Iceland was somewhere that had been getting a lot attention lately. It seemed like all of sudden that was becoming a popular destination so when WOW airlines offered roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles for $500 we were in. We found a great apartment on Hotels.com that was in the center of Reykjavik. We had a fully stocked, clean and spacious spot that looked out over a main street with shops and restaurants. Since we were there in June there was light nearly 24 hours a day. Between the light and the busy street, it felt like the city never slept which was both a blessing and a curse. Sleep did not come easily but we got to see so much since there wasn’t sundown to rush to beat. We wanted to see as much as Iceland as possible.
To give our selves a little pampering after the long flight, our first stop was the Blue Lagoon. The area is surrounded by moss fields which are unlikely any other place we had ever seen. They are very fragile and not to be stepped on but beautiful to look at. Once we got into the Blue Lagoon, D was assigned a helper to take him into the men’s area where he changed into his bathing suit and towel, while we headed to the lady’s area. We met and went right into the warm, milky blue water. It was amazing and beautiful and the perfect start to the trip. We made our way over to the facial mask bar where we applied silica mud masks. Everyone just walked and floated around with masks on. We headed to get ourselves a drink and just soaked in the water. It was so great we planned to return at the end of our trip.
We decided to drive the Golden Circle road in the south of Iceland so we could see a bit of the countryside. We started off by driving to snowmobile on the Solheimajokull Glacier. We found a two hour tour on www.viator.com and it included all the warm clothes we needed. We rode around and explored and even got to stop for a snow ball fight. From there we continued on the road to Vik, which was probably one of the coolest beaches we had ever seen. It was black sand and had an amazing rock formation along the sea. We continued driving stopping at the big highlights like Skogafoss falls, Gullfoss falls and the geyser. By the time we finished at the geyser, it was about 1:00am and we were headed back to the apartment. No one was on the road, in fact, we stopped and Lisa did yoga in the middle of the road. When we continued driving, we noticed a police stop. The officier waved us over and asked if we had been drinking. No, we hadn’t. Ok, he says and waves on. I can’t imagine he had many other cars to stop that night!
Probably the highlight of our entire trip was a splurge that Erin didn’t mean to make. We thought seeing Iceland by helicopter would be incredible and worth checking the price but knowing it would probably be a fortune. Erin found a trip and it wasn’t nearly as expensive as we had thought. She booked it and then later realized the price was per person and not all in like she had thought! Well, since there were no refunds, we were set. We got to see Iceland from the sky. We went over the river that divides North America from Europe, over glaciers and lakes and rivers. Our pilot landed in one meadow that had little spots were boiling hot water spurted out from the ground. The land was lush and green. The scenery was amazing. Also, included in the crazy expensive day, we took a trip to the ice tunnel. A bus took us out across the glacier to the mouth of the tunnel. There we walked into the tunnel and explored the ice of the glacier. It was fascinating to hear how the tunnels and see some of the fissures.
Back in Rekjavik, Iceland had made it to the quarter finals for the European world cup. The game was broadcast on a huge screen at the bottom of a hill in the center of the city. Hundreds and hundreds of people came to watch the game together. The whole city was celebrating. Even though Iceland lost the game, the citizens were so happy and dancing just to have gotten as far as they did in the competition. It was a great time to be there.
A few other things to know about Iceland…its expensive, especially the food. The food wasn’t my favorite part of Iceland and it was really pricey. We were glad to have a kitchen and be able to prepare some meals at the apartment. We fell in love with the Skyr (yogurt). Parking isn’t easy in the city so be prepared to drive around if you have a rental car.
