Pouring rain and icy temperatures did not stop our 8am time slot at the Blue Lagoon. We arranged to go directly from our sunrise flight arrival.
This popular tourist attraction was a worthy stop. The geothermal-heated lagoon was a perfect start to our adventure. We had face masks, in-water massages and an incredible relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Too nervous to bring my phone into the water, here are just a couple of photos from the entrance.
Our hotel in Reykjavik, located by the Parliament building, was ideal for proximity to all the downtown shops, restaurants and museums. Windy, rainy and cold weather was no deterrent as we headed out to explore the neighborhood. We chose Messinn Restaurant for our early dinner. Their specialty is fresh fish served in the sauté pan with traditional Icelandic rye bread. It was delicious.
Our second day in Iceland began about 8:30am. We headed out to cover the famous Golden Circle tour with a bunch of added extra stops. Instead of the typical clockwise direction, we headed in the reverse direction. Our first stop was Kerid Crater. It has a small entrance fee and offers grand views of the deep blue water filled crater and the surrounding mountains. The snow added to the beauty, the wind and biting cold made it a short visit. We were told Bjork once held a concert here. Hopefully it was on a beautiful day.
The next stop was at greenhouses. Iceland is Europe’s largest producer of bananas (in greenhouses of course), We did not go to those green houses, instead, we went to the Fridheimar family farm that grows cherry tomatoes, basil and geraniums, all hydroponically. They use bumblebees to pollinate and to detect any disease. This greenhouse has a restaurant which serves delicious tomato soup, tomato drinks and even tomato ice cream. All were delicious.
Outside of the greenhouses, there are some Icelandic horses. They are much smaller than other breeds. The horses were not interested in us at all.
Following this, we headed to Gullfoss Falls. This multi level cascading falls is breathtaking. It was too icy to walk behind the falls, and it did stop snowing while we were there. The falls were saved by an activist who rallied citizens to stop a dam.
The next stop was off-road. We drove to the Glacier Langjokull. Due to the weather conditions, there was no opportunity to ride on a snowmobile, or really to see more than a few feet in front of us. The license plate on the modified Chevy Suburban is FUN and that is what we had. We played in the snow on the glacier until the cold beat us.
The snow and wind died down as we approached Strokkur and Geysir. These are erupting hot springs. Strokkur erupts about every ten minutes, Geysir is a bit more random. Yes, this is where ‘geysers’ get their name. Also, a geyser must be a minimum of one foot in height to claim the name, otherwise, it is just a bubbling hot spring.
We stopped at a dairy farm for lunch and enjoyed delicious meals while the cows watched us.
The ride through the Valley of Mosfellsalur and the highlands of Mosfellsheidl are filled with beautiful scenery, horses and sheep. We arrived at Pingvellir, a UNESCO park. It is most famous for the meeting location of Iceland’s first Parliament in 960. The setting is beautiful. The natural (volcanic) stone walls are striking. The area where the parliament met is breathtaking and there is a formation at the top of the stone wall that creates a window which looks like a cat. Funnily enough, the current Parliament including the prime minister were visiting the site the same time we were. The prime minister is the woman in the maroon coat and white knit hat.
This is also the first place where we saw the North Atlantic tectonic plate as a big lava wall rising up out of the water. The rift between the North Atlantic plate and the European plate is growing at about an inch per year, it is truly splitting Iceland apart. Near this location it is possible to snorkle in the water and see the gap between the plates below the water.
After all these sights, we returned to Reykjavik for a light dinner at a cute restaurant called the Laundromat. Sated and refreshed we were picked up at 9:00pm to head to the blue mountain ski area (Blafjoll) to hopefully see the Northern Lights. The inky sky was filled with the Milky Way, a zillion stars and planets. As a few hours passed we were not sure if the lights were with us. A shooting star made a spectacular appearance and then, close to 11:30 we were fortunate to see the dance of the aurora borealis. On our drive back to the hotel, we stopped at the harbor looking out to a small island which has the Yoko Ono Imagine Peace tower. There is a beam of light which is a memorial to John Lennon. It is also a symbol to remind everyone to imagine peace.
This was a spectacular day filled with colors and wonder.
Where is Wendy 