ICELAND

August 11, 2016

We were supposed to depart at 10pm but because of storms at our layover stop in Minneapolis, our plane to Reykjavik couldn’t arrive from Des Moines. After waiting for information for hours, they finally canceled our flight at 2:30am.

It was too late to book a hotel, and our flight was rescheduled to 9am. Because all flights were canceled, there were around 400 people roaming the airport looking for places to sleep. Robin and I crawled under a long table to be out of the aisle. I think I lasted on that hard floor about 15 seconds. Robin lasted a couple minutes, but then she noticed all the gum stuck to the table above her and crawled out too. We ended up staying awake the entire night.

We finally flew out about 9:30 the next day. We lost an entire day. Thankfully, the car rental company still honored our reservation since we were so late.

Our beautiful Hilton hotel had awesome view of the ocean and mountains. But I could hardly appreciate it because I was just too tired to be present to it at all. I stumbled into bed and was sleeping in seconds.

August 12, 2016

We got a late start because we really needed to sleep. We grabbed a pastry in the downtown area of Reykjavik and hit the road as quick as we could but it was still a couple hours later than we had planned to. It seemed a little confusing at first because I couldn't get Google maps, we didn't buy a Sim card, and the car was supposed to have a GPS (but it did not). So we had no access to data or any maps. Thankfully, in my hours of research, I had found a post where someone said to get an app called "Here" and download an Iceland map to use offline. I was able to watch on the map where we were as we were moving.

The next hurdle with the car was trying to figure out how to pump gas. All the questions on the card reader are in Icelandic. They don’t ask for your zip code (like the US) but a PIN number instead. Thankfully, I read about this beforehand and I called Chase Bank before we left to get the credit card PIN number. After a failed attempt at pumping gas at one station, we drove to another and got it right. We were finally on the road!

All I can say is... Iceland is freaking amazing! It is just unbelievable how beautiful it is. The scenery changes from one minute to the next. Green mountains with low-hanging, smoky clouds turn into....

open fields where you have an unobstructed view of the ocean. There are virtually no trees.

Our first stop was the coastal village of Vik. We were trying to find a restaurant mentioned on TripAdvisor, but unfortunately it wasn't going to open for another 30 minutes. We ended up at a little grocery store full of younger backpackers in their 20s buying cheap food. We bought cheese and crackers and chocolate. They had these fabulous salt-and-pepper crackers I sure wish we could find in the states!

​We continued on until we found the bumpy gravel side road to Fjadrargljufur Canyon. We picked up two girls hitchhiking from Hungary and gave them a ride. (Many, many hitchhikers, mostly women).

Because we had such a tight schedule to get to the lagoon, we only just saw the Canyon from a few vantage points. But it was unbelievably beautiful! It would have been really nice to hike a little bit longer but we needed to get going. So... back to the Ring Road!

If you stop at every waterfall you come across... you'll never get where you are going!

More scenery changes. We were now passing entire fields of round (but smooth) rocks that have some kind of chartreuse moss or algae all over them.

That turns into rocky black lava fields where the volcano erupted in 2010.

One minute the weather looked threatening, the next minute it was sunny.

Here and there would be a single red-roofed building or church, or maybe a small village of a hundred people.

We continued on to Jokursarlon Glacier lagoon. The dozens of cars, giant tourist buses and crowds of people signaled we had finally arrived after 6 hours of driving.

The lagoon is a giant lake that didn't exist until the glacier started to melt.

I originally wished that we had not paid $138 for the zodiac boat ride because it looked as though you could see all the icebergs from the shoreline. I even suggested to Robin that we try to sell our tickets and move on. But we didn't, and I'm so glad that we did not! You definitely see a lot more from the water.

We all had to wear giant floatable suits to board the boat that seemed unnecessary. But when we were at full speed, I was extremely grateful for the weight (even though it was a beautiful sunny day).

Our guide told us that the icebergs change from one day to the next. They can come back the very next day and an iceberg has rotated revealing completely different colors and shapes than the day before.

The icebergs are different colors--turquoise blue, blue-green and some are really shiny like crystal glass.

We went all the way to the other side of the lake where the glaciers look like stacked columns.

The zodiac ride lasted for about one hour. When we were finished, we quickly discarded our "Michelin Man" jumpsuits because we had quite a long drive back to Vik. We were trying to get back before 9PM closing times of most restaurants.

​There are sheep grazing on both sides of the entire Ring Road. We read that they will "dart" in front of you and you could possibly kill them (which comes with a hefty fine). We were laughing because they seem too fat and lazy to move that fast.

