Yep, I am back. I just finished one my the most amazing vacations. A few of us decided to go chase the Northern Lights and ice caves in Iceland. People couldn't understand why we would be going to Iceland in the winter. What I learned is the wonderful Gulf Stream keeps the island warmer than expected. The weather stayed around 20-30 degrees, although the crazy winds definitely made it feel colder.
I absolutely love planning vacations. I enjoy the thrill of planning. I enjoy the excitement of finding the best options for what to do. It extends the excitement longer. So I spent time reviewing blogs and reviews. Trip Advisor is wonderful and actually Pinterest was a savior. The blogs on there were helpful and helped me avoid all ads. Plus we learned so great things from there.
So after months of planning, it was finally time for the vacation. Of course, Snowzilla didn't realize that I needed to fly out for my vacation. DC got one of its largest snows ever right before my trip. The snow started around 2pm on Friday and didn't stop for 30 hours. Two feet of snow later and 8 snow blowing/shoveling trips, the snow finally stopped. Now DC isn't great at clearing snow so my flight out of Baltimore at 6:30pm on Monday was making me nervous. Also I needed to ensure my pup reached Alexandria. I love snow, but it can avoid my vacations next time. Luckily, my street is off a main road and I was able to drop off the pup and we got to the airport easily. We made it out on time and yes, DC did have more snow than Reykjavik.
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| My house in two feet of snow and the video is Callie enjoyed the cleared sidewalks |
Wow Airlines was actually pretty awesome. We took a flight from Baltimore to Reykjavik for $340 and an extra $100 for luggage. This is cheaper than flying to California. It included nothing including drinks but I was fine with that since I normally turn that down anyway. I spent a little extra to get the extra leg room which was worth it for me. The red eye was only 5.5 hours though so we didn't get much sleep and arrived very tired.
Day 1: Reykjavik
We arrived in Reykjavik at 5am and made it to our HomeAway apartment around 8:30. We found a nice 3 bedroom apartment right in downtown. It was a wonderful location with a dedicated parking spot which was clutch. Luckily they let us check in immediately so we were able to take a nap before touring the city. We grabbed crepes for lunch downtown and then did the free walking tour
http://citywalk.is/. It was a wonderful tour that took about 2 hours where I learned way more about Iceland than I knew before. Iceland is a pretty incredible country. Now a walking tour in 30 degree weather might not be the greatest idea since it is a lot of standing still and listening, but we all agreed it was worth the chill to see the sights and learn more about Iceland's history and other fun tidbits. I highly recommend this.
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| Waiting for the tour to start |
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| Fun views on tour |
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| Yes, it was cold |
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| But the swans and ducks didn't' seem to mind. |
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| Sherri demoed the coozi glove |
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| Our fantastic guide |
We then went to check out Harpa which is Reykjavik's cultural arts center (think DC's Kennedy Center). This building is beautiful inside and out. I got a great hot chocolate and we took a seat near the windows. It was very relaxing and a nice break from the cold.
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| Walking into Harpa |
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| Enjoying the window seats |
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Enjoying my hot chocolate in Harpa!
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We had received recommendations for places to eat from several different people so we took a friend's advice to try the Tapas Barinn to get a small bite of different Icelandic specialties.
http://www.tapas.is/en/
Yes, we tried puffin and actually liked it. I think I tried at least a bite of everything we ordered including the fish. Everything was pretty good. Also this was when we realized that alcohol is expensive in Iceland as just a glass of wine was about $18. We ended the nights back at the crepe place for gelato and nutella crepes. Vacation is not perfect without desserts.
Day 2: Golden Circle
So Day 2 was supposed to our snorkeling day in Silfra. While getting crepes the night before, we received an email that there had been a diving accident so our morning tour was cancelled. We called and were able to reschedule for the 1pm tour. So a quick change of plans but we made it work. We determined we wanted to go to the top of Hallgrímskirkja, the main church in Reykjavik. http://en.hallgrimskirkja.is/
It was snowing on our walk there and continued to snow while we were up there. The view was still spectacular but I think it would be more impressive on a clear day. It was a Lutheran Church so nice to see a different style and technically I still am Lutheran even though it has been a long time since I have been to a church service.
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| Beautiful design |
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| Holly and I enjoying the snow |
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| Inside the church |
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| Snowy view from the top |
Then we took off for Silfra. Holly was our driver for the week and she was incredible. The drive to Silfra was white out. Now DC kept saying the blizzard was making white out conditions. I now know what a white out is. There was no horizon, ground, or sky. It was all just white. They line the roads with yellow posts that serve as pretty much the only to keep track of the road. The wind was blowing and it was incredible. Again, Holly was incredible driving all week in semi scary conditions.
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| The road is there, I promise |
We got to Silfra to check in for our tour to be told that it was cancelled. We hadn't been checking our emails constantly and were already on the road when the email came. On a positive note, we had planned on touring the Golden Circle the following day and we were now at the start of it. The lady at the visitor center was wonderful and told us the spots we had to go and some off the beaten path stops. So it was a slightly later start than we had hoped for the Golden Circle but we made the best of it. The lady had recommended a great ice cream place on the route in Efstidalur so of course we stopped. It was off the main road but on a hill so we missed it and had to U-turn to come back to it. It was a very cute place and we were able to pet the calves and enjoy some freshly made ice cream.
http://efstidalur.is/
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| View from Silfra without snorkel |
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| Clear water |
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| The calves |
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| Yes, they were a highlight. We forgot the ice cream photo |
After that, we continued onto Geysir where I had read that we needed to grab lunch at the visitor center there. The lamb soup was supposed to be amazing. So since it was after 2, we stopped to grab lunch and the lamb soup was incredible. We all enjoyed the food there and watched as the snow started to come down pretty hard. I really do recommend this stop for food, although I was told the ice cream place we had stopped at also had great food. Crossing the street is where we found the geysers. There was one big one that supposedly is higher than Old Faithful in Yellowstone. The snow was coming down pretty hard but it was beautiful. We enjoyed watching the geyser and continued to explore and enjoy the snow. Definitely a different experience watching it in the snow when the eruption semi blended in with the sky since it was all white.
