking for food. It gave me flashbacks to when Glen and I arrived in Iceland on Christmas Eve only to find only about three places open for dinner. We traipsed those streets for over an hour trying to find anywhere that would take us before joining the mass of weary travellers all in the same boat who settled on a struggling fast food joint which could not keep up. Still got PTSD about it. And the Indian restaurant we tried to get into his still operating. 

After lunch, I joined the growing crowd waiting for the Pride Parade to start. The first few floats came down the street soon after. Rather than stand in one spot, I walked up to the start of the parade route, which was at Hallgrimskirkja, the giant Lutheran Church. 

The number of floats wasn’t massive but it was fun. The last float was a giant pink flamingo which bore an Icelandic pop singer who sang live (the same six or seven songs I think) down the whole route. It was impressive. Being the last float, the parade started to end around it and I joined in walking down the road to the park. What struck me though was how big the crowd was. It was like everyone in Reykjavik was watching. The vibe was great. 

The weather managed to stay pretty good for most of it too, but by the end the clouds had come in and it was getting cold. I met up with a friend from Singapore and we watched the free concert for a little while, but it was very much a community thing and a lot was in Icelandic, making it a little hard to comprehend. No big rager in the park, unfortunately.

In the evening, I went to a club night that was the first of its kind being put on for Reykjavik Pride. It was a bit more like the club nights in Berlin or London, with circuit music and flashing lights. I met up with my friends and chatted to quite a few Icelandic guys, met a couple of Australians, and danced til 2am. 

So that was my Reykjavik Pride experience. I found it warm, despite the chilly weather, and cute but also significant. Just another reason to love this country even more.