Iceland: Around the Ring

Seyðisfjörður

Driving Iceland’s Ring Road is one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. The first three days of the trip is covered here. Now we’re rounding the corner on the Eastern coast and heading up towards Iceland’s Capital of the North: Akureyri.

Day 4: Eastern Fjords

This morning started with a long drive to the town of Egilsstaðir in the East. At this point, the Ring Road starts to follow the coast and the coast turns into one fjord after another. Meandering along the coast is not the quickest way to get somewhere, but it’s hard to complain when you get views like this:

Iceland's East Coast

Once you get past Selfoss, the towns in Iceland are tiny. Each one is announced with a city sign, and then you pass a couple of buildings and suddenly there’s a sign announcing that the city is over. I got used to small towns and seeing houses scattered in precarious places on the hillsides. We stopped at the town of Djúpivogur simply because it was the only town on the East coast for miles and miles. We ate at a cafe there where the local townspeople had been having coffee with delicious Icelandic meringue since the 1800s. We explored the town and surprisingly found out that we were NOT the only ones here.

Nat Geo is Everywhere! 

Playing Behind Djúpivogur's Cafe

After Djúpivogur, we continued into a valley that reminded me of my favorite place on the planet: Glacier National Park. Except, this was way better (the former Park Ranger from Glacier and I both agreed).

Just another beautiful valley we had to drive through. This road sucks.

Although the Ring Road is the main road around the island, it’s not even paved the entire way. Signs like this would sneak up on us consistently.

Photo Credit: sciamanna.com

Once we reached Egilsstaðir, we broke away from the main road and took Route 93 to an amazingly picturesque town called Seyðisfjörður. It is nestled into a lovely fjord and the drive toward the water is riddled with beautiful views and waterfalls. We ate reindeer pizza at a small cafe that had board games and crayons. I even figured out where the Dread Pirate Roberts is currently stationed - he was our waiter!

Westley!

We saw some art based on sheep parts (weird!) and walked up to a beautiful waterfall cascading over the town. Then we admired the fjord from a small harbor in town.

Seyðisfjörður 

Icelandic waterfalls are EVERYWHERE. There have to be so many the entire 325,000-person population can have its own personal waterfall, probably right in their backyard. It’s just stunning!

We returned to Egilsstaðir, visited the Nettó grocery store and made our own meal that night. The food in Iceland is very expensive! A typical meal out for us, a family of four, was usually around $100. We bought soup and some apples at a tourist road stop once: $68. We took advantage of grocery stores whenever we could, but it’s hard to cook when you don’t have a cooler. This trip, I discovered that Cheerios just doesn’t cut it for breakfast, not even when they come in a familiar box with cryptic words.

Honestly not sure if this is Icelandic or Danish

Day 5: Whales & Water

Day 5 was epic. We drove two hours to see Dettifoss, Europe’s largest waterfall (by volume).

 Dettifoss

Then we found Hverir, a large geothermal area with steam vents and mud pots. This is one thing that the US has over Iceland. Yellowstone’s geysers and thermal features are far better, but it’s still amazing to see the Icelandic ones.

Thermal Vent 

Sulfur Smells Great

One of the best experiences of the whole trip was eating lunch at a cowshed right on the banks of Lake Mývatn, Vogafjós. The food was all from the farm itself (burgers, lamb soup, ice cream) -- so good. I had the best glass of milk of my life and all with a beautiful view of an amazing lake. The girls even got to pet a cow!

After lunch we snaked our way to Húsavík, the whale-watching capital of Iceland. In the summer they have a 99% whale-spotting success rate on their ships (we went through North Sailing) and an insane number of species you might be able to see (orcas, blue whales, humpback whales, etc). I had been nervous that the girls wouldn’t be able to be on a boat for three hours without going crazy, but they loved it!

Iceland gets creative with its street signs 

Hello from the top deck!

They gave us warm pullovers (which were necessary) and we set off into the bay with the most glorious views of snow-covered peaks. It didn’t take long before we spotted two humpback whales. By the time we were done, we’d seen at least four and a group of white-beaked dolphins. This was a highlight for most of us. The girls liked it not just because they got to see some whales, but because they fed us cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate on the way back!

Setting Sail 

My Best Photo of a Humpback Whale 

Whale with a Rainbow | Photo Credit: Nathan King 

Whale Tail | Photo Credit: Nathan King

They're on a Boat (and Are Giant Goofballs)

The day was fading fast, but in a world where the sun never sets, you’ve got a lot of time to fit extra activities into your days. Since the first thermal bath was such a hit, we decided to visit Mývatn Nature Baths before going to bed. The Nature Bath was a huge, warm, rocky pool with milky water and a wonderful view of Lake Mývatn. I enjoyed jumping from the pool to a small hot tub to the steam room again and again, but we didn't stay long. The photo below was taken when we left at around 10pm.

