Places of interest in Iceland

It has been a challenge for me to not overplan this trip when there is still 200 days to go before we leave. But ultimately, I have 7 short days to spend in Iceland, so I want to maximize every moment with everything we want to see, do and experience. 

It seems typical that flights coming in from North American into Keflavik International Airport arrive super early in the morning-before 7am. Pacific time, this is 11pm, so it will essentially be the middle of the night for us by the time we begin our vacation. Hopefully we will get some sleep on the plane, and the excitement will carry us through a majority of the day!

There will be nearly 2 full days we will spend in Reykjavik, along with every evening after any day trips we will make. So far the basic itinerary will consist of road trips to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, the Golden Circle, and South Iceland. The last day of our trip will be spent in utter luxury at the Blue Lagoon. I splurged on the ultimate package where we can enjoy a private suite for three hours along with pampering, drinks, and samples of skin care products. This will get us relaxed for the ten hours of traveling home (seven on the plane, three in the car!). 

Icelandic sweater #3

This sweater took me a record 21 days to knit, and all while I was taking my last and most intense Intermediate Accounting class. It's a zip cardigan, although I struggled with the zipper and aligning the pattern correctly. A little imperfection won't affect how warm it will be when I am wearing this in Iceland next March!

Icelandic Sweater #2

Gefjun by Knitting with Icelandic Wool.

This sweater is for my daughter. She loves black, cobalt and white, but I used a light gray instead of white. This one was not made with Icelandic wool because Erika didn't want a scratchy sweater-which is typical of Icelandic yarn.

Icelandic Sweater #1

Dropar from Knitting with Icelandic Wool.

I used genuine Icelandic yarn for this sweater, which turned out fantastic. The colors are even the same as the Icelandic Flag. This is sweater #1 of 4 sweaters to knit before our vacation. And my Icelandic Sheepdog, Kaela (KY-la) is adoring it as well~

The Dream

The first time I ever heard about Iceland was when the news covered the Reykjavik Summit between President Reagan and Russian leader Gorbachev in 1986.  The Cold War had cast a negative shadow on my childhood, so when this meeting happened, I knew it was a positive thing. Being only 13 years old, I had no idea of politics, but I did understand the importance of this meeting. I had also learned that Iceland had a female president, so that also gave me a good impression of this tiny unknown island in the middle of the Atlantic.

Then I heard Bjork sing on the radio for the first time in 1988, and I really wanted to understand Iceland.

Since then, I have read all I can about the people, the culture, the nature, the geology! I even adopted a pure bred Icelandic Sheepdog. I fell in love with this young land…So I decided that I needed to go there when I could save up the cash. It would be a far better vacation than visiting a tropical island. As I began to figure out how I could make it a reality, I had vivid dreams of setting foot on the land, walking in downtown Reykjavik, idolizing those Northern Lights. Summer was definitely not the time I wanted to go, partly because of the tourist season, but mostly because I hoped to experience the Aurora Borealis, which occurs during the colder months.

The next question was, who to go with? My husband had no interest in going, but I wanted to experience my dream with someone I love. My 19 year old daughter volunteered as my companion, and she got excited about coming with me. Tentative plans started to happen-a date, approximately how much money we would need, how long, etc. And then one Sunday evening, after a hefty glass of wine, I bought those airline tickets, and found a place to stay! Wow, I had really hoped my boss would approve the vacation, even if I did book it ten months in advance.

So now what to do for the next several months? As an experienced knitter, I am making my daughter and I a few Icelandic sweaters (they sell for hundreds!) to keep us warm. I anticipate snow on the ground, the wind blowing hard, and permanent grins on our faces, so we must stay warm and looking good. This blog is dedicated to my dream, and how I share it with my firstborn.