Velkomin Á Íslandi

Travel

Nov 8

(Welcome to Iceland!)

A two-day layover-turned-adventure

“In Florida, you don’t need a rain jacket. You just take your clothes off.”

— Conversation overheard in Iceland by a woman in a rain jacket.

After 6 months of planning and dreaming, my co-resident, Allie, and I flew out to Iceland at 3:30pm from Portland, and arrived 7 hours later, 5:30am Icelandic time. Not to be outdone by the crazy time change, or lack of sleep, we headed into Reykjavik, dropped off our luggage at our hotel and got a bus for a 10 hour tour of Iceland.

Wowee! In July, Iceland is a magical volcanic land of a balmy 50 degrees fahrenheit. There are soaring mountains, lava rocks covered in moss and gorgeous deep purple lupine flowers that line the highways and cover the mountainsides.

We booked a tour to see the top sites in Iceland using I Heart Reykjavik Tours. We climbed into a cramped yet clean 19 person passenger van – and our first stop was to drive into the mountains to look at the geothermal energy plants (which actually look like the huts from Tatooine aka Luke Skywalker’s home planet). A lot of Iceland’s electricity is run from using geothermal energy aka liquid hot magma (picture Dr. Evil saying this with his pinkie up) which the island is full of since it has a volcano erupting like every day. The energy plants were located in the valleys with snow-covered mountains in the background, steam rising from the volcanic rocks, and the gorgeous ~~and-easy-to-pronounce~~ Lake Pingvellir, which, as it turned out, was our next stop.

Volcanic steam rising over the valley looking over Lake Pingvellir

A tributary that feeds into Lake Pingvellir. Also one of the locations where Game of Thrones is shot.

Our tour guide, Gummi, had a real love for geology and wanted to spend about 15 minutes at each stop talking about the specific geology of each spot. This was interesting for a little while, but after 7 hours on a plane, I was finding it difficult to stand still and listen. That’s when I remembered that I am a grown up who paid for my own tour ticket, and I don’t have to stand there and listen. So Allie and I explored and took a bunch of instagram-worthy photos.

Our next stop was Gullfoss waterfall – which is probably the most photogenic waterfall I’ve ever seen. Standing on the green grass banks with little yellow wild flowers, we watched falls tumbling down into other waterfalls. I could have watched it all day, but lunch was calling so we ate at the Gulfoss restaurant. Gummi recommended trying the Icelandic Lamb Stew and it did not disappoint! Chock full of vegetables with tender lamb with a mild flavor – it was the perfect thing to eat on a chilly day. I also indulged in some Black Forest chocolate cake which was the perfect combination of moist, not too sweet with delicious cherries in the filling. Icelandic food is great so far!

Black Forest Chocolate Cake with Gulfoss Waterfalls in the backdrop

Our next stop was the Geysir Hot Spring and Haukadalur Geothermal area. Sensing that Gummi was really going to talk a lot at this stop, Allie and I hiked around the area by ourselves and watched in awe as this huge, super hot geyser erupted every 2 minutes. The geothermal hot springs were about 100 degrees Celsius (super hot!) but crystal clear and light blue. I really, really wanted to get in them….

Watch the geyser erupt in slo-mo!

Thankfully, we ended our day at the Secret Lagoon, a small hot springs with temperatures around a manageable 100 degrees Fahrenheit. After 7 hours on a plane, and 8 hours in a cramped van, the hot springs felt like heaven on my aching muscles. And to top it off, before we left, Allie and I stopped by a Fish and Chips food truck and ate the best fried fish of my life! I am sad to report that the fries (aka chips) were only ok at best.

Happy to be back at our hotel, entitled Fourth Floor Hotel (even though it was on the first floor?) We were both asleep by 10pm after 36 hours of little-to-no sleep.

Oh man! After 10 hours of sleep, in the windowless room of the Fourth Floor Hotel, I woke up feeling amazing! The hotel, while not much to look at, has comfortable, albeit small twin beds, and a delicious assortment of breakfast foods (hellloooo Icelandic yogurt!).

