It's stunning. Truly stunning. I don't think I've been anywhere quite like it before.
We arrived at Keflavík airport pretty tired and hungry (our flight had been delayed). It was evening. Pretty dark in Iceland (although we learnt it's kinda dark there a lot of the time during winter). We saw only expanses of white through the window of our coach. The entire landscape was just fields of snow. Everything seemed a little bit magical. A bit Narnia I guess.
We were the last drop-off on our journey, and it was worth the wait. Our hotel looked pretty damn majestic. We got inside, dropped off our stuff, and got ready to go out and eat in the capital Reykjavík. What we wasn't expecting was being able to see the Northern lights in the middle of the city centre. It's an experience you can't forget. Truly fucking surreal. Being able to look up into the night's sky and see that was incredible. Our night was made better only by the fact we visited one of the best restaurants in Iceland (according to TripAdvisor and our bellies). Some of the best seafood cuisine I've ever tasted (go to Sjavargrillid, "Seafood Grill" if you're ever in Iceland!). So our Friday night was pretty much made.
Saturday evening we were booked on a Northern Lights tour with Reykjavík excursions (more about them later). But we had to fill our day somehow. Looking at the map, we decided to visit the Laugardalslaug geothermal swimming pools (we had free admission vouchers). They didn't disappoint. However, upon walking in, you are confronted with a sign that requires you to wash thoroughly before going in the pools. Which is cool. However you must be naked...
...And also, they were communal showers. There were a lot of Icelandic flaps and bumps I didn't really expect to see. But there you go. I guess if you're not really comfortable with exposing your naked self, don't visit. Although I think you'd be missing out on a pretty great experience there. Never have I been in an outdoor swimming pool where it's -2°C outside. Makes getting in the pool a much quicker experience, if nothing else.
The time came to go on our Northern lights tour. Although our tour operator, Reykjavík excursions, were over an hour late in getting to us. Which was annoying. However, our tour guide was very friendly, and we learnt a little bit about Iceland and it's folklore as we travelled for around an hour to get to an isolated, dark area. It was so eerie being in the middle of nowhere with just the snow and stars for company. We didn't get to see the Northern lights, but that's just the way it goes. Nature is unpredictable. We just felt lucky to have seen it the night before.
Sunday came and we had booked a Golden Circle tour. This included a trip to the Friðheimar greenhouse specializing in tomato growing; we got to eat the soup they make out of them, and also look at a box of bees. Which was odd, but nice, I guess. After that, we travelled to the Geysir geothermal area where the Strokkur geyser shoots a column of water up to 30 metres into the air every 4-8 minutes. It was pretty entertaining to watch. The visit continued with the Gullfoss ("Golden Falls") waterfall, created by the river Hvítá. It's a magnificent thing to view. Even if it was a tad windy by the time we got there. The last stop was the Thingvellir National Park, where we learnt that the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of a few centimetres per year. So that was an interesting fact. Although the winds had got even stronger at this point. Plus it was raining. So, we only got a few glimpses of the spectacular landscape...
After a very full day of sightseeing, we ate at our hotel restaurant, which was pretty delicious too. Our flight was an early one, the transfer bus was coming for us at 3:45am. However, they didn't actually turn up until 5:00am. (Reykjavík Excursions, as lovely as the people may be, are not very punctual). We made it just in time for our flights.
It was both an exhilarating and exhausting experience. But I would most definitely recommend doing it. If the Northern Lights are on your bucket list, then do take a trip to Iceland. It's a really beautiful place. Just a bit expensive. They are recovering well though (at least, we were reassured of that fact by all the tour guides!).
I couldn't have asked for a better two year celebration.
(one of the only photos to come out was this one, waiting for the Northern lights!)