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| The snow caught on the trees perfectly. |
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| Geysir! |
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| The gang at Geysir |
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| It was snowing hard. |
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| Pano shot. |
The final stop of the day was at Gullfoss. This waterfall is pretty incredible. It is not sheltered at all so the wind was killer. It was definitely the coldest part of the day. We were able to view it from above and below although the walkway below was closed for winter. It was very impressive and I enjoyed just taking in the view. It was also my first time experimenting with my Go Pro which was fun.
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| Incredible! |
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| We loved it! |
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| Group shot |
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| Different angle |
Not realizing we were 2 hours from Reykjavik, we were definitely late for our 6:30 reservations with my friends who met us from Frankfurt. It was great seeing Tom and Sean and I loved the dinner catching up. The restaurant was SNAPS Bistro and was French inspired and the steak was wonderful.
http://www2.snaps.is/?lang=en We all enjoyed the food and wine. We were supposed to tour the Golden Circle with Tom and Sean the following day but of course this changed.
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| Celebrating |
Day 3: Snorkeling
So we were luckily able to reschedule our snorkeling tour, except for Holly who had planned an ice climbing tour already. So the 4 of us set off to catch our snorkeling tour at 11. The drive was much easier this time thankfully and the wind was almost non-existent that day. We had been warned by my friend that it was a cold process getting ready so I semi knew what to expect. Snorkeling in the Silfra continental rift was definitely an experience. We used Arctic Adventures
https://www.adventures.is/iceland/day-tours/snorkeling-and-diving/into-the-blue/. It is a process getting ready for snorkeling in near freezing waters. We had teddy bear suits to keep us warm (all changed into outside) then covered those with dry suits. This took awhile to get us all suited up. My friend had warned me to keep my hands warm so I did through this portion. The guides were fun and kept us moving. The worst was adding the neoprene gloves and head covering. My hands lost all warmth at this time and my feet were pretty cold. We walked the short distance to the water and after waiting for the scuba divers to get in (felt like forever), we were allowed in. I expected it to be cold, but honestly I had no problem with the cold once in the water. It was incredible how blue the water was and how clear it was. There are no animals in this water so it is just to enjoy the different rock formations and the experience of snorkeling in the middle of a winter wonderland. You go through a shallow area that then opens up into a bigger and deeper area. I had fun enjoying the view and using my Go Pro. I was told we were in there for 45 minutes but it felt too fast. I would have enjoyed more time in the water. I highly recommend this experience especially in the winter. Yes, I was cold before getting into the water, but the view of the brilliant blue water to lifting your head above the water to see snow and mountains was so worth it. Plus how many people say that you went snorkeling in the snow? Arctic Adventures was great. We enjoyed laughing with the guides and meeting the people snorkeling with us. I will do a post with more videos from this but here is a general idea.
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| My teddy bear suit. |
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| So clear |
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| Awesome dry suit (this is my thumbs up since my fingers are all curled together) |
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| Euge and I |
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| Siobhan and Sherri |
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| Surrounded by snow |
After snorkeling and a fast lunch at the visitor center, we found a beautiful waterfall (and my happy place) near Silfra.
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| This is my happy place. |
We finished around 2pm and had planned to meet Tom and Sean in Fludir for Iceland's oldest hot springs called Secret Lagoon.
http://secretlagoon.is/ This was fun and simple. It was our first time in the hot springs in Iceland. The locker room was small and crowded but fine. Running to get into the lagoon was entertaining and definitely cold. I felt like everyone in the lagoon was staring while I was running to get in. We enjoyed about 20 minutes in there (Euge and Sherri were brave or stupid enough to get out and jump in the snow). It was a fun stop but not a necessity if running short on time.
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| Secret lagoon |
The lady from the visitor center had also recommended a few other stops but we were again running late so we decided to drive by Solheimar which is an eco-friendly village. We were there after dark and they were closed up but it looked like a super cute town worth visiting next visit during the day. Also next time I want to hit Kerio which is a crater with a lake in it that looked pretty.
Again, we were running late for our dinner reservations in Reykjavik but we made it only a few minutes late this time. Café Loki specialized in Icelandic food.
http://www.visitreykjavik.is/cafe-loki I ended up with lamb soup again but my friends were more adventurous and tried the Icelandic platters. With those, we all got to try a bite of fermented shark. It was the worst thing I have ever tried. I will not make that mistake again. I do regret not trying the rye bread ice cream though.
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| Shark |
We then realized that we would be leaving Reykjavik the next morning and not coming back so we had to try a little more food. We stopped by the Iceland famous hot dog stand because we had to try it. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is famous for having one of the best hot dogs and I think we mostly enjoyed it. I think I missed the main effect by not having it fully loaded but I really dislike onions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bæjarins_Beztu_Pylsur
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| Hot dogs |
Finally, our landlord had recommended a popular ice cream joint so again, we couldn't pass that up. We hit Valdis to see how the ice cream stacked up.
http://valdis.is/ (you know it is local when there is no English option on their website). We enjoyed the ice cream (although I won't call it the best I have tried).
After a full day of fun, we were off to bed for the last night in Reykjavik. Since this post is getting long, I will continue our South Island adventures on the next post.
