Day 1 – Thingvellir National Park – June 21
The flight to Iceland was a short 5.5 hours from NYC. We were fortunate enough to fly Delta Comfort+, so we had a little extra leg room. Ryan was able to sleep a of couple hours, but Elizabeth had too many movies she wanted to see. We arrived at 6:30 am in KEF, half an hour early despite our late departure. The duty free is located right after the border check so we each got a 6 pack of Icelandic alcohol. Elizabeth chose a lemonade and vodka mix called LoV and Ryan got Tuborg Gold, a lager beer. I think this was the earliest we’d ever bought beer. After gathering our luggage and waiting for our rental car shuttle to show up, we were transported to an altogether different rental car company than the one we booked with. After scaring us with horrible gravel road conditions and strong winds ripping off our doors, we were on our way to Reykjavik in our Mazda 2 manual drive. It was a quick 45 minute drive up to the capitol and most of the radio stations in Iceland are classic American hits.
We ate breakfast at a small café called Café Loki. It had several interesting menu items that excited Ryan (including the fermented shark), but we decided to keep it simple on the first day. We got sugar pancakes (crepes filled with granulated sugar) and a lamb flatbread (thin sliced of smoked lamb atop a buttered piece of cold bread). After a few bites we declared it surprisingly good. Iceland is a very expensive country. A typical three course meal in Houston for 2 people costs about $65, where in Iceland the average cost is $112 – needless to say we will be splitting many things. We next ventured across the street to the modern Lutheran church Hallgrimskirikja. This church was consecrated in 1986 and was inspired by the Icelandic landscape with a 73-meter tower. The interior was very simple with white walls and a large organ in the back. We then wandered around downtown Reykjavik in search of a grocery store. We settled on a discount store called Bónus. We bought some fruit and stove top meals but the greatest debate was choosing which Doritos flavors to try. Elizabeth is a bit of a Doritos enthusiast and has enjoyed sampling them from all her travels abroad. We settled on red bell pepper (rated 7.5/10) and sweet chili (rated 9/10) flavored.
Next it was time to hit the road into the mountains. We traveled 1.5 hours out of the city to Þhingvellir National Park. This park lies between two tectonic plate boundaries (the Eurasian and North American Plates) on top of the mid-Atlantic ridge. We parked and walked to the Lake Þingvallavatn which is the largest lake in Iceland. We were then able to walk along the North American plate boundary and look out into the large rift valley between the two plates. The hike took us past a few waterfalls and rocks that made Ryan want to climb over the rope and do some free soloing. At this point it was about 2 in the afternoon and we were struggling to stay awake. We discovered that Doritos were the key in staying awake on our 30-minute drive to our hostel. We stayed at Ljosafossskoli Hostel near the city Selfoss – it used to be an old school building transformed into a hostel. We took showers in men’s and women’s locker rooms reminiscent of middle school days. We made our first hostel meal (cut up green bell peppers with hummus and Icelandic Ramen Noodles) and drank a well-deserved beer. The goal was to stay up until 9 pm to help with jet lag, but Elizabeth only made it to 6:30. Sleep was rough. The sun never sets in the summer so the light from the edges of the window made it constantly feel like early dawn. Even so, we still managed to get a full night’s rest.
Day 2 – Skogar – June 22
We had a lazy start the next day, waking up around 8 and hitting the road at 9:30. Our first stops were 45 minutes north at Geysir, Gullfoss and Brúarfoss. Geysir is exactly what it sounds like – a geyser. We somehow managed to beat most of the tour buses and enjoyed walking among the many geothermal pools and geysers. One geyser in particular, Strokkur, erupts every 5-7 minutes and would sometimes launch water 80 feet or more into the air. There was a short trail up into the mountains so you could see several geothermal rivers and watch the geyser erupt from a beautiful vantage. Along the hike (and all the roads here) are beautiful blue flowers called nootka or Alaskan lupine which remind me of the bluebonnets back in Texas. Apparently, this flower was introduced in 1945 in the lowlands to help add nitrogen to the soil. After watching a few eruptions, we drove 10 minutes north to Gullfoss, obviously enjoying Doritos on the way.