However, they actually DO dart in front of cars and they ran in front of a car that had just passed us and we thought that one of them might've even been hit. But thankfully they all safely made it to the other side. Robin is concerned that the sheep don't have enough to eat, especially when some of them end up in the lava fields. She wonders why someone doesn't get them to better grass. So I remind her that somehow or other the sheep have survived hundreds of years here in Iceland without Robin's help.

​When we realized we wouldn't make it to Vik before the restaurants closed, we knew we had to eat at one of the many gas stations that has a small attached restaurant. The place was absolutely packed because there's hardly any place to eat in most of these desolate areas. So we ordered a hamburger and french fries, because they had like three choices only. But it was either that or nothing (or more cheese and crackers).

Pondering my gas station hamburger!

Back to Vik. It's going on 10 pm but still very light out.

We finally got to our tiny house airbnb. It had wood walls throughout, IKEA furniture and funky lighting. It's just as cute as it can be.

View from the kitchen table.

August 13, 2016

We got up fairly early and headed straight over to the beaches at Vik to see the basalt columns. It was foggy with those same smoky low-lying clouds. It is very other-wordly; I can understand why Icelanders believe in fairies and elves. The sand is ebony black.

A coffee shop at the beach

There were very few people at that early hour and so we mostly had the beach to ourselves.

This is one of the areas where they film Game of Thrones. You can definitely see why many movie production companies use Iceland as their filming location with its varied topography.

I was able to get a picture of some of the puffins, but it was from very far away. My camera isn't powerful enough to get a clear picture.

​We then headed to Gullfoss (the number one rated TripAdvisor attraction for all of Iceland). We didn't eat anything again because of the lack of restaurants so we finished off our cheese and crackers and M&Ms. We finally arrived at the falls and they are quite spectacular.

Again, hundreds of people and tourist buses. You can view the falls from the top and the bottom so we did both.

In one spot the water is coming down with such force the spray comes up over the edge and everybody gets wet. It's not nearly as big as Niagara, but the setting is more beautiful. Afterwards, we paid $3.05 to use the bathroom and were off to the next site - the geysers.

They were just a few kilometers away. However, there was even MORE people at the geysers with no parking spots at all.

So we agreed that seeing the geysers was really no big deal since we could see them from the road anyway.

 

​We were starving and Robin found a dairy farm on TripAdvisor that had great reviews for their food and ice cream. It was hard to find because it literally is on a farm down a long dirt driveway. It was not visible from the road. The smell of manure was almost overpowering.

But the restaurant was very modern inside with polished concrete floors. But again, there wasn't much on the menu for us to order. So we ended up with... a hamburger and French fries! I kept getting bone while chewing my hamburger and got completely grossed out by it.

We decided to go downstairs and have their ice cream, which had rave reviews. About 15 feet away from the ice cream counter was a giant room filled with cows! The restaurant and the barn were one and the same. The ice cream was awful and the cone tasted old. As we left, a tour bus pulled up and about 25 people got off. Even though the food wasn't great (a running theme here in rural Iceland), the place was so unique that I'm glad we stopped there!

We continued on to Pingvellir National Park. It’s part of the touristy “Golden Circle” along with Gullfoss and the Geysers.

Pingvellir is on the UNESCO World Heritage list because it sits in a rift valley that divides the North American and Eurasian Teutonic plates. The hiking trails comb their way through steep rock walls.

The park is known for diving in the numerous very clear lakes.

Although beautiful, there wasn't much to do/see other than walk around.

​So... back on the Ring Road for the long drive to Borgarnes.

On the outskirts of Borgarnes, we stopped to check into our hotel. It turned out to be a lonely little hotel by itself overlooking the inlet with a very black volcano mountain looming overhead. Across a long bridge was the town of Borgarnes. I named our hotel the "Bates Motel" because we were the only car in the parking lot. (It was completely full, however, just a few hours later).

The hotel was the cheapest hotel of our entire trip ($158) and it showed. We had a very small room with little twin beds and small-framed pictures hung close to the ceiling. It seemed like a convent. The water was stinky rotten-egg sulphur water. But it would do for the night!

The town of Borgarnes. The weather had turned nasty and it was now windy and raining.

We drove over the bridge to find this really cool bakery that was on TripAdvisor. Unfortunately it was closed and we had no idea where we were going to eat. Since we've had nothing but French fries, M&Ms, hamburgers, cheese, crackers, and other candy we just wanted VEGETABLES and SALAD. I asked someone for a recommendation and they sent us to a great little restaurant where we had a really nice salad and also pasta with vegetables. It was heaven compared to the other shit we've been eating!!

