I love Iceland. Scratch that. We love Iceland.
The last time we went, I was 20 something weeks pregnant with Emre. And our trip back, it was Emre’s 50th country visited. Coming full circle, it was pretty special! For our 30th birthdays, we wanted to have some fun; Morocco for Alastair and Iceland for me. Iceland isn’t super cheap, so we rented a van and bought groceries. It worked out because there really aren’t a lot of places to stop and eat.
The last time we went, I was 20 something weeks pregnant with Emre. And our trip back, it was Emre’s 50th country visited. Coming full circle, it was pretty special! For our 30th birthdays, we wanted to have some fun; Morocco for Alastair and Iceland for me. Iceland isn’t super cheap, so we rented a van and bought groceries. It worked out because there really aren’t a lot of places to stop and eat.
When we arrived, we picked up our van, stocked up at the grocery store, and away we went!
We didn’t have much of a plan, just to try to make it all the way around the country and to stop along the way. And that’s what we did!
There aren’t many touristy things to stop and see. Really, you go there for the nature and beauty. So that’s what we enjoyed. We would drive, stop, go for a little hike, and take in all that fresh air. Emre loved it here. We would be driving and he would just say, “I love Iceland.” We could go on a trail and hike for miles and he wouldn’t complain. It’s amazing what nature does to the soul!
Some of the highlights:
Going on a little hike to THAT one outdoor pool. It’s about a 15 minute walk from the parking lot and there’s a pool with hot spring water going into it. Of course, the weather wasn’t the warmest, so I wasn’t planning on going in. The water wasn’t super warm either, just by the pipes. So Emre and Alastair went in and told me to go in as well. So I ran back to the van and grabbed my stuff. So worth it!
We saw lots of glaciers. We went to the glacier lagoon and saw some arctic seals. It was so cool to see their heads popping up! It was fun to actually pick up the ice chunks as well. Last time, I didn’t get out of the car because I was tired and cold. But this time, I didn’t wimp out! It was still freezing, but so cool! We also stopped at this rest stop to cook some noodles for lunch. And that was the day Super Noodles came into our lives. Emre and Alastair love it but it is the foulest smelling stuff. I will not eat it because of the smell alone. Not my cup of noodles, pun intended. Anyway, while they were eating their food, I decided to go on a run. I just went down a dirt path towards some hills. Passed the hills opened up to the most spectacular view. Mountain peaks and glaciers as far as the eye could see. That was my happy place. I sat there in the cold air, rain falling, and taking in that view.
The scariest part of the trip was driving up a freaking mountain! There’s pretty much just one road that goes all around Iceland. To save time and cutting out the fjords, we followed our map that said to drive on this dirt road. It was bumpy, small, and I’m honestly surprised our van made it up. It was rainy, super foggy, and you couldn’t see a thing! Not even to see where it drops off on the sides. We wanted to make it to these hot springs and I was wondering if it was worth it. In the end, it was totally worth it!
All I wanted to do for my birthday was to go to some hot springs. We went to Myvatn hot springs, cheaper and less crowded than the Blue Lagoon. We all loved it, we were there for 6 hours! It was the absolute best! Although, I ate a blueberry cheesecake and had to cut our time short, if you know what I mean. But 6 hours ain’t bad! We finished my birthday by eating some pizza at the closest town, a couple hours away. It was great, I loved my birthday!
Feeding Icelandic horses is always a highlight for me. I’m not a big horse fan, but Icelandic horses are the best! There’s something about their manes, it’s like they’re always having a good hair day! We stopped and fed them bread a few times. It’s so fun, and Emre loved it!
Also, have to mention, a low for us was not finding puffins. Just lots of seagulls. It’s ok though, we still enjoyed trying to find puffins with our binoculars.
Our last day wasn’t exactly our last day. We made it into Reykjavik and enjoyed some fish and chips at my favorite place. The best fish out there; so fresh! And while we were eating, Alastair went to check in for our flight. But he realized that we were in Iceland for another whole day! So we quickly booked a hotel for one night. So we walked around the city for a bit and then camped in our van one more night. And then the next day, we enjoyed a nice warm shower in our hotel and enjoyed a few walks along the rocky coast.
We had such a good time that it’s been several months since then and Emre still talks about wanting to go back to Iceland. Maybe one day we’ll stay for a bit longer than a week!