Gullfoss was a gorgeous waterfall that, according to legend, was slated to become a dam, until the property owner’s daughter threatened to throw herself off of it, if the construction went through. More likely, they just ran out of funding, then sold it to the state of Iceland. That’s not a very poignant story though.
Our next stop was a string of waterfalls collectively referred to as Brúarfoss. After Google maps had us pulling into several private driveways, we finally found the proper entrance to the path in a parking lot off the side of the road. We parked the car and began walking down the gravel path that paralleled the stream, until we came across a large sign that said private property with a stout wire fence. Luckily, we had a bit of insider knowledge: you’re supposed to ignore those signs and walk through the hole in the fence. A few kilometers later, we were enjoying a light snack and a beer in front of Brúarfoss.
After hiking back, we made the seemingly interminable drive south down to Skogar. When we finally got on the ring road, or the golden circle as it’s affectionately named, we drove past dozens of beautiful steep hills along the coast. We also passed several notable waterfalls and hundreds of sheep and horses. Our hostel in Skogar is right outside of Skógafóss, a picturesque waterfall and the start of our hike the next day. After arriving, walked over to the huge falls, which was a former sea cliff with a massive drop of 200 feet – and was apparently featured in the second Thor movie. We then retreated to our hostel and splurged on “chicken wings” and French fries as the sun “set” over the mountain.
Day 3 Vestmannaeyjar Islands – June 23
We woke up fairly early to beat the hiking crowd on the famous Fimmvörðuháls trail and began hiking around 9 am. The trail begins with over 500 steps to get to the top of the former sea cliff; it was a beautiful sunny morning and we were the only ones on the trail. The full trail consists of a 13-mile hike past a few dozen waterfalls, between two glaciers and over a volcano. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen bus issues and timing, we weren’t able the complete the whole trail. We could only hike in 2.5 miles before having to turn around and hike out. This did nothing but prove to us that we needed to return and complete the full hike one day. We trekked through hills and valleys overlooking more than a dozen powerful waterfalls. Ryan also had a standoff with a sheep who refused to let us pass on the trail – eventually Ryan prevailed. We didn’t encounter a single other hiker until we had to turn around and head back to our car. By the time we returned (~11:30) the whole place was a buzz as all the tour buses arrived from the capitol.
We snuck back into our hostel to shower then drove to the coast to catch the ferry to Vestmannaeyjar Islands. These are very young islands – the youngest of which was formed by volcanic activity in 1973. The ferry was only 35 mins to cross the sea, but a fascinating experience nonetheless. Kids were playing hide and seek, there was a proper galley, an indoor viewing area, and multiple outdoor benches. We passed several islands with a single home on them before finally pulling into the main city. The ferry pulls into a narrow channel in the middle of the islands, so you get incredible cliff views as you pull into port. Our first stop was obviously a brewery, the first one we’d been to on this trip. Brothers Brewery had just moved to a new location that has only been open for about a year and was rated Iceland’s #1 brewery. Ryan got a beer flight and we enjoyed an afternoon of booze sipping and popcorn snacking. The next stop was to a delicious pizzeria. We drank some more beer and enjoyed the views before heading back to the ferry. At this point some clouds had rolled in, blocking the sun, and it was starting to feel pretty chilly.
Back on the mainland we decided to make one more stop and headed to Sólheimajökull glacier. Ryan had never licked a glacier and it became our mission. Bellies full of beer, we made the mile hike to the nose of the glacier. We played around for a while in front of the glacial lake, enjoying the views. Ryan managed to get his tongue on a good chunk. It was back towards the west after that, arriving at our hostel around 9 pm. They had free laundry services and we were already pretty stinky. We were up until well after midnight eating ramen noodles and trying to get these old machines to dry our clothes – though looking out the window at the never-setting sun you wouldn’t know it.
