Thursday, October 1, 2015: Golden Circle, Iceland
Golden Circle Iceland
We picked up our cute little rental car from the Sixt office in the marina neighborhood of Reykjavik. We stopped into a local cafe for traditional Icelandic breakfast of skyr and these pastries larger than our heads. Fueled up, we hit the road for our Golden Circle road trip.
1. Þingvellir National Park (pronounced Thingvellir)
Back in 930, Þingvellir was home to the first parliament meetings and holds historical significance to Icelanders. Today the park is well-known for the continental drift, where the European and North American tectonic plates move apart about 1cm each year, creating this wide ridge throughout the park.
Because it was fall, even the grass and moss were photogenic shades of reds and oranges.
It was beyond windy and cold as we wandered through the park, stopping to take photos of the scenic views, churches, and waterfalls. There were paths that led you through the park, which was scenic from every angle, even with the foggy gray weather. We could have spent all day in the park exploring if we weren’t so excited to see the rest of the Golden Circle stops.
2. Strokkur Geysir Hot Springs
Our second stop of the day was the quickest. Strokkur Geysir was the original geyser hot springs for which all future geysers were named. I had already seen Old Faithful in Yellowstone, so I wasn’t dying to see another geyser. Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right? We arrived to the very strong sulfur-smelling park, walked to a muddy field, and waited for 30 seconds when… it finally shoots out. And that was it.
Other tourists stuck around another 15 minutes in the cold to see it spray water again, but we hit up the warm gift shop and were quickly on our way.
Our first waterfall visit was to Gulfoss, a gigantic wide waterfall. While walking from the car to the waterfall, in the parking lot we saw an old lady getting into her car with NO PANTS ON. Stumped at first, we realized she had soaked her pants in the heavy mist while walking the path down to the water. Lesson learned. It was freezing outside, so we avoided all future waterfall paths on the trip.
Photographs just can not do the immense size and sound of this waterfall justice. It was beyond huge. We walked around Gullfoss, took a few photos, and were ready for lunch.
Hands down, Friðheimar was the food highlight of my trip. During my research, I read of a year-round tomato green house along the Golden Circle road trip route. The greenhouse is able to grow tomatoes and cucumbers year-round using just energy from glacier springs on property.
We were the only ones in the restaurant with the huge greenhouse to ourselves. It was magical. The menu was a buffet of simple but beyond delicious homegrown tomato soup, giant loaves of bread, and their famous cucumber salsa. It was all so simple but with such quality ingredients it tasted amazing. Even Sam, Mr. I-Hate-Tomatoes, was in love with his soup. After a morning of hiking, I think he ate enough to feed a family of four!
If you are planning a Golden Circle road trip, you absolutely must stop at Friðheimar for a meal along your route.
Our Airbnb in the Golden Circle town of Grímsnes was the one I had been looking forward to most during the Scandinavia trip. The home was a private modern cabin with 3 bedrooms, a guest cottage, and a hot tub. It was located perfectly along the Golden Circle for our second day in South Iceland. Yes, it was a little excessive to rent this massive modern home for just Sam & I, but after a day of hiking in the rain, we deserved something nice.
After settling in, we headed to the nearest grocery store in Selfoss to grab dinner. Grocery shopping in a foreign country is an experience on it’s own. Sam was brave and picked up Hákarl, disgusting fermented shark, while I picked up Icelandic candies to share with my sweet-tooth sisters back home.
Even our drive to the grocery store from the Airbnb house was so beautiful that we had to pull over the car for more photos.
Friday, October 2, 2015: South Iceland
South Iceland
We head out for the second day of our road trip, ready to explore Southern Iceland. Lucky for us, the weather was cooperating, allowing for some sunny and beautiful pictures. It was crazy to see the South Iceland landscape change every 15 minutes. From the green Golden Circle, to yellow fields of grass straight out of Kansas, to black sand beaches, and to white glacier mountain ranges. Our South Iceland route was slightly less tourist-filled than our Golden Circle day, but just as beautiful.
Our first waterfall of many was Seljalandsfoss, a tall and skinny waterfall that was famous for a path that looped behind the falls. Remembering the pants-free lady from the day before, we avoided that path.
Along the park was a path that led to a few other smaller waterfalls, which was a nice but windy walk.