​ So now it's on to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Mount Kirkjufell in the morning. I hope the weather gets better because it wasn't so great today.

​August 14, 2016

We finally made it to the awesome bakery with the stunning views (where is there NOT a stunning view?)

We ended up with three pastries because we couldn't decide. Robin didn't think they were that great but I thought they were pretty good and you definitely can't beat the view.

​So we continued on our drive up to Grundarfjourder. We immediately turned off Highway 1 and ended up on a more rural road. (The roads have no shoulder at all. People pass all the time. We occasionally pass a digital speed detection device and if you are going over the limit it shows your speed with a sad face. If you slow down to under the speed limit, it turns to a smiley face. Robin has had many sad faces because she is flying. We also still see sheep everywhere). This road had far less cars than the Ring Road. Again, the scenery changed often. We went from strange looking craggy rocks in a lava field to rolling multicolored hills. Unfortunately it was raining the entire time. If we thought yesterday was dreadful, today was even worse. The main problem was the wind. In fact, at one point we stopped for a picture and Robin nearly got knocked over from the wind. 

They had to abbreviate two of the towns to fit on the sign!

Hard to capture the 50 mph wind gusts

We got to Stykkisholmur just before 11 AM. (So the difficult thing about being in Iceland is telling people where you are going or where you have been. We've met many interesting people, and the way we communicate our travels is by saying "the canyon that begins with an F", "or the mountain that begins with an E". Why can't they all be named Vik?)

We walked around the charming town with bright red, green and yellow buildings. There were several other tourists waiting for the restaurants to open.

We decided to go to a very small volcano museum mainly because there really wasn't much else to do in the horrible weather. I think it cost about $15 total, but it was worth it because they had a great National Geographic movie about the 2010 volcanic eruption that stranded us in Barcelona. (I won't even attempt to spell it because it has like 17 letters).

They had lots of books, magazines and artwork about volcanoes. I actually learned several things about volcanoes that I never knew (like...they never know how long it may spew gases. It could be a few days or a few years).

The "American" restaurant

We ended up having lunch at a restaurant that advertised as having American food. Guess what they had? Hamburgers and French fries! We, however, ordered the Sunday special of pancakes, fatty bacon, weird tasting eggs, and.... a big bowl of French fries.

Many, many unique churches throughout Iceland

We continued on to Grundarfjourder where we saw even more extraordinary scenery.

They call Grundarfjourder the "most picturesque" town on the whole peninsula. The town itself wasn't as cute as the last one with all the different colored buildings, but what surrounds it is absolutely stunning.

​ The town sits on an inlet with Mt. Kirkjufell towering above like a witch's hat. There are other mountains nearby with multiple waterfalls in the background, but Kirkjufell is definitely the star.

Unfortunately, it was just hideous while we were there. We got soaked and wished we had on rain pants, all while being in 50 mph wind gusts. We walked over to where you can take the picture of the waterfall and the mountain at the same time, but it was pretty uncomfortable.

This is the same Witches Hat mountain from the side view.

We loved this little 2-bedroom Airbnb!

Both bedrooms were nice

​From our apartment we walked over to a coffee shop that is also a tourist center. We met a nice young couple from Utah on a two-week camping trip (in their car). That's been another great thing about this trip... meeting all these young people that are backpacking throughout Iceland.

We went back to our little apartment to wash some clothes. We were so happy to see a washer and dryer. But I wish it were just that easy! The dials on the washer are all in Icelandic and so we just keep pushing buttons until it worked. Right now we're on like a three-hour cycle for just a few things. Maybe we had it set to the "down comforter" setting?

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Laki and had pizza that was actually pretty good. We followed it up with some kind of chocolate mousse dessert. We also went to the grocery store so that we can have some things in the morning.

It's really been a bummer with the weather. I'm just hoping that it improves tomorrow as we spend the day in Reykjavík. It would be a thousand times better if the wind just died down. It's hard to gauge how fast it's blowing, but I would guess that some of our gusts have been up to 50 mph. We did read about the notorious Icelandic wind before we left the US and knew that it could be a problem. But I guess reading about it and experiencing it are two very different things. Thank You for my wonderful life!

August 15, 2016

Woke up to the same drizzly grey weather as yesterday. Fortunately, while still windy, it wasn't the knock-you-down kind of wind. We headed back to Reykjavik through the beautiful and gorgeous Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

We stopped to see the basalt column wall at Gerduberg with a few other tourists. It, supposedly, is another Game of Thrones filming location.

Glad to have arrived before the tourist bus!

Just passing some random glacier!

Now we were finally back in Reykjavik. One of the first things we did was go on a walking tour. The guide spoke such perfect English that Robin asked if he was from the US. He was also quite funny.

