After our super fun time in Germany, it was time to make our way back west towards home. When we began to make our plans for this trip we thought it would be really cool to see if we could fly Iceland Air because we knew you could stop over in Iceland for up to seven days without any additional fees. Iceland has recently become a very popular destination and I knew several people that had made the trip in the past year so we decided to do the same. We also knew it would be fun for us to be together without any additional relatives for a few days before returning to our regular life in the US.
Iceland definitely did not disappoint. In fact, I think the whole family agrees it was one of our favorite places we've visited. We landed in the late afternoon and didn't have many plans for our first day. We stopped at a roadside fast food restaurant and quickly realized that Iceland would be EXPENSIVE. We ordered a hamburger, hot dog, two servings of 6-piece chicken nuggets, one medium fries and one soda and paid in Icelandic krona. Adam asked me to do the conversion to find out how much it cost in American dollars. We were shocked to find out this meal cost us $46! As an island with little ability to farm or produce their own food everything has to be imported, thus making food quite pricey. We vowed to eat the rest of the meals at our rented apartment to save some money!
As we drove towards the city of Reykjavik we observed quite a different landscape than what we had seen in mainland Europe. Because of the frigid temperatures and the volcanic soil no tall trees grow in Iceland. There are lots of areas of volcanic rock and other areas of low green plants and grasses. We headed to a beach and lighthouse near the city just to see more of the landscape and the water. We decided to head to our AirBnB early since it was right in the center of the pedestrian zone and we would have some time to walk around. We walked on the main street for a bit and then the girls went home with Adam and I went on a quest for Icelandic yarn. I knew the Handknitting Association of Iceland store was nearby and I was on a mission to get my hands on some wool. The Handknitting Association sells handmade Icelandic sweaters and they are very expensive. I wanted to pick out a traditional pattern and the yarn for my own. I spent a long time looking at patterns and touching skein after skein of yarn and finally selected my pattern and wool and left a happy knitter. I can't wait to start knitting but the project will probably have to wait until the winter because no one wants to knit a wool sweater in the hot summer months.
The next day was a blur of beauty. We were blessed with perfect weather so we were able to do a lot of walking and could get up close to the natural beauty. We took a long ride in the car and hit all the main natural attractions within about 2 hours of the capital. We saw gorgeous waterfalls, geysers, natural springs, and black sand beaches. The pictures are pretty but seeing it in person was simply magnificent. Talia loved that we could walk behind one of the waterfalls. Tea enjoyed climbing out close to the tops of the falls. Both girls enjoyed building cairns with the rocks on the black sand. Watching the geysers go off was so much fun but the girls did not like the smell of all the sulfur. In fact, the smell of sulfur is quite strong in Iceland and particularly pungent when you take a warm shower. The girls begged to not have to shower in the apartment because it was so stinky!
Our last full day of vacation was spent enjoying more of Iceland. We took a puffin boat tour and really enjoyed seeing the birds in their natural habitats. We saw hundreds of the birds flying, swimming and perched on the small islands off the coast. It was pretty chilly on the boat, but was definitely a worthwhile experience. We walked around more of Reykjavik, went to the Cathedral, saw the famous viking sculpture and were happy to be somewhere where we could enjoy the beautiful weather. It wasn't cold and we were so happy to be away from the high heat of mainland Europe so the girls just played outside at the Cathedral for a while.
On our final day in Europe before we had to get on the plane to head home, we had to go to The Blue Lagoon. It's a major tourist attraction but also ended up being something we all loved. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa in Grindavik, not far from the airport. The warm water is rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and was so relaxing. The pool is just huge and while there were a lot of people there, it didn't feel crowded. We stayed in the water for quite a while. Tea and I got silica face masks. We all got free drinks and enjoyed having cherry slushies in the warm pool - we needed something to cool us down in the hot water. It was just so much fun to all be in the water together and enjoy this last adventure on our vacation.
After we showered and dried off it was time to head home. We had an uneventful and easy trip back to the United States and are happy to be back home. We are looking forward to a few more adventures this summer and then it's back to school for everyone. We are so blessed and lucky to have been able to share this trip together and to be able to have some of our family with us for different parts. Where will the Raddays go next?