Iceland

Friday, December 4

We took the red-eye flight from Washington to Reykjavik and landed on Friday morning.  We took the FlyBus from the airport to our hotel (the airport is a fair distance from the city) and checked in quite early.  Luckily, not only was our room ready, but breakfast was still being served!  After sitting on a plane all night, breakfast and then a nap were definitely in order!

Our room was amazing!  As you can see from the photos, it was a very spacious corner room that really felt like a studio apartment.  Due to the weather, we spent a lot of time in that room and we did not mind one bit!  The hotel itself (Hilton) was very nice and had an awesome staircase I had to photograph.

Each day, sunrise was at about 11:00 am and sunset was at about 3:45 pm and I loved it!  We'd been to Iceland once before, in July 2008, and while we were there during that visit, sunrise was at about 3:15 am and sunset was at about 11:45 pm.  Craziness!  But I loved that, too!  If I had to pick, I would definitely choose the December hours of daylight, though, because I love nighttime and darkness.  I think I may have been nocturnal in a past life – nighttime is when I do my best thinking – and I like to stay up late at night and sleep during the day.  Not particularly conducive to a teacher's schedule!

We had a lazy day on Friday, just hanging out at the hotel and napping off and on throughout the day.  We found a pizza place not too far from the hotel for dinner and watched movies in our room while it snowed outside.  A perfect day.

Saturday, December 5

We again had breakfast at the hotel and hung out in our room in the morning because it was pretty cold outside.  We had lunch near the hotel again – we found a "Fresco" – which is the same as Chop't in the U.S.  Maybe not the most exciting restaurant to some people, but for two vegetarians in a foreign country, what a find!  After lunch, we went to downtown Reykyavik and wandered around.  I must say, Reykjavik is an awesome city.  I was hoping the winter weather would diminish my affection for it, since I had loved it so much on our previous trip, but if anything, the opposite was true.  It was so beautiful and picturesque with the snow and the Christmas lights everywhere!

We went to Volcano House and learned all about the geological history of Iceland.  Not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but I seriously love volcanoes and I was kind of obsessed with them for most of my 20's.  So I was pretty excited for this show and it did not disappoint.  Afterwards, we got amazing pizza at a tiny little hole in the wall, then explored Reykjavik for a few hours, including the Harpa Concert Hall, which is just a stunning piece of architecture.  We also stumbled across two surprising "American" establishments:  Dunkin' Donuts and Chuck Norris Grill.  We went into Dunkin' Donuts because they had some cool looking donuts – we got a treble clef and an Icelandic flag – even though we never eat Dunkin' Donuts at home and align ourselves solely with Krispy Kreme donuts.  As for Chuck Norris Grill, we were more confused than anything else, and we decided that ignorance was bliss and we went along our way.  After returning to our hotel, we hung out in the lobby by the fire and read for a few hours.  Heaven.

Sunday, December 6

It was a very cold morning, so after breakfast, we again hung out at the hotel until the sun came up later in the day – that certainly sounds strange, doesn't it?  The payoff was great, though, as the sun actually came out and made all of the snow sparkle everywhere we looked as we did more sightseeing.  We were only gone for a few hours, though, because we had tickets for the Blue Lagoon that evening.  We were SO looking forward to this because it was something we weren't able to do during our last visit.  We had left it for the last day as a way celebrate our trip, and the weather turned out to be so awful that day that we couldn't go and we were extremely disappointed.  So we were going during this trip no matter what.  Lucky for us, the weather was very cold, but clear, so it was a fabulous experience.  The Blue Lagoon is a man-made lagoon that filled with geothermal-heated water that is rich in minerals.  We took a bus from our hotel to the bus terminal, and then transferred to another bus that drove us out to the Blue Lagoon as the sun was going down and I thought the landscape on the way out there looked like Hoth – desolate and snow far as far as the eye could see.  We spent a few hours submerged in the very warm water while stargazing and breathing in the freezing, crisp air.  It really was phenomenal and one of my favorite things we've ever done.  I was sad to have to leave!

After returning to the hotel later that night, I FaceTimed with my mom to check on the dogs and she put the phone in front of Ginny.  Well, Ginny was super intrigued about where my voice was coming from and kept tipping her head from side to side as she looked at me.

Now, I fully admit I can be a crazy dog person at times.  But I am telling you – Ginny was listening to me!  It was the best!  Maddy and Sadie weren't too interested, although both of them wagged their tails when they heard our voices, but Ginny was SO adorable!

Monday, December 7

After breakfast and a nap (seriously, this was the most relaxing trip ever), we went back to downtown Reykjavik.  However, a storm was approaching and everywhere we went, we were asked if we'd heard about the storm.  Most shops and restaurants were closing at 3:30 that day because of the impending weather, so we had to make the most of the time we had.  We went to Hallgrimskirkja, which is the largest church in Iceland and was designed to resemble the lava flows in Iceland.  Just beautiful!  And the organ took my breath away!  We went to the top of the church and had amazing views of Reykjavik.  After leaving Hallgrimskirkja, we came across a waffle truck.  Who are we to turn down a fresh waffle?  With Nutella?  Yes, please!  I have always been a fan of waffles, but they've taken on new meaning since Parks and Rec premiered because I aspire to be Leslie Knope.  Despite the unexpected waffle stop, we were on the hunt for a place called Reykjavik Chips because we'd read so many great things about it online.  Every glowing review was spot on!  The chips are hot and fresh and served with your choice of a wide variety of sauces.  So yum!

Unfortunately, the storm was moving in so we headed back to our hotel where we spent the evening reading and watching movies.  Although Reykjavik did not get hit quite as hard as predicted, the weather was downright awful – frigid temperatures and howling winds.  We were happy to stay in!

Tuesday, December 8

Departure day of any trip is always bittersweet – we are sad to leave and return to reality, but at the same time thrilled to see our dogs and sleep in our own bed.  We slept in that morning, packed, and headed for the airport.  The flight home was uneventful, which is exactly how flights should be, except that there were awesome lights in the cabin meant to resemble the Northern Lights.  I loved it!  It was so pretty!

Northern Lights

However, speaking of the Northern Lights, that is the one letdown of the trip:  we didn't see any.  We had a boat tour scheduled, but the weather forced its cancellation, and it was overcast three of our four nights (the exception being the night we went to the Blue Lagoon).  We even got up super early and went out in hopes of seeing them, but no such luck.  I have seen them on several occasions (in my hometown when I was young), but C has never seen them.  And of course, they were in plain view just two days after we left.  Oh, well!  We'll just have to go back!

Final Thoughts

One neat thing that we did see was the Imagine Peace Tower, which was dedicated by Yoko Ono in memory of John Lennon.  It is on a small island just off the coast of Reykjavik and its light tower shines brightly toward the stars.  Just lovely!

People were so nice everywhere, in stores, restaurants, hotels, taxis – helpful and accommodating at every turn.  This was our experience on both this trip and our previous trip in 2008.  I cannot say enough nice things about the people of Iceland.  And Iceland Air is absolutely the best airline I've ever flown on.  No contest!

our FAVORITE product in Iceland - "Cool American" Doritos :-)

Trip to Iceland in July 2008

I thought I'd also share some photos from when we visited Iceland in the summer of 2008.  We spent 9 days in Iceland, rented a car, and drove the ring road around the entire island and stopped and stayed at locations along the way.  It was a completely amazing trip!  As you can see, Iceland is a breathtakingly gorgeous country!

the best traffic sign we've ever seen :-) 

Happy Tails to you!