Mývatn Nature Baths

Day 6: Driving

A relaxing Ring Road trip is really a 10-day affair and we were doing it in 8 days with one of them spent on the Golden Circle (not technically part of the Ring Road), so we had to play catch-up somewhere! We slept in and started the long drive around Lake Mývatn toward the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, but didn’t get far.

We HAD to stop at Grjótagjá, which, in and of itself is a really cool cave. It also happens to be the place where Jon Snow and Ygritte...do some stuff...in Game of Thrones.

Grjótagjá 

Grjótagjá from Above

Nathan found a birding museum and we stopped for an hour to look at dead birds and learn that more species of duck nest on this lake than anywhere else in the world.

Birdman

Then we stopped at my favorite waterfall of the trip: Goðafoss. To get to a good viewpoint, we followed the throngs of tourists across precariously slippery stones over waterfall runoff. People had to randomly help the kids across, but it was completely worth the danger of falling in to see this.

Goðafoss

On the way back, a German guy took a huge spill off one of the rocks and knocked Alison over. She took it like a champ.

We hit Akureyri, Iceland’s Capital of the North around lunchtime. We needed something fast because we had six more hours to drive that day. The guidebook called Hamborgarafabrikkan (Hamburger Factory) the closest thing to fast food that the country had (it also said it was WAY better than our fast food chains), so we tried it. First off, their version of “fast food” is a full service restaurant (probably the closest thing in reality are their hot dog stands). They had 15 different kinds of specialty burgers, a delightful kids’ menu that included Octopus Hot Dogs, and a cupcake that looked like a burger.

Dessert Burgers

It was surprisingly good! They have the best milkshakes ever (so good that we went back to another Hamburger Factory in Reykjavik only a day later because Nathan wanted to try it).

After that, we drove and drove on roads that were sometimes paved, sometimes not until we got to Stykkishólmur, a beautiful town on the North side of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. It is surrounded by islands of every size and shape dotting the ocean as far as the eye could see. We trekked up to the top of a viewpoint overlooking the bay to see this:

Stykkishólmur

Our Airbnb for the night was nearby in Grundarfjörður, right at the base of perhaps the second-most-photographed mountain in Iceland: Kirkjufell. There was a hot tub with an amazing view. It was just perfect.

View from the Hot Tub

Day 7: Maddie’s Birthday

Madeline turned four today! She was such a great traveler the entire trip -- so laid-back, so funny, such an all-around wonderful kid. I’d mentioned her birthday to our Airbnb host months ago, but they remembered and had cake, cold milk, a card, and homemade necklaces for both girls waiting when we got there. This was the best place we’d stayed in the whole country (stay there)!

After a short celebration, we hit the road again. At this point, we’d felt like we’d seen the country. The everlasting sun and constant driving were wearing on most of us. If I had to plan the trip again, I’d skip this final day and just go straight to Reykjavik, but the Snæfellsnes Peninsula is many people’s favorite place on the island, so I didn’t want to miss it. It turned out to be a recap of almost every feature we’d seen on the Ring Road.

There were amazing waterfalls and mountains.

The famous photo everyone gets | Photo Credit: Nathan King

Rocky coastlines with views of amazing Glaciers.

Skarðsvík Beach | Photo Credit: Nathan King

Sand Castle! 

Snæfellsjökull Glacier (and the entrance to the center of the Earth)

We traveled through Snæfellsjökull National Park, where Jules Vernes’ Into the Center of the Earth is set. We saw black sand beaches with spires and a shipwreck.

Djúpalónssandur

We stopped to admire bird cliffs and amazing views. We tried to eat at a cute seaside fishing shack, but they’d just lost power.

Bird Cliffs in Hellnar 

We even stopped at a horse farm and the girls got to sit on a horse.

Maddie on her first horse | Photo Credit: Nathan King

But we were beat, so we trudged on toward Reykjavik to find some food and souvenirs. I took the family to a place I’d eaten with a new friend last trip: Svarta Kaffið. It’s a small cafe that serves two types of soup a day in a bread bowl and beer/cider. I can’t imagine a better mix of foods for a country whose summer temperatures hover in the 50s.

Svarta Kaffið

Maddie had a good birthday. There was only one last thing we needed to do before leaving Iceland.

