Day 2-South Iceland

The first part of Iceland I had wanted to explore outside of Reykjavik was South Iceland. It is very popular with tourists of course because of the waterfalls and mild weather. We headed out early to make the most of the day, and were blessed with bright sunshine. The first stop would be the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. I find this waterfall to be one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, so much that I have a wide panaramic photo framed in my living room. To see this natural wonder with my own eyes, and to hear the water thundering down was something I was greatly looking forward to. Driving on the Route 1, we could see just how tall it was from a few miles away. At first we thought it was a tall tower, and as we got closer, it became clear it was the waterfall. It was as beautiful as I had imagined.

Onward, we saw more waterfalls from Route 1.

Our next stop was at the famous volcano you can't pronounce Eyjafjallajökull . I had not planned on stopping here, but we parked at the museum and snapped some photos anyway.

Our next stop along Route 1 was Skogafoss, and I was suprised at how majestic and wide this waterfall was. By the time we reached this part of our trip, the sun was shining brightly, and the temperature had warmed comfortably. My daughter and I climbed the very tall stairs to the top getting a great workout. Rainbows were everywhere!

After soaking in the sun and colors of this magical place, we headed to Vik where I wanted to see the church. I painted this church in gouache paint and this is one of those places in Iceland I wanted to see for myself. I found Vik to be a beautiful village, but there was quite a bit of tourists there at the time we arrived. 

The final stop on our South Iceland tour was the region of Reynisdrangar, where the black sand beach and basalt columns are not too far from Vik. Again, Iceland's beauty surprised me even though I had seen countless photos of this beach.

After this long day of driving, we ate out at Icelandic Fish and Chips. Our meal cost roughly $65 USD, and it was pretty good for the price. The portions were large, although I wasn't crazy about the fried broccoli and cauliflower.

Today was one of the best days of my life because I saw a part of the world I had yearned to see for many years. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the sky put on a little show of Aurora Borealis:

These were faint lights, but definitely there. I wasn't sure if we would have the opportunity to witness this, but we got very lucky.

Day 1-Arrival in Iceland

When we first landed in Keflavik International Airport, peering out the tiny window of the airplane, snow was blowing sideways. Spring had already started, but we were prepared for the cold weather here. We packed our boots, hats, scarves, gloves and plenty of sweaters and layers. Time to endure an extended winter on spring break-so we thought. 

Our flight landed 6:45am local time-that's 11:45pm my normal time, and I had maybe slept 2 hours of the near 7 hour flight. Sleeping on plane is next to impossible unless you are lucky enough to travel first class. To top that, I was battling the cold that everyone else had that I had avoided until my vacation started. Normally I don't take OTC medication, but I packed daytime cold medicine to tone down the symptoms just so I could enjoy this trip of a lifetime. 

This was our first time traveling outside of the USA post 9/11/01. We were corralled through Customs quickly, and found ourselves in the Duty Free store. That will probably be the only time in my life that I buy vodka at 7am, but buying liquor in Iceland is otherwise inconvenient.

Once I stepped outside of the airport, another weary grin came over my face; finally I felt the reality of this dream happening as the cold wet snow touched my face. We got our rental car soon after, and navigated the 40 minute drive into Reykjavik. The drive itself was filled with weather I am used to, just with a different view, but this was my first view of the city:

Here is the cottage we stayed in, found on AirBnB :

I tried taking a nap, but I couldn't waste anytime time, exhausted or not, on sleeping during the daytime, although my daughter was exhausted. I let her sleep and decided to take a walk outside. Our cottage was close to the Hofdi House, and walked over to see this monument. Below are videos and photos of this historic sight. If you were a kid of the 80's in America and watched the nightly news, there is a good chance you were paranoid of nuclear war like I was:

By the time I was done touring this area, rain was blowing sideways, and I was drenched. Nothing like Oregon rain, but if I was to continue exploring, I would do it from the rental car. I changed my clothes, hopped in the car, and drove 3 blocks to Kronan, a small grocery store to see what kind of Icelandic food goodness could be found. The grocery store was much smaller compared to what we have in America, and I couldn't read what most of the products were. This was my first eye opening experience in truly feeling like I was in a much different place as far as culture goes. The most basic necessity in a different country was so foreign, but I did observe that Icelanders love liquorice (one of my least favorite candies). I purchased vanilla skyr, hazelnut cookies, and bananas, and then noticed I was getting some interesting looks. Maybe I looked out of place?

After that adventure, my daughter was refreshed from her nap, and I was starving for real food. Since the cottage was so close to downtown, we walked to The Laundromat Cafe. We ate a hearty bacon and egg breakfast while watching the servers tend to a busy Sunday afternoon crowd. The weather was clearing up very nice, and for that I was grateful. We also hit up The Big Lebowski bar where my daughter had her first legal drink (drinking age in Iceland is 20), and I had a Tree Hugger White Russian.

One the way back, we had beer at the Sæmundur í Sparifötunum bar located in the Kex Hostel. I loved this pub, the atmosphere reminded me of what you find in SE Portland-gritty, creative, relaxed and great beer. Day 1 of Iceland down, 5 to go.

One week to go

Time to dust off this blog. Vacation to Iceland is happening in just a week. Weather is expected to be typical-lower 40's as a high with periods of rain and wind. I am not getting my hopes up to see the northern lights, but there will be plenty of beauty to witness. My suitcase is already packed with those sweaters I knitted over last summer, along with my passport and currency. Day trips will depend on the weather of course. Below is our wish list, although it's likely we won't see it all:

Blue Lagoon-we have our luxury package booked!
Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss-hope to see this the first full day.
Gulfoss-another huge waterfall that will get us soaked.
Vik and the black sand beaches-I hear there are sneaker waves, so we will use extreme caution
Solheimasandur Plane Crash-it is a 2 mile walk, but my daughter really wants to see it. 
Hallgrimskirkja-I plan to go to the top and snap an aerial photo of Reykjavik!
Alafoss store-as a knitter, I am obligated to see this huge yarn shop outside of Reykjavik.
BONUS supermarket-just because I have to.
Kumiko-for my daughter. A Japanese tea house in Iceland, of course!
American and European bridge-this is a landmark where both continental plates are separating.
Icelandic horse riding-cannot visit this country without this experience!
Helgafell mountain-located on the Snaelfellsnes peninsula, this is a sacred place where wishes come true.
Kirkjufell mountain-one of the most photographed mountains in the world, I am really hoping the clouds will give way for my photos.

I won't even list all of the restaurants and other shops to see, but those that impress will be mentioned in this blog!

 

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!).