Iceland
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Reykjavik
Day One
Our first day in Iceland was spent travelling from the airport to Reykjavik, The drive is around 45 minutes to an hour from Keflavik Airport into the city. Once we were in town, coffee was the first thing on our minds. We had heard of a coffee shop called Kaffibrennslan and decided to go there. This little shop was amazing. Great lattes and we ended up getting waffles after we saw a few plates go by. Afterwards, we walked around the city centre on our way to the Hallgrimskirkja church. Buy your ticket to ride the elevator up to the top because it gives you great views of the city and of the surrounding landscapes. After a few shops and another coffee, this time from Mokka Kaffi, we finally checked in to our hostel for the first night. We chose the Kex Hostel which is located right beside the Sun Voyager statue along the waterfront. This place has many different size dorms or private rooms, a bar, food until a certain time, and a full size kitchen for you to make anything you bring back from the store. To finish the day off before we started travelling the next day, we decided to check out the Brewdog beer house right down the street. The next morning we would be heading out of town and to the east for a hot spring soaking.
Reykjavik to Hella
Day Two
Day two takes us from Reykjavik to Hella to the east, but not the easy way down Route 1. We headed north out of Reykjavik towards Thingvellir and Pingvellir National Park. We couldn't stay long and walk to all the amazing sites here because we had to be at Laugarvatn Fontana for our prebooked hot springs swim. We did however stop at a few of the pull offs to take in the amazing views of the rocks and mountains surrounding us. All in all it took roughly an hour and a half to get from Reykjavik to Laugarvatn. This place was chosen because not only do they have natural hot springs to swing around in, but they also bake their bread for the cafe in the sand on the shore of the lake. This spots geothermic activity creates a perfect bread oven once the dough is wrapped and buried in the heated ground. After soaking around in the warm water, it was back on the road to Geysir and Gulfoss. If your in the region, these are must stop spots. If you can't find parking at Geysir, you could wait it out as it erupts about every 10-15 minutes so a spot will show up soon. Its not Old Faithful, but if you want to see the original one the word geyser comes from, then you have to see Geysir. After here, we went a little further north to Gullfoss. Here there are a few options. You can walk down the stairs and go right which puts you past the falls and you get a great view looking back. Or you can go left which will take you to a lookout right next to the falls. As it had been raining and the falls were running really heavy, we opted for the former than the latter. Being Europe's most powerful waterfall, even at the far end we were still getting pelted with the spray from Gullfoss. Back in the car, we headed south to make our way to our stop for the night. A horse farm in Hella that we found on AirBnB. There was a small chance for northern lights and we were far enough out of the city, but nature decided to rain all night so Netflix and snacks it was. The next day we would leave Hella and start our journey east.
Pjofafoss, Svartifoss and Diamond Beach
Day Three
Day three was full of 2 things, waterfalls and a whooooole lot of driving. We had breakfast at the main house above our AirB&B cottage, said goodbye to the horses and set off. From here we went north and off the main road to go see a waterfall that we found on Google maps the night before. This ended up being a 2 hour detour!! Not that it wasn't worth it, because it was, but it defintley made for a long day after. Our next stay was at the Hali Country Hotel outside of Hofn in eastern Iceland. We followed Route 1 along the southern coast, driving through Vik because we would be coming back to stay here. For most of the drive we had pretty decent rain so there was not a lot of stopping to take in the sites because we couldn't even see them. But by the time we got to Skaftafell, the clouds opened up and the sun came out. We were treated to a brief moment of sunlight and warmer temperatures. Taking advantage of this, we paid for parking at Skaftafell and started to hike towards Svartifoss. If you don't plan on doing the whole loop, I recommend taking the trail to the right at the fork. This lets you see Hundafoss as well as Svartifoss. Each one of these waterfalls were spectacular and with going in September we got some nice fall colors on the leaves around the park. After a quick hike we went back to the car to head towards Jokulsarlon Lagoon and Diamond Beach. As soon as we pulled out of the carpark, rain! This stayed with us the rest of the day. When we got to the lagoon, the rain had picked back up and the wind was starting to blow in off of the ocean. We got out and ran to the black sand beach littered with giant chunks of ice. We didn't stay to long as the rain quickly turned to sleet with the colder air. From here we traveled to our stay for the evening and tried to catch some rest after almost 5 and a half hours of driving around.