Day 8: The Blue Lagoon

There’s an iconic place in Iceland that most people doing stopovers see because it’s right by the airport. The Blue Lagoon is the “Disneyland of Thermal Spas”. It is a gigantic complex with a huge, warm pool with blue-green water filled with silica, which gives it a milky look and makes your skin feel silky soft, but your hair feel like a witch’s fingernails for a week. There is a facial bar, a drink bar, an hydraulic waterfall, steam room, sauna, a couple of restaurants, a massage area, and a hotel. This place is HUGE and all set in the middle of a lava rock-filled landscape that could be from another planet. You can walk around in the pool and relax for hours.

Entering the Lagoon 

The thing I LOVE to do in the thermal spas in Iceland (why don’t we have these in the US?!) is that you can sit by a wall, submerged in the warm, wonderful water, but have your arms out, resting on the edge with the refreshing Icelandic breeze running constantly over them. It is the most relaxing experience. I want to go back so, so much. Best of all, this is what families in Iceland do for fun. So, while our hot tubs in the US are adorned with warnings against kids under 14 using them, all kids above 2 are welcome at The Blue Lagoon. We stayed for two hours and then it was time to catch our flight to London.

Iceland is a dream. It reminds me of what this planet could be if we hadn’t already overpopulated most of it. It has miles of dramatic and ever-changing landscape, and is one of the most unspoiled places that we have left on Earth. I am torn between my desire to go back again and again and the need to keep it pristine for others to see. You should go. And when you do, take me!

Iceland

I started a new job in September as the Head of Product Operations for Capital One's Innovation Labs. I had a week off between jobs and at the last minute, I booked a flight to Iceland. It quickly became one of my favorite places on the planet.

Iceland is crazy beautiful: mountains and volcanos pop up in every direction, looming over fields of lava rocks covered in moss. You can't take a photo without capturing a picturesque waterfall or steaming geothermal feature in the distance. At this time of year, the grasses and plants are turning brilliant shades of red, yellow, orange, and bright green. Iceland also has an interesting history that includes vikings and the first parliamentary government in the world. In 3.5 days I toured a small section of Iceland within two hours of Reykjavik. I packed my itinerary full, hoping to see and do as much as possible in that short time.

Day 1 (9/21/16): Golden Circle & Fontana Wellness Spa
The Reykjavik tour operators have made it really simple to get around the country. I hoped on a bus at the airport at 6:00am that dropped me off at my hotel, Hótel Ísland (which, by the way, means "Iceland" not "Island" in Icelandic - I found that out the hard way). The hotel had a place to store my bags and change for the day. By 8:30am, I'd been picked up by another bus and was on my way to visit the Icelandic countryside.

We first stopped at an Icelandic Horse Farm to learn about this special species of pony-like horse, the only kind they have on the island. I met this horse.

The next stop is where things got really, really good. We saw Gullfoss Falls, which is a big, beautiful double waterfall with a path that allows you to get relatively close as well as admire it from afar.

Next, I stopped at a geothermal area and saw several geysers, including the punctual Strokkur geyser, which goes off, on average, every 5-10 minutes.

The geysers are nothing compared to Yellowstone, but I hiked up a nearby mountain and found this picturesque farm and winding stream on the other side.

Iceland is not warm (go figure!) and it was in the 40s and 50s during my trip. It also rained on and off and was cloudy about 95% of the time, but that didn't really affect my trip. In fact, it made eating hot chocolate and soup a real joy. My first meal in Iceland was a steaming bowl of the native lamb meat soup (chicken broth, meat, and veggies). It was delightful (if you ignore the fact that you're eating a baby animal :/)

Our next stop was the Fontana Wellness Spa. Here, we learned about how the locals make rye bread, by burying it in a hot spring and cooking it for 24 hours. We got a demonstration and tasted it too. Delicious!

For the next two hours, we soaked in hot spring bliss. The Fontana Wellness Spa has four pools, kept at different temperatures, a sauna, steam room, and a glacially-fed lake. It was surprisingly fun to jump from pool to pool, relaxing, then adjusting your temperature by moving to a different pool. I even jumped off the end of the pier into the lake. It was so cold that by the time I got back to shore, I couldn't feel my legs. I only had to try that once.

The last stop of the day was an incredible gem. It was Thingvellir National Park, which is significant for two reasons. First, it was the site of the world's first parliament, where different early tribes in Iceland met to discuss governance issues starting in around 930 AD. Second, this is where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. You can see both ridges (and they are beautiful) and walk around in the gap between them. It is also incredibly picturesque and is probably my favorite scenic area in Iceland.

At this point in the day, I was fighting to stay awake, but I was also very hungry. At the hotel restaurant, I let the waitress talk me into getting the Atlantic Char, a local fish dish, and it was amazing.

