On January 27, 2024, I married the love of my life. The very next day, my wife and I packed up our car, drove from Pittsburgh to Baltimore, and caught a red eye flight to the northernmost capital in the world: Reykjavik, Iceland. Our honeymoon was a seven day excursion along the south coast and golden circle regions of the island. While it may not have been quite as relaxing as a typical beach getaway, visiting the land of fire and ice was an unforgettable arctic adventure. The spas, the landscape, and, somewhat surprisingly, the food were the standout highlights of our romantic vacation. The weather, on the other hand…
Monday 1/29
Reykjavik: Hallgrímskirkja; Rainbow Street; Settlement Exhibition; Sky Lagoon
While we were sleeping on the plane, the captain woke us up over the intercom to announce that the northern lights were visible on our side of the plane. We interpreted the spectacular light show as a sign that there were good things in store for us; both in our marriage and for the trip ahead. It was, however, the only time we were lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis all week.
Aurora Borealis
The flight landed around 4:30am GMT. Before leaving the airport, we picked up two 10GB SIM cards and some tax free alcohol, then picked up our rental car next door from zerocar.is. Our ride was a 4×4 Dacia Duster and it took approximately 11 seconds for me to admit Amy was right: without 4WD, we were not going anywhere in this country. At this point it was already freezing and the skies were spitting some icy rain. Everything in sight was covered with several inches of snow. I had to scrape off the windshield and relearn how to drive a stick shift while navigating foreign roads in the darkness. We soon learned that in Iceland, the roads are not salted and about 95% of the time we were driving atop a sheet of ice or through thick slush.
View from the hostel in Reykjavik
We drove about an hour from the airport in Keflavik to downtown Reykjavik. Along the way, Amy swapped out our SIM cards and somehow managed to lose both of our old Verizon chips in less than thirty minutes. That’s the woman I married, alright. Once in town, we stopped at Brauð & Co. for some delicious breakfast pastries and coffee. Next, we drove to our stay for the night, KEX Hostel, and were relieved that they allowed us to check-in several hours early. We took a power nap to prepare for the long day ahead of us, grabbed some fast food at Aktu Taktu, then hit the town.
Brauð & Co.
Reykjavik absolutely exceeded my expectations. For such a small city, it is relatively well-designed and positively bursting with charm. The streets are narrow and dense, offering a wide variety of shops, restaurants, bars, museums, and unique dives. Many of the buildings are brightly colored, often staggered in cute rainbow patterns. Sometimes the ground is colorful too, like the famous pedestrianized street in the heart of the city called Rainbow Street.
Amy walking on Rainbow Street
Dominating just about every other building in size and presentation is the Hallgrímskirkja, a towering Lutheran church built in the 1940s. Amy and I paid a couple bucks to ride the elevator to the top floor, where a small history display was set up alongside the functioning church bell and an expansive view of the city. It was while we hid inside the church that we experienced the first of many popup ice storms. This was a fifteen minute spell of wicked wind and whiteout precipitation that ended as abruptly as it began, before returning to a pleasant, overcast day.
Alex and Amy in front of Hallgrímskirkja
We toured the Settlement Exhibition, a small museum featuring the remains of a viking-age longhouse, and learned that Iceland is one of the last settled places in the world. After that, it was time to head to the highly anticipated, Sky Lagoon. We showered in a private changing room, then entered the main lagoon area. The setting is like mystical canyon that was flooded with geothermal water. Beyond a rock labyrinth, there is an infinity pool overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Other unique features include a waterfall, a swim-up bar, and a rustic shack where The Ritual takes place. I won’t cover the 7-steps in detail, but we left Sky Lagoon with baby-soft skin feeling like we had just been reborn in the healing waters of an ancient world.
Amy in Sky Lagoon
Tuesday 1/30
South Coast: Skógafoss; Dyrhólaey; Reynisfjara; Vik
We ate breakfast at the hostel consisting of cold cuts, fresh bread, skyr, and fruit – a typical Icelandic hotel breakfast as we later found out. Amy was more than happy with the variety of breads, while I discovered my love for the especially creamy Icelandic yogurt known as skyr. We then began our driving tour of the south coast of Iceland, in which we had planned three total days to head as far east as Jökulsárlón and back, the whole time following the Ring Road (Rt 1) which circles the entire country for over 800 miles.
