Iceland

The Golden Circle

May 21-27, 2012:  Iceland with Betsy and Chad

We picked Iceland because of the killer airfare on a new flight path and the easy flights to and from that maximized days off.  Overall impression:  Iceland is beautiful, intriguing, and full of adventure.  Food is outrageously expensive, and remaining expenses are pretty comparable to U.S. prices.  The end of May is a great time to go because the weather isn't bad, most roads are open, and it isn't crowded.  It would have been fun to see the northern lights in the off-season though . . .

Betsy Haws and I flew on the fantastic non-stop flight from Denver to Reykjavik (redeye, arriving in Iceland at 6:30 a.m.).  After the world's easiest trip through customs, we met up with the rental agent and checked out our vehicle, a gigantic Nissan Pathfinder we nicknamed Thor.  While 4WD is a must in Iceland, I don't think we needed to go with the full size SUV--a small SUV would have been adequate.  We met up with Chad at his itty bitty hotel in Keflavik (do not stay in Keflavik--go to Reykjavik), then hit the road.

Breakfast at C is for Cookie--all Iceland cafes are darling.

After fueling up, we started our trek around the Golden Circle.  Driving a rental in Iceland is the way to go--there are so many beautiful things to see on the road, and going at our own pace was ideal.  Driving is easy--very few quirky road rules, and very safe (as long as we stuck to the road).  Our first official stop was Geysir--home to Strokkur, the most unexpected geyser.

We then drove up to Myrdalsjokull for dog sledding.  The instructions from dogsledding.is were awful, and we ended up trying to get up a very steep snow-packed road . . . and got stuck.  In the middle of nowhere.  Betsy and Chad pushed us out, and we eventually located the pink van with all the dogs (don't know how we missed it--we blame it on the intense conversation we were having on the meaning of life as we bumped along on the road to nowhere).  Dogsledding across the ice fields was a riot.  The snow was a little bit soft, but when the dogs picked up speed--wow.  We went on the hour ride--no need for more than that.

Next stop was Gulfoss.  Holy cow--one of the most incredible natural wonders I didn't know I was missing out on.  Can't believe they let people get so close to the edge.

Memorable treat:  Lindin cafe in Laugarvatn, chocolate mousse with warm cream sauce and watermelon pieces.  Sure, it was $18, but so is every other bit of food in Iceland.  Eat granola bars for lunch and save room for this.

We slept in Reykjavik at the Hilton Nordica.  It's a little bit far away from city center, but I loved the hotel.  Great design, big windows overlooking the harbor and bay, not insanely priced, free parking.  We ended our night at the geothermal pool, Laugardslag.  Visiting the geothermal pools is a must do in Iceland, and it's cheap (just make sure to follow the washing protocol--the Icelandic people were extremely friendly to us, but they will yell if they think Americans are disrupting the hot pot system).  The sun didn't go down until almost midnight--this photo was taken from our hotel room at about 11 p.m.  Not a lot of sleep going on in Iceland, but a great start to our adventure.