Iceland
Reykjavik
If you read our Spain & Iceland Trip Summary, you’ll know that we turned Iceland into a long layover on our way back home from Europe. Our first night in Reykjavik was a quick one…we landed around 1am, and made our way to a hostel to sleep for a few hours, before waking up and picking up our rental car. We hit Crossfit Reykjavic for a morning WOD, found a grocery store to stock up on snacks, and then headed toward our B&B about 90 min outside of town.
On our way to the B&B, we stopped at several impressive waterfalls, and walked around.
When we returned to Reykjavik a few days later, we checked out the Blue Lagoon (though we didn’t pay to go in), and wandered through the streets. The wind was blowing so hard, it made moving difficult at times! Generally, the food in Iceland wasn’t much to write home about, however we enjoyed our 1 memorable meal in Reykjavik at a charming restaurant downtown called Lauf, although unfortunately, we don’t believe it’s still in business post-covid.
Hella / Vik / Nearby Towns
Our B&B, (Hotel Selid) for 2 nights was located in the town of Hella, which we used as a ‘home base’ for 2 fun days of driving our 4WD vehicle across the legal F-Roads nearby. The scenery was jaw-dropping every direction we turned, and we had fun doing some river crossings in the vehicle. We also had some not-so-fun river crossings where Spencer waded out in the icy river ahead-of-time to see how deep it got.
We made it to several incredible (and different) hot springs - the river image below with wooden plank walkway was the Landmannalauger Hot Springs. We intended to have a picnic lunch there, however due to the rain, lunch ended up being in the car! The image of Kristina with a pool noodle was The Secret Lagoon in Fludir.
We also visited Pingvellir National Park, where 2 tectonic plates meet. Along the way we saw gorgeous waterfalls and stopped at a Geyser Park.
The black sand beaches near Vik (and the little cozy cafe on top of the hill there) were awesome!
Summary
We definitely enjoyed our time in Iceland, and would love to go back one day! With direct flights from Denver (and other US cities), friendly locals, and a safe but adventurous environment, we’d definitely recommend it to friends. We visited in September, which is shoulder season; thus, we got cold, cloudy, rainy days. The gray, drizzly weather and black dirt/sand contrasted beautifully with the almost neon-colored grass and moss covering the hillsides. The colorful buildings and warm, candle-lit interiors made restaurants and shops all the more cozy and inviting everywhere we stopped. If we were to go again, we’d go during peak summer season (and just deal with the increased crowds), or we’d go in the winter to see the Northern Lights.
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
– J.R.R Tolkien