This is what the roads were like for the majority of our driving (the blurriness only makes it more accurate)
Our first stop was the impressive waterfall, Skógafoss, which included a long staircase to an overlook above the falls. We then continued along the road towards the town of Vik. The weather worsened and we were hit with our first true blizzard as we detoured to the rocky coastlines of Dyrhólaey. It was a wild experience to see massive, crashing waves pound the cliffs. However, it was hard for us to take it all in, as the wind was so strong and the snow so blinding that we found ourselves running around across the trails, shielding our faces from the ice. It was intense!
Amy at Dyrhólaey during a pop-up blizzard
We eventually left to seek shelter in Vik, deciding that there was no better place than the brewery, Smiðjan Brugghús. There, we enjoyed some lamb steaks and a flight of the finest beer Iceland has to offer. Then, it was back to the elements as we visited the black sand beach, Reynisfjara during a “red” weather warning.
Amy relaxing at Black Sand Beach
Careless tourists are killed every year at this beach, often ignoring the posted warnings to not approach the waves. We even witnessed a woman get too close to the water and get knocked over by the powerful surf, nearly swept away. But the beach is as beautiful as it is dangerous and we enjoyed the otherworldly scenery from a safe distance as we walked along the mythical black sands. This was one of the coolest places I have ever been!
Skógafoss
Lastly, we drove another hour or so to Magma Hotel in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The hotel was divided into cozy, individual huts with turf roofs (covered in snow of course). It was the favorite stay of our trip. We dined at the onsite restaurant where we treated ourselves to some fresh Icelandic char with pesto and asparagus – absolutely delicious.
Phone eats first – Icelandic char
Wednesday 1/31
South Coast: Vatnajökull National Park; Jökulsárlón; Diamond Beach; Blue Crystal Ice Cave
Continuing east along the south coast on a dark and icy morning, driving today may have been the most difficult of the entire trip. We regularly passed cars that lost control and drove off-road into snow banks. Fortunately, our Duster handled it no problem. Before sunrise, we arrived at Jökulsárlón, the glacial lagoon, part of Vatnajökull National Park which is the largest glacier in Europe. We had scheduled a full-day hike onto the glacier which was unfortunately cancelled due to a potential blizzard, and instead replaced with a half-day ice cave tour (not a bad thing!). This was through a company called localguide.is.
4×4 stuck on the F roads leading to the Blue Crystal ice cave
The tour involved our guide driving a small group of us thirty minutes on an F-road over some of the worst “road” conditions imaginable. So bad, in fact, that one of the powerful 4×4 off-road vans got stuck in the snow and needed to be rescued by our guide. The drive brought us in the middle of an arctic wasteland surrounded by beautiful mountains. From here, we hiked another ten minutes or so to the entrance of the ice cave.
Amy descending into the ice cave
The ice cave was absolutely stunning. Surrounded by crystal clear ice that reflected a vibrant blue color, stepping into the cavern felt like fulfilling a childhood dream. We spent some time poking around the cave as our guide explained interesting facts about glaciers. An Icelandic ice cave must certainly be one of the most unique and beautiful places you can visit in the world.
Amy and Alex in the most vibrant blue section of the ice cave
Once returning to the lagoon, we spent some time hiking around water, which was equally incredible. Massive chunks of glacier floated in the water as seals swam happily about. We were lucky enough to have a clear, sunny day to take in the scenery, however it was easily the coldest day yet, and the temperature was dropping quickly as the storm moved in. We bought some hotdogs from a food truck (wow, did these live up to the hype), then quickly drove across the street to the Diamond Beach.
Seal swimming in the Glacial Lagoon
Seeing Diamond Beach after the ice cave and glacial lagoon felt unreal. It is genuinely hard to believe so much beauty exists so close together. The beach was black sand, like Reynisfjara, but this time littered with large chunks of ice that wash up on the shore. The diamonds were a nice touch for my lovely wife.
Diamond beach
We left the area with daylight to spare, buying into the worry that the storm might close the roads (they later did) and went to our hotel, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. We enjoyed a private hot tub with a scenic view of the mountains and coastline. That night, we hunted for northern lights unsuccessfully but were treated to a rather beautiful starry sky.
