I was very sad when our last day in Oslo came around. We had a great time in Norway and I was not looking forward to going back to NYC, or more specifically, going back to work. The only upside to leaving Norway was that the wife had planned a little side trip for the family a few months back. She had always wanted to visit Iceland and thus set up a stop off for us in Reykjavik before heading home. I had never been spent anytime in Iceland beyond having a short layover in the Reykjavik airport so I was anxious to finally experience another Nordic country.
We we first arrived I have to admit that I wasn’t really impressed with Iceland. The trip in from the airport had us traveling past a rocky and barren landscape that went on for miles. It reminded me of the pictures that we got back from the Mars rover. As we got closer to the city the terrain began to soften somewhat. What shocked me was that it was still August and the locals were already wearing down coats. We stayed at what I was told was the tallest building in Iceland, the Grand Hotel. The fact that the hotel was only about 15 stories tall gave me a genuine chuckle. We then checked into our hotel and went for an early dinner.
The restaurant that we ate at, Veitingahusio Italia, had some of the best Italian food I had eaten in years believe it or not. Luckily had the early meal because by 11pm everything was pretty much closed down. And this was on a Friday night. I cannot imagine how it must be in the winter.
Day two in Iceland was much better, but it was still pretty cold. The wife took us to the Blue Lagoon outdoor hot springs to combat the chill in the air. I am not kidding when I say that is was the hot springs were the most relaxing experience that I can remember. I went in thinking I would stay for about 30 mins to get my money’s worth and I ended up staying in the warm mineral water for close to six hours. I looked like one of the California raisin
when I came out, but I felt like an entirely new person. The Blue Lagoon hot springs made the trip worth it in my opinion. It was no joke.
Overall I was expecting a very different type of trip. I did not expect the place to be as scenic. Iceland is beautiful in a different type of way than the nordic countries that I associated with it, like Norway and Sweden. The landscape and vibe of Iceland is radically different because of the volcanic formations and the extremely small population. There are only 320,000 people in the entire country. The people are also seem kind of reserved, even by Scandinavian standards. They are friendly but it takes them a little while warm up. It is hard to explain without viewing it.
Iceland was also more expensive than I had expected. I thought that with their recent economic issues it would have made things much cheaper. While it is not as expensive as Norway, it wasn’t exactly cheap either.
Day three in Iceland was amazing. We had rented a car and left Reykjavik so that we could explore the countryside. All I can say is that Iceland is a truly a beautiful country. We drove around for a few hours to go see Gullfoss, the largest waterfall in Europe. On the drive up we also stopped at the Icelandic version of “Old Faithful”, appropriately called Geysir. If there is any major downside it is that larger parts of the country smells like sulfur due to the geothermal activity. Even the normal tap water will sometimes have a sulfur like smell and taste. The dichotomy of the landscape on the trip up was also impressive. There were parts of Iceland that looked like a burnt out volcanic hellscape and other parts with lush green hills and valleys that look like pure heaven.
Day four in Iceland was quiet and uneventful. I spent the day relaxing with the wife and kids. I wanted to go back to the Blue Lagoon but instead we just walked around downtown Reykjavik looking at the shops and buildings. We went back to that great Italian restaurant for our last dinner before heading back to NYC the following day.