ICELAND
In October 2016, my wife went to a conference in Stockholm and afterwards we took the opportunity to visit Iceland for 3 days (it wasn’t enough time). We grabbed a plane in Wow Airlines, which has low cost flights that connect Europe and North America with stops in Reykjavik.
We weren’t able to see northern lights, although the season runs from September to April. Weather wasn’t that bad, but as Icelanders say, it can change in 5 minutes.
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE TOUR
We booked this tour for our second day. We went with Reykjavik Excursions, but almost every tour operator has it (the other option is to rent a car, there’s no easy way to get anywhere with public transportation).
They take you to Gulfloss waterfalls, the geysers, and at the end to Þingvellir National Park (where they shoot Game of Thrones!)
STROKKUR GEYSER
It’s an active one that shoots up to 30m of water every 5-10 minutes. EVERY.SINGLE.TOURIST was standing with his or her camera ready to take a selfie. Of course, we did it as well.
FONTANA WELLNESS
Our tour had an extra stop: a geothermal bath. Many people told us the Blue Lagoon was always crowded, so it was nice to go to this place instead.
Remember: first, you rinse yourself (naked or Icelanders will be angry (according to every postcard and sign)), then you take a dive on the cold lake like a viking, and at the end you relax on the 40ºC pools. It was delicious.
GEOTHERMAL BREAD
Regardless of the relaxation, the highlight of our was tasting the rye bread they prepare buried on the ground. As it’s a geothermal site, the ground works as an oven where bread gets baked in 24 hours. Add butter and it’ll be one of the best bread you’ll taste!
REYKJAVIK
On our third day we took a Free Walking Tour in Reykjavik. Our guide was really funny and helped us learn about the Icelandic culture, for example, how complicated it is to know if someone is your relative, because you inherit your father’s name as a last name.