Amy getting in the hottub at Fosshotel
Thursday 2/1
South Coast: Fjallsjökull; Skaftafell; Svartifoss; Fjaðrárgljúfur
We had the best weather of the week today, clear skies, temperatures in the upper 30s, and low wind meant we didn’t even need to zip up our jackets outside. This enabled us to do some actual hiking during stops along the way of our drive back west. We filled up with some coffee and sandwiches for breakfast at Cafe Vatnajökull.
Amy hiking off trail to Fjallsjökull
First up was another nearby glacier, Fjallsjökull, with its own tidy lagoon. Normally, you can drive right up to the water, but the roads were sketchy at best, so we opted to hoof it about 2km across rolling mounds of snow. This felt like a unique hike as it was not really a trail and was entirely exposed to the open surroundings of the mountains ahead of us and the coast to our rear.
Amy eating all of this food by herself
We then visited Skaftafell, a National Park on the outskirts of Vatnajökull, and went on another pleasant hike to see Svartifoss. This waterfall was partially frozen, surrounded by hexagonal columns of black lava rock. For all of this hiking, we were glad to have brought micro-spikes with us, as the trails were all covered in snow and ice.
Svartifoss
We stopped at a gas station and slammed more hotdogs, the cheapest and arguably most delicious cuisine Iceland has to offer. Then, we went on our final hike of the day at Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. The hike took us along the upper rim of the canyon, with occasional pull-offs onto outcroppings and amazing views into the ancient canyon. This was probably my favorite spot of the day.
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
We ended our Thursday at a guesthouse, The Garage, which sits at a spectacular spot below the mountains. The host baked cookies for all the guests and we were delighted to see our room was upgraded to a spacious and cozy dwelling with a kitchenette. We took every opportunity we had to soak in warm water, enjoying the outdoor hot tub following a long day of exploring.
Friday 2/2
Golden Circle: Selfoss; Kerid Crater; Friðheimar; Geysir; Gulfoss
We were hoping to relax and take our time leaving the Garage, but another storm warning forced us to hit the road early. We made it back to the town of Selfoss for breakfast pastries and coffee, then walked around the developing urban core of the town, which offered a few shops. We didn’t stay long, and were soon heading north along a region of the country known as the Golden Circle. This area is popular because it is both beautiful and easily accessible from Reykjavik within a day trip.
Bobby Fischer’s grave in Selfoss
We stopped at the Kerid Crater, a big hole in the ground that we feasted our eyes upon for maybe a minute before Amy said she desperately needed to leave to find a restroom. The crater wasn’t particularly exciting anyway… We had to drive through another pop-up ice storm to a gas station, this one felt particularly violent, then left to get lunch at Friðheimar.
Kerid Crater
This was one of the most unique settings for a restaurant: the inside of a tomato greenhouse! Honey bees buzzed freely about and there was a pot of live basil on our table with a pair of scissors to cut our own herbs. All around us were rows and rows of cherry tomato plants. We learned that since tomatoes can’t grow outdoors in Iceland, greenhouses like these supply tomatoes for the entire country. Amy ordered their flagship tomato soup with fresh bread, while I tried a beer brewed with tomato and some ravioli. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.
Amy in Friðheimar
Our next stop was for dessert at a local farm called Efstidalur II, offering ice cream straight from the source. Delicious!
Cows at Efstidalur II
After that, we went to visit Geysir, the geyser in which all geysers are named after. Though technically dormant, another equally impressive geothermal spout, Strokkur, lies right next to it, and it is good for an eruption every minute or so. The entire area reeked of sulfur and steam bellowed out of seemingly insignificant puddles. Since we visited between the eruptions occurring on the Reykjanes peninsula, this was as close as we would get to a volcano.
Muddy wastes near Geysir
Strokkur erupting
Last of the day was furthest destination on the Golden Circle, Gulfoss. We had to park a few hundred meters away and it was time for the Icelandic winter to remind us that Pittsburgh winters are for sissies. Yet another blinding snow storm with bitter cold wind accompanied us on our walk down to the phenomenal site. Gulfoss is a multi-tiered waterfall cascading between a ravine. We stayed to enjoy the view as long as we dared, then began the walk back to the car so we could hop over to Hotel Gulfoss. At the hotel, we enjoyed another delicious dinner at the restaurant onsite. Then we watched The Big Lebowski in our hotel room.