Glacier Hike and Crazy Landscapes
Day Four
On the fourth day, we started our trek back towards Reykjavik. This included another stop at Skaftafell National Park for a glacier hike and our one night in Vik. After waking up and having some breakfast, we had to get to the park for our preplanned hike. We booked with a company called Icelandic Mountain Guides who have a shop right in the parking lot of the park. They provide your helmet, ice pick and crampons to help you traverse the ice. From here we boarded a shuttle bus which took us to the edge of the glacier. After a short walk from the parking lot, we were on the glacier. On top you could look out onto the landscape that the same glacier helped shape. After trekking around for a little while, it was back on the road. We stopped at a small caffe called Systrakaffi in the town of Skaftarhreppur. This little shop had good food and the most important thing, coffee. After this pit stop it was on to Vik. We made a few stops to check out some roadside waterfalls and mountains, but after the day before we couldn't wait to get to our hotel quickly. We stayed the night at Hotel Kria right in the middle of town. After a much needed shower, the first stop in town was the Vik i Myrdal Church. After seeing so many photos of this church with its red roof contrasted against the background it was a must see. Dinner was at the place you go to Iceland for, a brewery! Smidjan Brugghus was amazing. Great burgers and great beer. This was a really amazing place to find in this small quaint town. We got back just before the weather changed and had to try to sleep through 50 mph winds.
Black Sand, Waterfalls and Northern Lights
Day Five
Leaving Vik, the weather was pure Icelandic: cold wind and cold rain. We stopped at the black sand beach to check out the basalt rock columns and the sea stacks. While on the beach we ducked into the sea caves to get out of the weather while enjoying the view out of the opening. The stacks standing straight up out of the ocean took a constant beating from the waves of the storm. Back in the warm car it was time to chase even more waterfalls. First stop on the way back to Reykjavik was Skogafoss and Kvernufoss in Skogar. Skogafoss is a very easy waterfall to find as you can just follow the tour buses that pour in to the parking lot to check out this amazing waterfall. Kvernufoss is a little trickier to find. Park at the SKogar museum (remember to pay inside for parking), walk around back and climb the nearby ladder over a fence and follow the trail through a sheep field. You will turn into a small valley and follow along a small creek. At the end, you are rewarded with an amazing waterfall and if you're lucky, it may be all to yourself. When we went we only had around 5 other people at this waterfall while Skogafoss had hundreds! After hiking back it was time to hit up another popular stop. Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui. Get there early to find parking and enjoy these two unique falls. Walk behind Seljalandsfoss if you are feeling up to it, and walk up the creek into the cave that holds Gljufrabui, just be ready to get wet. Back on the road, lunch was a place we found randomly called Olverk Pizza and Brewery. Great brick oven pizza and craft beer which we did not expect to find in southern Iceland. After lunch it was a straight shot into Reykjavik. For the last night we stayed at Hotel Reykjavik Centrum. This place was amazing, with its own restaurant and located right in the heart of the city center. We dropped our bags off and took a walk around downtown. We visited a few shops along with a stop at OMNOM chocolate factory. The whole trip we had booked all of our stays to try our best to see the northern lights. Every night it rained...except the last night. The hotel had flyers up for charters to call to book a seat on a bus to get taken out of the city to see the lights. After a quick nap and dinner at the hotel, we jumped in the car and headed northeast out of town towards Pingvellir National Park. We knew there were plenty of pulls offs along this road and that there was no light sources from our drive out here on day two. When we got out we were not disappointed. The lights started slow, being visible but not overly bright. After waiting for about 20 minutes, they exploded and lit up the entire sky. It was one of the most amazing sites I have ever witnessed. This was also the moment I proposed to my now wife. After getting our fill of the light show, we got back in the car and headed back to the hotel. We had a early wake up and flight the next day so as soon as we got back it was time to crash and get some rest.
If you made it all the way through this blog I hope it helps you if you are thinking of going to any of these spots or inspires you to start looking into a trip to Iceland. I personally am looking forward to going back and exploring another part of this beautiful and rugged country. From the people to the scenery, Iceland was everything I wanted it to be and more. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions I may be able to answer. Also, check out my shop if you enjoy the daily photos. Not all but some are available for print in my Iceland collection. If there is an image you really enjoy on one of the scrolls, let me know and I may add it to the shop gallery.