There isn’t much to do at these waterfalls, besides snap a few photos, so we were quickly back into the car and onto stop two.
Skogafoss was much taller and wider, surrounded by black volcanic rocks. It was so windy and cold when we exited the car, I ran up to the waterfall as quickly as possible to grab a photo. As you can see in the upper right corner there was a rickety wooden path to the top, which we knew better than to risk facing pantlessness.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold and run down from the intense wind and rain in my life.
3. Vik
For lunch we stopped in the tiny town of Vik. We had burgers at a roadside diner (how American of us,) picked up a few gifts at the wool factory (you’re welcome Dad,) and were on our way. Vik was our southernmost point on the road trip, so after lunch we circled back to make a few more stops on the road towards home.
We had hoped to find the hidden DC-3 plane wreckage, located on the 4×4 black sand beaches. But our little white rental car was not equipped to go off roading, so we removed it from our to-do list. Also on our planned route was Seljavallalaug, a natural pool hidden in a glacier valley off the main road. It is nearly impossible to find, but I wrote down all the directions ahead of time. Unfortunately, we made it most of the way there, but had to turn around due to bad weather and horrible road conditions. But our detour brought us to a green mountain range, where there was a perfect double rainbow after the storm passed.
Our trip to Reynisfjara Beach was possibly my favorite stop of the road trip. We drove down these windy farm roads and out of nowhere we are at a black sand beach, steps from the icy Atlantic ocean. A mile down the beach to the left were these odd rock formations in the water, which was Dyrhólaey, our next stop. To the right are rock formations into the water and a giant mountain with a cave, all covered in these odd column rock formations. It was otherworldly. It almost reminded me of the pacific northwest, like Oregon mixed with the Moon. I could not stop taking photos.
Dyrhólaey to the right
5. Dyrhólaey
Dyrholaey was the rock penninsula and natural bridge we had seen off the coast while visiting Reynisfjara Beach. The soft blue sky and sea against the black sand was magical. I love the photo below of the lone rock formation sitting on the black sand so much it’s already hanging up in our home.
Dyrhólaey was a penninsula where you could walk out above the natural bridge with views of Reynisfjara Beach to the left. A little off the beaten path, our visit was quiet and peaceful. There was something about the black sand against the blue sea that made Reynisfjara Beach and Dyrhólaey my favorite scenery of our Golden Circle and South Iceland road trips.
Saturday, October 3, 2015: Kerið and Reykjavik
Our last day in the countryside was purposefully unplanned so we could spend more time where we enjoyed most. We decided to visit one final Golden Circle spot, then take the long scenic route through the mountains back into Reykjavik.
1. Kerið Crater
Overlooked by most driving the Golden Circle, Kerið was just minutes from our Airbnb, so we decided to have a look. Because they are trying to reduce visitors to protect the grass and plan tlife around Kerið, it was $3 to enter.
The crater was gigantic and covered in colorful moss and snow. We hiked around the ring of Kerið, then down to the vividly blue pool at the bottom. It was great to see the crater from two perspectives. It was the perfect last road trip attraction before our trip came to a close.
2. Back to Reykjavik
After visiting Kerið, we made our return to Reykjavik for our last day in town. We strategically took the long route through the mountains, which were covered in snow.
Back in town at our new Airbnb, we headed out to check the final items off our to-do list. We stopped at Hallgrímskirkja Church to see the famous landmark.
And then quickly headed off to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a world famous hotdog stand in the city. They do hotdogs differently in Scandinavia, with fried onion crumbles, mustard, and remoulade sauce. It hit the spot after our long days on the road.
Sunday, October 4, 2015: Reykjavik to BWI
And just as quickly as it had started, the grand European trip was coming to a close. With our suitcases packed full of souvenirs, we head back to KEF airport to catch our flight back home to DC.
We had planned our Scandinavia trip for over 10 months, so I was sad to see it end so soon.
Left: Rainy Reykjavik, Right: Flying over Greenland, icebergs floating in the ocean
Our trip to Iceland, as well as Copenhagen and Stockholm, were unbelievable. We loved seeing Raisa and her life in Copenhagen, meeting “my people” in Stockholm, and braving the Icelandic countryside on our own. Looking back, I don’t think we would have changed a thing.
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