Gulfoss
Saturday 2/3
Golden Circle
Þingvellir National Park; Silfra Fissure; Sundhöllin
We had a slow morning since we had nowhere to be until a 1pm tour at Þingvellir National Park, about an hour drive along the Golden Circle. I slurped down several bowls of Skyr (seriously this stuff is amazing) for breakfast at the hotel. Then we packed up and began the scenic cruise to one of the country’s most famous and historic locations.
Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National Park was truly stunning, partly because we happened to catch it when the light was glowing through the clouds and fluffy snow was falling from the sky. From the visitors center, we went on a hike between some interesting rock formations, passing unique sites along the way, such as Þingvallakirkja church and Öxarárfoss. After a nice walk, we returned to the car and drove to Silfra where we had booked our final tour of the trip – snorkeling!
Our snorkeling group with Mino in front
Silfra fissure is famous for several reasons. First, you can snorkel between the North American and European tectonic plates. Second, the water is filtered through glaciers for many years before it reaches the lake, making it the clearest water in the water. Amy and I met up with a group at the nearby parking lot and changed into our warmest wool layers, then a dry suit over top, and finally a wet suit. Around our wrists and necks, the guides secured tight elastic bands to prevent water from entering. We split into a group with a nice French couple and our guide, Mino.
Snorkeling in the Silfra Fissure
Amy took a bit of convincing on this one, but we were assured that the water was, in fact, warmer than the air (which was not saying much). Eventually, we walked over the pond, an unassuming puddle of water that appeared dark above the surface, surrounded by snow, snow, and more snow. Amazingly, once we dove in, the world transformed into an aquatic paradise. Everything was highlighted blue, and we could see endlessly into the fissure beneath us. At any point, the guide encouraged us to take a big gulp of the water we were swimming in, it was delicious and pure.
Alex snorkeling
We spent the first half of the tour following Mino through narrow crevasses, before we reached the snorkeling pond where we were free to explore as we pleased. Surprisingly, our suits kept all of the water out and it was really not that cold except for our hands and faces, which were essentially numb. Amy claims I am guppy at heart, as I continued exploring the pond well after the rest of our group had called it quits.
Our group holding hands in the water
After we left the water and changed, we were happy to be headed back to Reykjavik, now considering our options on how to warm up on our last night. Fortunately, there is no shortage of hot tubs in Iceland. After checking into our final night’s stay at Freyja Guesthouse, we walked to Svarta Kaffið for some bread bowls. Their menu had two options: a meat soup and a vegetarian soup, both served in bread. We opted for the meat soup and were not disappointed.
Alex eating soup at Svarta Kaffið
Next, we walked over to Sundhöllin, the oldest pool in the city. Icelandic culture is big on pools. After work, the locals may go to their local pool, swim for a while, then soak in the hottub for a while, then get out and do a cold plunge, then get back in the hottub for a while, then repeat. When in Rome…
The only “shock” here was that we had to shower naked in a public shower. They emphasized the naked part several times. There were several full size swimming pools and it was difficult to meet up again once we left the locker rooms, but I eventually found my wife. Together we sampled all of the different temperature hot tubs and even tried to stay in the cold bath for 15 seconds (harder than it sounds). This really was the perfect was to finish out the trip, as it felt like the most authentic activity we had done yet. We also managed to both get locked out of our lockers independently of one another.
Average morning in Iceland: Alex brushing off the Dacia Duster
To cap off the night, we grabbed White Russians at The Lebowski Bar, which was much more appropriate now that Amy had seen the movie. We didn’t stay out too late, however, and returned to our guesthouse a short while later.
Sunday 2/4
Reykjavik
Our final day consisted of one last visit to Brauð & Co. for some cinnamon rolls, then some espresso at Te & Kaffi. Amy was impressed by European coffee and claimed it was much better then the way it was served in America. We wanted to pick up some last minute souvenirs, so we went to a flea market that runs on the weekends downtown. We began driving back to the airport around 11am. The gas cap on our car was frozen shut, meaning we could not refuel and had barely enough in the tank to make it back.
Beautiful morning in Reykjavik
We wrapped up our trip with two more airport hotdogs to cherish that delicious mustard. Before we knew it, we were back on the plane, flying over the vast emptiness of Greenland on our way back home.
Flying over Greenland on the return trip