A day in Iceland

On my way to New York for Christmas, I decided to extend my layover in Iceland overnight to take advantage of the natural beauty of this Nordic country. Icelandic Christmas carols and delicious snacks made me want to always fly Icelandic Air. Although I arrived on December 21, literally the shortest day of the year, I was still able to enjoy four hours driving around the incredible Icelandic landscape. I joined a small tour that left Reykjavik for the South Coast at 9am, arriving a few hours later as the sun was rising- just in time to pass a few volcanoes (including the one that erupted in 2010!) and to see our first waterfall.

can you spot the man walking to the waterfall? 

excuse my terrible hair, please.

Freezing but still in awe from the majestic waterfall, we piled back into the van and headed to the coast.

Reynisfjara, the black “sand” beach (really black pebble) was like nothing I had ever seen before. I spent thirty frigid minutes standing in awe of the beach, the crashing waves, and the basalt columns. I was so thankful I had purchased Irish wool socks in Ireland to wear with my sneakers and found a coat on sale in London to bring along.

can you find me?

For lunch we stopped in Vik, a small coastal town of only 250 people. I thought I lived in the middle of nowhere until our van rumbled down the bumpy road, past glaciers and mounds of snow. Besides Vik and a small building on the road dedicated to the volcanic eruption, the only sign of life was a rare sighting of a church steeple or smokestack from an occasional farmhouse.

Here is our guide pointing out the Sólheimajökull glacier where some of our group went glacier walking. 

Just a few hours after the sun came up, it decided to go back to bed. 

He told us a few interesting facts about Iceland on our drive back to the capital city.

--Iceland has roughly 130 volcanic mountains.

--Many of the Icelandic people believe in elves to this day. 

--Because of the nearby volcanic activity, Iceland has a high level of geothermal energy. One of the many uses of this energy is to power greenhouses where farmers grown fruits and vegetables to try to become more self-sufficient in these products. How cool!

--One can bake bread by putting dough in foil into the ground near a geothermal hot spot. 12 hours later, delicious rye bread (rugbrauð) is ready to eat.

--According to the tour guide, the prisons in Iceland are only able to hold a combined total of 200 prisoners at a time. Therefore, although crime is extremely low and a growing percentage of the prisoners are foreigners, there is a waiting list for the prison.

Back in Reykjavik, I wandered through the streets and decided to climb the tower in the Hallgrímskirkja church to get a better view from the city.

      Here is the view from the harbor. The colors look so funky because it was still twilight...at 11am. 

I decided to go on a Northern Lights tour but unfortunately besides our bus getting stuck in a ditch for a few hours, there wasn’t much of a show. However, I was given a voucher that guarantees I can go on as many tours as I would like in the next two years until I see the aurora borealis. I will have to keep this in mind next time I’m in the area….

Thankfully, this soup- a bisque made from local fish- made everything much better. I’m glad I choose it as my only restaurant meal in Iceland (although I also got fresh lox to go as well, yum yum). I had decided I was going to try whale meat just once, but as I was walking down the street battling the issue mentally, I was approached by a very sweet Icelandic girl who asked me to sign a paper about animal rights. As soon as I signed it, I realized it included a pledge not to eat whale. That solved my mental dilemma pretty quickly!

Even though I was in Iceland for only one day, the people I interacted with were so helpful, friendly, and well-meaning, the nature so beautiful, and the food so delicious, I would come back in an instant.