After breakfast we wandered around our area, which happened to be right next to a main bus stop (perfect for getting around). As luck would have it, I had been craving a Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pie and while strolling along, I passed by a coffee shop with what looked like an Oatmeal Cream Pie! Eureka! It turned out to be chocolate chip which was somewhat of a disappointment but still delicious.

Chocolate chip cookie with frosting in the middle.

An aside on Iceland: The food here is freakin’ expensive! I think that stupid ‘oatmeal pie’ was like $11 – no joke. It was a good thing we were only there for two days or I would’ve been broke in no time. We also learned that gas is $9 a gallon! The city buses run on methane – yum. The population of all of Iceland is approximately 300,000 and there are approximately 100,000 adorable Icelandic horses (but I call them ponies). Another thing: Everything seems to run on ‘island-time’ even though it’s cold and everyone looks like a Nordic god. No one – from the hotel concierge to the bus drivers – seemed to adhere to any sort of real time schedule. Since we are on vacation time – we were unperturbed by this casualty of timelines, but none-the-less it is weird.

Very Nordic-looking metal-antler sculpture in Reykjavik

As long as I have my morning coffee, I can walk all day

After our outrageously expensive sweet treat, we walked to the ocean a few blocks away. The sky was overcast but that did not diminish the beauty of the green, steep mountains or gray-blue sea. The town of Reykjavik is pretty cute. I’ve never been to Sweden or Finland, but I still appreciated that Icelanders are descendants of the Vikings, which lends the houses of Reykjavík to have a distinct Nordic vibe. You know, very minimalist and yet somehow striking? Like if a wealthy IKEA built a house? Some of the houses were gray, some were green, red and light blue, which made the downtown area have a unique charm.

We wandered into some of the shops and I wanted to buy everything! Cute Nordic vases, delicious smelling candles, and so many facial products. But I am bound to my carry-ons only so I used my willpower and held firm.

After exploring, we checked out of our hotel and – again using Reykjavik Excursions for transport – headed to the famous Blue Lagoon hot springs. The cost was $40 and included transportation from the bus station to the Blue Lagoon and then from the Blue Lagoon to the airport. Our hotel was about a 7 minute taxi ride from the main bus station. There is also public transportation to the bus station, but we were running short on time and the taxi ride was only about $10. Once you get to the Blue Lagoon you can store your luggage there for a fee of $5.

People always talk about the Blue Lagoon, like this, “I mean it’s cool but it’s sooo touristy.” Let me tell you: Just because something is ‘popular’ doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome! The Blue Lagoon is stunning! There is steam rising off of aqua-colored water. Surrounding the water are black lava rocks with the green mountains in the background. The pool, while manmade, is heated naturally by the surrounding lava fields. It gets its aqua color from the silica minerals which are also supposed to have healing properties. We got lucky and even got some sun which made everything look even more magical. The geothermal springs are around 100 degrees Fahrenheit which is the perfect soaking temperature. When we arrived, we had about 4 hours, and at first, that seemed like a long time to soak, but the time flew by as we floated, took photos, applied silica mineral face masks and enjoyed blueberries and Icelandic yogurt smoothies and let our bodies relax. After 4 hours, all the knots in my back and shoulders had dissolved, and I felt ready to head on to our next set of adventures.

The Blue Lagoon, unsurprisingly, is not cheap. For the basic package, it costs about $57 and you need to sign up for it ahead of time in order to get a space and a time slot. We figured this out and ended up having to pay for a more expensive experience at around $80 but it came with a free face mask and smoothie.

Two days in Iceland is not nearly enough time to explore everything, but it was enough time to develop a love for the country, its food and its raw, rugged beauty. I can’t wait to return someday soon.

Just outside the Blue Lagoon entrance features stunningly blue hot springs

Some take-aways from my trip

I am not that interested in geology.

Insta-worthy photo-taking instead of listening about the geology

Going on a tour where we are the youngest people by at least 30 years means listening to a lot of older people yell a lot of questions from the back of the bus to the front. The questions ranged from, “Who owns the mountains in Iceland?” to “Does this little stream on the side of the highway have a name?” In all fairness to the older couples, a lot of the questions had a lot of interesting answers, however greatly interrupted my ability to nap.
Everyone here pretty much speaks English.
The airport is awesome and fast because it does not require you to go through customs.
Icelandic ponies are the cutest.