Iceland: Part One
I'm so excited to FINALLY share my Iceland trip!
This adventure was amazing but also packed full! So, as to not exhaust your eyes when you read this, I'm breaking up these trip posts into 3 parts!
We landed in Keflavik after flying WOW air for the first time ever. For a discounted airline, I was really impressed with our flight. I'm a terrible flyer who shrieks at every bump but our short 5 hour flight from New York was a breeze!
After landing and grabbing our rent-a-car from Blue Car Rental, we hit the road towards the Snaefellsness Peninsula.
The drive there was a short 2 hours and we noshed on gummy bears as we ogled at all the surrounding landscape.
We stopped at a gas station to try out the famous Icelandic hot dogs which were, AHHHMAZING! You guys, these foot long hotdogs had fried onions on bottom and a sweet honey mustard and spicy ketchup. SO. GOOD. I couldn't even wait to get a picture of one, thats how fast I ate them. Instead enjoy a picture of the gas station views where we ate our dogs.
When Will and I made our itinerary we knew we would want to stop at improtu places throughout; with that in mind, we had a flexible and non-stress mood while we drove.
Kicking off this spontaneous mentality led us to the Eldborg crater. Driving 20 minutes off course, we parked the car and met the cutest pup, that came out of a nearby farmhouse, who proceeded to lick me all over the face (you know I loved it). The hike turned out to be our longest at 4 hours. The length of the hike didn't prove to disappoint and upon reaching the top, we had to scale lava piles for a fantastic view!
Seeing the impending storm and being sorely unprepared for Iceland's unpredictable weather, we basically sprinted back to the car, just in time to see a double rainbow in the midst of the rainstorm.
Our VRBO in Arnarstapi, Snaefellsness, was absolutely incredible. Looking back, I can't believe we scored such a place for two nights. The most quaint house on the edge of the basalt cliffs in the Snaefellsness National Park, was perfect for us and made for a great base camp.
We didn't want to fall asleep too early so we headed to dinner based on a random whim to this place called VidVik Restaurant. Not only was this restaurant decor #goals, but the food was out of this world. I can't describe in words how every bite made my soul sing. Will and I splurged on the 4 course chef's meal and below are pictures of the heavenly cuisine. *cue drooling!
Taking advantage of the midnight sun, we stopped on the road and took a few pictures before calling it a day.
The next morning we woke up and hit the ground running with exploring the peninsula, which is also known as "tiny Iceland". Pebble beaches, shipwrecks, stone formations which serve as a bird sanctuaries, petting Icelandic horses and walking around century old churches was the start to our second full day in Iceland.
One of the coolest parts of the day was when we decided to stop for lunch. We pulled over at this non descriptive stop that just said, attraction. It looked like a viewpoint of a far away lake. Confused, we got out and looked at the map that said a waterfall should be here. We walked a couple steps and heard water rushing! Turning a corner, there was a huge waterfall!! Mouths agape we were the only ones here and were able to scale behind the waterfall for a cooling and misting couple of minutes.
We ended our day with another pit stop at VidVik for a beer and to say bye our now best Icelandic friends, and got caught in a rainstorm exploring the hiking trail around our VRBO.
Stay tuned for the other two parts of our trip where we go to the Westman Islands, explore glaciers near Vik, chase waterfalls in the Golden Circle and experience city life in Reykjavik.