Day 2 (9/22/16): Snorkeling Silfra, Reykjavik, and the Blue Lagoon
On Day 2, I did something that I admit was a little stupid: I went snorkeling in 37-degree glacial water. Silfra is an area in Thingvellir National Park where water fills the crack between the splitting tectonic plates. The water is crystal clear, filtered over 30-100 years from a nearby glacier through lava rocks. It is pure, cold drinking water with visibility up to 150 meters. The crack itself is a geologists' dream. While there is no wildlife in it (not enough to eat), the formations are amazing, especially the section known as "the cathedral" where the crack plunges down and you can see deep into the earth through clear cerulean waters. It was amazing, except for the temperature. We were in dry suits, but they didn't protect your hands or face from the extreme cold. I was only in the water for 40 minutes, but my lips went numb after 1 minute. The experience is really neat, but uncomfortable. The preparation took 1-2 hours and it was windy and rainy as we suited up. After it was over, I felt much like I did after climbing Kilimanjaro: I was glad to have done it, but I don't feel the need to do it again. We got hot chocolate and digestives afterwards, which was delightful.

I was so excited to get back to the hotel, take a warm shower, and have a big bowl of soup after this! After a couple hours of relaxation, I ventured into downtown Reykjavik. The city is cute and walkable. I didn't get very far past the shops on Laugavegur Road and Hallgrímskirkja Cathedral, but I had a good time exploring.

A delicious local orange soda I discovered.

In the evening, I was supposed to go whale watching, but the wind was so high that it was canceled. Instead, I went on the most iconic of all Icelandic adventures: the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a huge thermal bath, fed with both fresh water and geothermal salt water. There are minerals in the water that make your skin baby soft and you can relax in peace for hours. I've heard it called "The Disney Land of hot springs" because it is huge and located right next to the airport so it can get very busy. There is a swim-up bar and a giant hydraulic massage waterfall. You can get a silica mud mask for your face and explore the giant pool or just sit in one glorious place. It was pretty amazing.

I never took any photos here because it was dark and I was too busy relaxing, so here's a stock photo from Guide to Iceland. Love this place!

Day 3 (9/23/16): Glacier Hiking & Waterfalls
On my final full day in Iceland, I took a bus two hours along the South road. Here, the scenery is out-of-this world amazing. Mountains and volcanoes crop up out of nowhere, each with its own spectacular waterfall. There are picturesque farms dotted with sheep, Icelandic horses, and cows. You have a view of the ocean off in the distance, with jagged islands shrouded in mist. In fact, I got to see the volcano (Eyjafjallajökull) that erupted six years ago, halting all air traffic from Europe. After the drive, we stopped at Sólheimajökull Glacier and grabbed crampons and an ice ax to go out onto the glacier.

The Mountain Guides I went with have an incredible knowledge of the glacier. We first walked through an area dubbed "Mordor", with huge peaks of ice and ash. Crevices and waterfalls of ice water were around every corner and we skirted around features constantly to stay on solid ice.

After Mordor we got a view of the larger Glacier. I've never been near a Glacier this big before and it is spectacular.

There was a place on the Glacier where a river of water has eaten away the glacier and formed the most amazing walls, waterfalls, and sculptures in the ice. We walked down inside this area, where the walls were well-above our heads.

This walk was my favorite activity the whole trip, in a vacation that was jam-packed with incredible experiences. On the way home I visited two waterfalls: Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss. Both spectacular in their own ways. You can walk behind Seljalandsfoss and to get an amazing view from every angle.

That evening, I met up with my friend, Jesse's cousin's girlfriend (Ilyssa) who was starting a three-month epic tour of Europe. We went to a cute little restaurant called Svarta Kaffid that only sells two soups a day in a bread bowl with beer (how perfect). Soup is the ultimate meal in Iceland; so warm and cozy. I'm excited to follow Ilyssa on her own journey long after I arrive home.

Day 4 (9/24/16): Whale Watching & Home
After my whale watching was canceled on Thursday, I was able to reschedule it for the morning before I left on Saturday. It was raining again and the ticket window had a large sign that said "Rough Seas". They offered us all sea sickness pills and I happily took one. The boat headed out past more mountains in the mist of the rain and then we waited. And waited and waited and waited. About two hours later, I had given up and was trying to enjoy the (somewhat cold) sea air on my face. Suddenly we found one: a minke whale, not far from the front of the boat. I saw its small dorsal fin pop out of the water twice. That was it. Three hours of waiting for two seconds of whale viewing. The company thought that was pretty crappy too, so they gave us all tickets to return and try again within the next two years.

I had to rush to the airport after that and through passport checkpoints. I feel like I barely made my flight, but got home on time and was happy to be back.

I loved Iceland so much that I'm planning to take the family back for a week next summer. It will be the kids' first time out of the country. They're going to love it.