Day 4 Reykjadalur – June 24
We took our time waking up the next morning and headed to the hot springs hike Reykjadalur. The hike took about 45 minutes up steep slopes to finally arrive at the geothermal river. You pass several hot spots (with boiling water flowing out) and walk through walls of steam before arriving at the hot springs. We got right in and enjoyed the very, very warm water. As you would, expect we accidentally sat next to some Aggies. Ryan recognized their rings and we spent the next hour chatting with Andrew and Brian (classes of 2015 and 2016 – so young). As Elizabeth was sufficiently pruney by then, and Ryan exhausted from the heat, it was time to head back. We stopped in at another brewery (once you open Pandora’s box, there is no shutting it) called Ölverk, where we enjoyed a pretzel and more French fries. It was finally time to check into our next hostel: Capital Inn back in Reykjavik. This was our first experience staying in a 16-person dorm; we shared a bunk bed. After checking in, we headed into downtown Reykjavik to – you guessed it – Bastard Brew Pub (spelled Bastarður). We enjoyed playing darts and drinking until Elizabeth needed to be fed. We walked over to the grocery store and picked up another flavor of Doritos (Sour Cream 7/10) and lamb, rice and Korma sauce to make dinner at the hostel. We finally cooked our first proper meal back at the hostel and Ryan over-salted the meat! The beds are very creaky so it was rough sleeping, as you woke up whenever 1 of 16 people shifted slightly in their sleep – but you get what you pay for!
Day 5 – Reykjavik – June 25
The next morning, we finally decided to do a little exercising. We jogged a mile along the coast until we reached a geothermal lagoon and small outdoor fitness area. We didn’t pack a lot of cold weather clothes, so we were covered in goosebumps jogging in tank tops and shorts in rainy 50-degree weather. Ryan became a real fitness instructor forcing us to do pushups, planks, and dips. The beach area was really cool. It was man-made and they pump warm water into a hot tub in the middle of an inlet. We could see how this would be a popular spot on a warmer, sunnier day. After jogging back, we enjoyed Skyr yogurt – recommended by Elizabeth’s dad as the finest yogurt. We’d give it a solid 8.5/10. Next it was onto a public swimming pool.
When someone first suggested we go to a public pool, we were both skeptical. But, after learning they were heated, and being cold from our jog, we gave it a try by going to Laugavegur pool. It was actually a really pleasant experience. They had a big outdoor area full of waterslides, an Olympic swimming pool and kids’ obstacle courses, that were all heated. The best part for Elizabeth though was a series of hot tubs brought to different temperatures. We wandered from tub to tub enjoying 38, 40, 42, and 44 degree C water. Right before leaving, we went down the large water slide (Ryan’s favorite part) before Ryan needed lunch. We drove over to the western edge of the city to enjoy a lamb wrap from Lamb Street Food. We split the Leadersheep wrap and it was delicious. The plaque on the wall read “roaming lamb since 874”; the history in this country is pretty amazing. Still trying to drink on a budget, we noticed the brewery across the street had happy hour beginning at 3, so we had an hour to kill, which we accomplished by window shopping our way around the area. Finally, it was time to start drinking again at Bryggjan Brugghus Brewery. You could look out the windows and see all the cruise ships waiting to sail around the island. Next, we were headed to our final brewery in Iceland: RVK brewery. The owner was a total Icelandic hipster with blue hair and a rainbow unicorn sweatshirt. The day was still pretty dreary and cold – we got very lucky with the weather here, having sunny conditions every day we went for a hike. For our final meal we went to Block Burger and split a bacon cheeseburger sitting alongside the teenage population of Iceland. I think grunge style is coming back – lots of choker necklaces and baggy black pants. We returned to the hostel and spent the night going over our budget and finalizing some plans for Dublin. We wished we could have had more traditional Icelandic food, but it was so expensive! We definitely want to return with a much bigger budget and during the winter so we can see the Northern Lights.
Things we’ve learned in Iceland:
- The midnight sun is incredible until you’re trying to sleep.
- Not even the locals eat traditional Icelandic food – including fermented shark.
- Nothing beats a warm bath in sulfuric smelling water after a long, cold hike.
Ryan and Elizabeth Goss 