I learned many new interesting things: Iceland had the world’s first female president from 1980-1996. She is still very popular to this day. They have no military. The Coast Guard is the closest thing they have to a military. They have the distinction of most peaceful nation on earth for five years now, with no murders and very little crime. They attribute this to no guns and the police don't carry guns. The US had a military base there from 1952 to just a few years ago. Beer was banned until 1989. The drink of the 80’s was non-alcoholic beer with vodka in it. They go through school learning Icelandic, English and one other Scandinavian language. Their language is the same as Old Norse and has not changed much at all over the years. They try to protect it by not adopting international words. Icelanders are required by law to give Icelandic names to their newborns. Iceland is not a very religious country. People don’t really go to church except for weddings or special occasions.

The Opera House inspired by an iceberg

Puffin themes everywhere

Famous Hallgrímskirkja Church

While on the tour, we came across a group protesting. There was a larger group of about 75-100 people protesting that the government was "taking their time" in allowing refugees from other countries into Iceland. There was a smaller group of about 15 people that were protesting against the protestors because they did not want refugees in the country. Our guide called the smaller group "racists" and "neo-Nazis". Those were his words, not mine. Every country on earth certainly has their left wing and their right wing! I'm glad we did the tour; it was free so we tipped him $20 each in American cash.

Afterwards, we went to a cute cafe called The Laundromat Cafe.

There is a laundromat on the bottom floor and all the pictures on the wall are of laundromats all over.

We had a great avocado sandwich... I have a feeling that the food in Reykjavik is a thousand times better than gas station hamburgers!

We bought t-shirts and gifts for friends who are watching Lily. I left my credit card at one shop but thankfully realized it when I didn't have it at next one. The chip reader on the credit card machine is in Icelandic and I never know when it's finished and it doesn't beep to remove it. It's great not having to figure out how to pay with their money because of using credit cards, but it's not as easy as just handing the clerk the card either. We ended our time at Babalu coffee shop for apple cake with more 20-somethings that are backpacking through the country. (I forget that I am 55 years old. I feel drawn to these millennials and feel like I am one of them!)

We returned the car and we got a credit for the $53 we paid for the nonexistent GPS. I'm thrilled that we had no mishaps with the car! The tire pressure light was on the whole time, Robin was driving and sometimes distracted by the beautiful scenery, and we never knew what half of the street signs meant. (You do, however, quickly figure out which are the signs for the one-lane bridges!) So driving the Ring Road went quite well! Next up - Norway!

August 19, 2016 (Four days later - Keflavik)
Our trip back to Oslo and then on to Iceland was smooth. One observation… why do US flights take three times longer to load? It amazes me how fast every foreign airline I’ve ever been on loads much faster than any US carrier. First of all, they load in the front AND the back of the plane according to your row. There are no “zones” or “classes”.  (This, again, has to do with the fact that in the US, money will buy you “better”. I don’t fault the first class and people who have SkyMiles status, because they certainly pay up to ten times the amount that people in economy have paid. Robin and I were joking that someday first class and other perk travelers will be lying in comfortable beds while the rest of us will be hanging onto a strap coming down from the ceiling!)
We also had one other glitch. We thought we were going to our gate, but instead of going down to another floor like we were supposed to, we were rerouted through passport control and ended up on the “outside” by mistake. We had to knock on the door of the passport control booth and embarrassingly be escorted by a scowling agent back to the other side. However, we did get our Norway stamp that we never received upon arriving.  We finally answered the mystery about why we never showed our passports… Iceland and other Scandinavian countries are considered all one travel zone and so no need to go through customs.

We arrived back in Iceland and thought we were supposed to catch our free hotel shuttle back to Hotel Keflavik. But that was not to be… it is only free one-way and that is TO the airport. Some things just get lost in translation. Keflavik is a coastal town that smells strongly of fish. Robin said it best about our hotel – inside and out looked like an Eastern Bloc building.

We walked around for an hour then went to a restaurant with bad décor but was rated number one on TripAdvisor. We waited a good 20 minutes for someone to wait on us but were really glad we stayed because the food was excellent. Robin ordered Fish & Chips and what did I have at a seafood restaurant in a coastal fishing town? Indian Vegetable Curry! It was outstanding. As long as it wasn’t cheese and crackers!

We are everywhere!

Our final views of Keflavik included a magnificent sunset. Iceland has been amazing…. Rugged, bleak, desolate, gusty, magical, mysterious, and mystical. It would actually be a country I would return to, which would be violating my no-country-twice rule! Thank You for another fabulous trip!!