Adventures in Iceland

This past weekend I took my long-awaited trip to Iceland and *spoiler alert* it absolutely exceeded expectations. Hands down coolest place I've been in my life (so far!). Click here to watch the video I made of the trip:

Four of my friends from Villanova and I had literally been planning this trip for two months, so by the time classes ended on Thursday we were so excited and ready to begin our adventure! We had one goal in mind for the weekend and that was to see the Northern Lights. Kind of a funny story - as we flew into Reykjavik two of the girls got to see them from their plane window! They came off the plane talking about how crazy awesome it was (one of them even cried!) and were asking everyone else what we thought. Too bad the rest of us were in middle seats on the other side of the plane and we couldn't see them! It only made us even more determined to see them before the weekend was over.

We picked up our rental car from the airport and (after scraping about six inches of snow off of it) headed to our Airbnb. The next morning we walked outside to a beautiful winter wonderland - none of us had seen snow in a while! We headed into town to pick up some groceries and then went back to our apartment to make pancakes for breakfast. After re-bundling up we went back into the city to explore.

the view from outside our apartment

First stop was to Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest buildings in the country! We walked around inside the church for a while and then took the elevator to the lookout at the top. You could see all of Reykjavik from the observation deck and with the snow coming down it looked like we were inside a snow globe. After heading back down to ground level, we had a tiny snowball fight before checking out the shops in town. Reykjavik reminded me of what a ski town would look like - there were lots of cute boutiques and cafes in a rustic wintry style - it was so quaint and cute!

first of many group selfies

inside the church

view from the top!

we found a beautiful snowy path

One of my friends had found a lake about thirty minutes outside of the city so we decided to head over there next. It was amazing that after about twenty minutes in the car the landscape was so different. It went from city to mountains and fields of snow almost instantly! Just being in the car and seeing such dramatic scenery was one of my favorite parts about the trip. When we were about ten minutes away from the lake the paved roads turned into snow packed gravel and we got to the base of a huge hill with a icy windy road. Unsure that our little Toyota would make it up, we decided to wait it out at the bottom and see if any other cars were coming down. We flagged down a van that came down and asked the driver if he thought we would make it up the mountain. He first asked us if we had snow spikes on our tires (we didn't) then told us we would probably be ok if we "put the car in first gear and really slowly pressed the brake" (our car was automatic). We decided it was better to be safe than sorry and abandoned the idea of going to the lake all together. Instead we hopped out of the car and took a few pictures in the snowy field. Still such a cool sight!

snowy selfie

laughing at how cold we were

just a casual barren snow field 20 minutes outside the city

Then we drove back into the city for a late lunch and a little more shopping before heading back to the apartment to freshen up before dinner. We met up with some other DIS students at a Mexican restaurant (of course) for some delicious burritos and then it was time for the most anticipated event: our Northern Lights tour. My friend Rachel found a tour online that was a mini-bus of only sixteen people and it included hot chocolate and donuts so obviously it was a no-brainer. We were super worried all day that since it was cloudy and snowy we weren't going to see them but everyone had their fingers crossed for a good show! Our tour guide and driver was hilarious - he taught us the "elf dance" and accompanying chant that allegedly get the lights to appear. We drove to the middle of nowhere (literally no one knew where we were) and set off to hunt for the lights. For the first two hours we only saw faint lines in the sky. They would come up really clearly on a camera but you couldn't really see them with your eyes. It was bitter cold (pretty sure my toes were going to fall off at one point) and everyone was feeling a little disappointed that we weren't going to see the lights like you imagine them to be (super bright and dancing in the sky). We got back on the bus and were headed back towards the city when all of the sudden there they were. Our driver quickly pulled over onto the side of the road and we all ran out of the bus to watch. Its so hard to describe what it felt like and what it looked like - everyone was awestruck and just fixated on the show in the sky. The lights were actually dancing across the horizon and were lighting up in shades of green and pink. It was absolutely incredible and an experience I will never forget. Pictures don't do it justice, but thankfully I was able to get these from a photographer who was on the tour with us!

captured this one on my phone

We got back to our apartment around 1am and all immediately crashed into bed. We got up pretty early the next morning (even though the sun doesn't rise in Iceland until about 9:45 this time of year) and packed a bunch of snacks and sandwiches for our drive around the Golden Circle. This is a route that takes you through some of the most amazing sights in central Iceland, showing the highlights of different types of scenery the country has to offer. In our planning process for this trip we found this blog post which gave directions on where to go and what to see on this scenic drive. Having our own car really came in handy this day because we got to stop wherever we wanted for however long we wanted. 

Along the way, we made stops in Thingvellir National Park, Strokkur Geyser, Gullfoss Waterfall, Kerid Crater Lake, and Friðheimar (a random tomato greenhouse in the middle of no where). We saw a fissure between two tectonic plates, pet Icelandic horses, and skipped rocks across the icy water. Each stop was more stunning than the last and at times it felt like were on a different planet! One minute we were surrounded by huge snow covered mountains and the next minute we were driving through fields of lava rocks. It was crazy!! I think my favorite stop was the waterfall - there was a perfect rainbow right over the falls when we got there and the whole thing was just one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. Apologies for the photo overload...

After about seven hours in the car we finally made it back to our apartment where we cooked pasta for dinner and watched 13 Going on 30. The next morning, we got up before the sun and drove to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa that pretty much everyone who goes to Iceland visits. The water is about 90-100 degrees and full of minerals that are supposed to be really good for your skin. We got to do two different kinds of face masks and watch the sunrise while relaxing in the spa - it was a perfect way to unwind and end the weekend. We grabbed a bite to eat afterwards and then headed back to the airport to return our car and hop on our flight back to Copenhagen.

I know we only just barely scratched the surface of what Iceland has to offer. We all decided that you would need to spend at least two weeks there if you really wanted to see it all. I know I'll be back someday - maybe next time it will be a little warmer...summer vacation to Iceland anyone??