My first time in Iceland (I want to go back there someday)

Iceland in Winter Time

11-14 January 2019

by Maria

Two whole days is not enough to see all the places we wanted to visit because of the shortened daylight, sunrise around 10am and sunset around 4pm, during winter. We had four days including the flight. 

Nevertheless, we still had a splendid, superb and an amazing experience in Iceland. The country is very clean and I can tell that the locals love their own local things, in short they are PATRIOTIC. The nature in Iceland reminds me of Switzerland and Norway, aside from the cost of living. 

From the airport, we took a bus and then walk to our hotel in Reykjavik. Then had dinner and wait for the next day to start our adventure.

What we visit:

Gulfoss 

Among the thousand waterfalls that can be found in Iceland, we are able to visit the three popular waterfalls in Iceland, Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, and the Gulfoss waterfalls.

Seljalandsfoss  

Skogafoss

Seljalandsfoss is where you can take a path that leads you behind the waterfall, but be ready as you will get soaking wet from the drizzle, but you will feel fresh afterward though. 
Skógafoss is a beautiful waterfall that you can go up to a stairs and see the water falls down the ground, during our visit, it was snowing and we love it. 
Gulfoss is part of the Golden Circle. It is almost the same with the Niagara falls in the USA. It was superb and mesmerizing waterfall. A spectacular view indeed. Though we can not go near it but you can appreciate it from afar. It was surrounded with snow, but of course because it was snowing during that day. Be aware to take all the precaution, wear the right shoes and warm clothes. 

The best thing about those places, there are no entrance fee, but there is a parking fee in Seljalandsfoss’ parking lot. Who doesn't love free anyway? 

Me and my husband at Gulfoss

Town of Vik

We drove through south of Iceland and we visited the Town of Vik. It is known for their black fine sand beach. 

We also visited the nearby place called “Dryhólaey”. It is a sanctuary where we saw the big and beautifully crafted stones in the sea. Birds flying around the place. The nest and some little birds caught our attention at the walls of these stones or cliffs.

Black sand beach

During the night when we drove back to the city of Reykjavik, we were able to see the Sun Voyager and the popular church called Hallgrimskirkja. 

The Sun Voyager

Sun Voyager is a striking steel sculpture made to resemble a Viking ship but, it is a dream boat and an ode to the sun. The Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in Iceland and among the tallest structures in the country. 

The Hallgrimskirkja

The next day we drove to the Golden Circle, which is a must see in Iceland. We visited Geysir Center, where can be found the Strukkor Geysir which we all say WOW everytime it spouting water from the ground. WOW just wow. During at this time we visited the Gulfoss, it is also part of the Golden Circle.  It took us for 10 minutes drive from the Geysir. There we saw a man who just asked his girlfriend to be his wife and got engaged. Some aged people who still travel and see the world.  Pingviller National Park is also part of the Golden circle, but we didn't have enough time to stop over. The park is located in a rift valley that caused by the separation of two tectonic plates, with rocky cliffs and fissures.

The Geyser

The last but not the least, we visited the Blue Lagoon, which is the most popular destination in Iceland. You need to pre-booked it online, although a little bit expensive, but it was all worth it. You can relax as much as you can in the warm water while surrounded with snow or it is snowing. The temperature is between 38-40 degree celsius, the fee is included free silica mask and one complimentary drink where you can choose either alcoholic or non alcoholic. You can enjoy your drinks while swimming or just staying still in the lake.

Free Silica mask

Enjoying the beer

I almost forgot, there are also three kinds of sauna rooms. The first one is really super HOT, I remembered that we only stayed there for a minute, just to experience it. Then the next one is not so so hot, these two sauna rooms are all empty. Then the 3rd one is just warm enough where people would like to stay. There is also a little waterfall that can massage your back or head, still warm water. It will make you feel good but it hurt a little bit maybe because I am not used to have a massage. But the people love it and so we are. The sad thing about our travel was, we are unable to see the Northern lights, which is one of our anticipating activity in Iceland. The people said that it is about luck, and depend on the weather and solar activity. Enable to see it, there should have a dark and clear sky, but during our stay, it was rainy, snowy, and cloudy during the night. So better luck next time. 

About the transportation, I highly recommend to rent a car so you will not limit your time and you can travel as much as you want. In Iceland, there is no metro and trains, only bus. It takes a lot of time to drive (2.5hrs one way going to Southern part from Reykjavik), because of the speed limit, higher is 90. Better be safe than sorry. The road are narrow and no highways.

The car we rented

Conclusion. We are very happy and enjoyed the trip so much. It was really a great, fantastic and a memorable getaway that we will never regret. We are thinking to go back during summer to have more daylights and be able to visit the Volcano and Ice cave. Hiking and other outdoor activities might be nice to try also. I very much RECOMMEND this country to visit.

Plus, a good reminder, travelling is best when you are together with your special someone. So travel as much as you can especially with the people you love and care about. No matter what happen, Always choose LOVE.