Iceland, the land of fire and ice. That couldn’t be more true. Over a 10 day period we saw waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, volcanoes, hot springs, black sand beaches and so much more. Iceland was an amazing adventure.
There were 6 of us on this trip including John, Trudy, Alís and Yngvi. We were pretty lucky because Alís and Yngvi are Icelandic so they planned this whole trip for us. We arrived late Thursday night but being summer in Iceland, it was still light outside at midnight. That was a bit hard to get used to throughout the trip and made it pretty difficult to go to sleep. But we eventually did and the next morning we were ready to go and headed out to explore Reykjavik center. We started with great views of the city from the top of the Hallgrímskirkja Church. Then after getting a walking tour from our Icelandic friends, we stopped for a bite to eat. Fun fact, Reykjavik is known for their hotdogs. Who knew? It was topped with fried onions, remoulade and sweet mustard and oh so delicious! We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around the center. Dinner was at Alís’s mom’s house who lives in Reykjavik. She had, ready for us to enjoy, traditional Icelandic dishes starting with an appetizer. She served fermented shark, sheeps head, dried fish and a few variations of spiced smoked lamb. Onto the main course, a leg of lamb. Some of it was wasn’t exactly my taste but most of it was delicious! It was a great first day.
Akureyi – We drove quite a few hours north towards Akureyi. It was a beautiful drive and along the way we stopped at our first waterfall of the trip. Next, we stopped at Alís dads house where he showed us the sod houses which used to be the traditional way of living in Iceland. Then we got into Akureyi where Alís and Yngvi’s friend gave us her house to use for the next 4 days. Dinner that night was at another friends house. They again served a delicious lamb while letting us sample some tasty Icelandic liquors. The next morning we started with a morning swim at an outdoor pool that overlooked the ocean. With all the thermal water in Iceland, every town has at least one thermal swimming pool. Another fun fact of the trip: all home water is free in Iceland and comes out of the tap hot! We then took a scenic drive around northern Iceland. We stopped for lunch in Siglufjordur which was a popular filming spot for the Icelandic show, Trapped. Later that afternoon we went to a beer spa where we got to enjoy 20 minutes in a beer bath, plus unlimited beer (on the side – of course!) then 20 minutes of relaxation time. Once we finished that, we had unlimited time in their outdoor sauna and hot tub (Alex loooved that!). We sure do love our beer spas!
The next day was spent walking around the center of Akureyi. The guys did an aviation museum (Alex even found some ORBIS bins there!) while the women did a bit of shopping. Alís’s friends again had us over for dinner that night. It was nice to have a more relaxing day because the next day was jam packed. We saw two amazing waterfalls, one being the most powerful in Europe then stopped at some clay hot springs. Although, they were a bit sulfury they were really neat to see. At a temperature of over 80° Celsius they were bubbling away. Next on the list was whale watching which I was so excited for! We put on the provided (snow) suit and hopped on board a small boat. We cruised around for the next three hours watching and chasing down any “puffs of air” we saw coming out of the water. By the end, we were able to see humpback whales, dolphins and puffins (which I’ve wanted to see since Ireland). It was an awesome experience. After, we grabbed a beer and watch the sun set between two fjords. It was a really great day!
The next day we headed to southern Iceland. We decided to take the route through the mountains. It was beautiful but sooo bumpy! We had to avoid sheep while trying to navigate the crazy road. Our first stop of the day was to a natural hot spring. We put on our suits and hopped right in. It was a beautiful area and the hot spring overlooked a glacier. You really couldn’t beat the view! After, we ate lunch and headed back into the bumpy road towards our next destination. We came upon another waterfall! We took some pictures then stopped at a nearby geyser. “ There she blows” was being said (by Alex) about every 10 minutes when one of the geysers would erupt. Then yet another one of Alís and Yngvi’s friends had us over for dinner (everyone is just so nice!). They served us a delicious meal of…you guessed it, lamb. After our stomachs were full, we headed to the cabin we were staying in for the next two nights. It was in a beautiful location with a great view of a volcano but not just any volcano, Eyjafjallajökull (say that three times fast…or even once). The volcano that erupted in 2010 and reaked havoc on the airport.
The next day we started out with yet another beautiful waterfall. Iceland is just full of them! This one was a little different though. We were able to walk all the way around it so that at one point you were standing behind the falls. Next, we headed to the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Good thing we had a Jeep because we had to drive through a few not so shallow streams to get there. The volcano now of course, looked so unassuming. We ate a picnic lunch at the base of the volcano that also overlooked a glacier. How many times can you do something like that?! Lastly, we stopped at a black sand beach. We took our shoes off and enjoyed the warmth of the sand between our toes. Then we picked up some things from the grocery store and headed back to the cabin where we sat outside and enjoyed a cookout while playing some games.
For our last two nights in Iceland, we headed back to Reykjavik. On the way back we stopped at a National Park where scuba divers were diving into crystal clear waters, the old parliament used to be, a waterfall and where they used to conduct ‘not so fair’ witch trials. It was a very interesting last stop. Once we got back to Reykjavik we walked around the town for a while stopping at a…erm… Phallological Museum. Which is exactly as it sounds. It houses over two hundred animal penises in jars. Why would anyone pay money to see this? Because it’s the only one of its kind! I wonder why… We then had a nice hotdog for dinner. Just kidding 😉. The next day Alís and Yngvi had to go to a wedding so John, Trudy, Alex and I had the day to ourselves. In the morning we headed back into the center for a little souvenir shopping. Then it was Blue Lagoon time! We got into the warm, milky blue water and just relaxed. It was wonderful. We went to the swim up bar and got a drink then grabbed some of the free silica mud for a face mask that left your skin feeling super smooth. We spent a good few hours there enjoying the lagoon, saunas and steam rooms. After we were done we drove a little ways to a spot where the North American and European plates meet. We then headed once more to the center where we enjoyed our last meal in Iceland.
Iceland was a wonderful trip. It really has everything. Thanks so much to Alís and Yngvi for planning this great trip! Now we’re back in Köln (not for long) after a nice trip back to the states. We still have a few more fun things planned for the year so stay tuned!
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Those are the most beautiful pictures! What a wonderful, adventurous trip!
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Stunning pictures! Iceland was definitely one of my favorite countries. Such gorgeous landscapes.
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Thank you! It’s a beautiful country. Hope to go back one day!
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