Iceland - March 2018

Back in October we found cheap (~$250 round trip) tickets to from JFK to Iceland. We used miles to get from PHX to JFK so it really was a cheap flight. Given we flew American to JFK and then Icelandair to Reykjavik we had a day in NYC.

We flew from PHX to JFK on March 14th and arrived in the city close to midnight local time. On Thursday morning we missed breakfast (tried to go to Hu Kitchen) so we just got some yogurt at Whole Foods in Union Square.

Dave's favorite animal is the white rhino so I had to get his picture by this rhinoceros statue.

We didn't really have plans for Thursday in the City, so ended up walking from midtown through Union Square and then to the Lower East Side to go to this vegan, gluten free bakery. I had been years ago prior to living in NYC.

I got a salted caramel donut and Dave ordered a strawberries and green (for St. Patrick's Day) eclair. We saved them for a snack on the plane.

Lunch was at Springbone. I had been before but the food is excellent and clean.

A shot of beef bone broth for lunch!

After our late lunch we headed towards JFK airport. Our flight was at 8:50pm but since it was international we didn't know how much time we would need. Turns out not much so we had time to spare in the airport.

I slept pretty well on the flight over, but Dave was having trouble sleeping. I think it was God keeping him awake, because he was able to see the Northern Lights outside of the plane window. He woke me up and I got out my DSLR camera and that is how the below photos were taken. I watched them for a while and took the first photo, but Dave kept watching and snapped the second photo. He said they started dancing around quite a bit.

Our plan was to see the lights when we were in Iceland, but being a "light-chaser" is a much more in-depth undertaking than either of us had planned. Needless to say we did not see the Northern Lights while we were on the ground in Iceland but we do have a better idea of what a plan would need to be on our next trip to Iceland.

Our plane landed at 6am local time, so we got the car rented and drove the half hour to Reykjavik to find breakfast. This is what we found based on a Google search.

After breakfast we decided to just drive for a while. It's a good thing Dave was the driver because I was so tired there is no way I could have driven a car. We drove and explored for a couple of hours. It was crazy the different weather we experienced on this drive. It started raining, and then it was snowing at one point and then it was somewhat clear and the roads were dry like they had never gotten any rain.

I hopped out to take some pictures but Dave decided to stay in the heated car.

After driving for a while I could not keep my eyes open anymore so I took a nap. We drove back and parked in front of the Airbnb but it was not going to be ready until 3pm so Dave also decided to take a nap in the car.

After a short nap, we took a walk around Reykjavik. I liked all of the different colored homes.

We stopped for coffee at Reykjavik Roasters - this was some much needed caffeine.

I found this cat wandering around...he was super friendly and definitely an indoor pet because he was very soft and fluffy.

On Friday afternoon we saw the only blue skies we would have during our entire trip. This is the church in the center of town and was steps from our Airbnb.

Looking down one of the streets towards the water.

Dinner Friday night was tapas at a restaurant called Rok. This food cost a little under $100. Before we left we had heard that food was very expensive there and this proves it.

Saturday morning we drove about 2 hours to a town called Husafell to meet up for an Into the Glacier tour. We were supposed to also go snowmobiling on the glacier but it was cancelled due to weather.

We rode in this old military vehicle to get onto the glacier from the base camp. This picture was taken at a stop about halfway.

The entrance into the glacier. It was so windy and had been snowing so they had to clear out the entrance.

It was cold, but I didn't need this snow suit. When we arrived, the guide said it was going to be 0 degrees inside and that we could use one of these if we didn't have clothes that were warm enough. Well I was a typical American and automatically thinking Fahrenheit but we were in Europe so that was Celsius and my coat would have worked fine for 32 degrees.

We walked through the entrance and into the glacier. We started by putting crampons on our shoes. The Into the Glacier is a tunnel that was excavated through the Langjokull Glacier which is the second largest glacier in Iceland. The tunnel was 500 meters long and it is 25 meters below the surface. There was still 200 meters of solid ice below us.

This is a crevice in the ice - these form in the glacier as it moves and will get larger before getting smaller.

A large crevice in the glacier. I thought it was interesting that if they did not maintain the tunnels then  the tunnels would disappear and there would be no sign that they ever existed.

After the glacier we took our time driving back to Reykjavik.

We stopped at this waterfall/river.

And then at this church and cemetery.

Saturday night we had an early dinner and then walked around in the rain for a while.

We stopped at illy for an after dinner coffee and macaroons.

I took my tripod down to the church Saturday night and tried to get some pictures.

Sunday we had 11am tickets for the Blue Lagoon.

This is a geothermal spa and is naturally heated. The temperature is around 100-105 F.

It was so nice to be outside and to be warm.

We got Skyr smoothies - Skyr is an Iceland treat, but tastes like yogurt.

We had a silica mask included in our day, as well as an algae mask.

This was the mask "bar."

My skin did feel great after all this.

After the Blue Lagoon we went to the local Iceland mall and had a coffee and walked around. For dinner we went to a restaurant that had a buffet which included lamb, the traditional Sunday meal.

Monday we went whale watching. The large boat in the background was the boat we took out.

Dave searching for one of the 3 "B's" of whale watching - bodies, blow, birds.

The Iceland flag.

We didn't see any whales - the guide supposedly saw something in the distance, but I don't think anyone on the boat saw anything. We now have a free whale watching trip with this tour operator the next time we are in Iceland.

We stopped at this coffee shop next to the water to warm up after being on the boat.

Monday night we walked down by the water to see this art.

This is an opera house.

There were so many rock statues.

Dinner on Monday night was at a place called Kitchen and Wine. We were the only people in there the entire time...with the exception of some of the waiter/bartenders friends. This cheese board was excellent as was our food.

Monday we went inside Hallgrimskirkja Church, which is the main church (see pictures of outside of the church above).

We also went to the bell tower for a birds eye view of Reykjavik.

I was still enjoying the colored homes.

We then went back to Reykjavik Roasters for a coffee and then to The Settlement Exhibition. That only took about a half an hour to go through (I wouldn't go back). 

Before we dropped the car off we took pictures by the Greenland Sea.

Iceland was a great time. It was cold, but the people were friendly and we had a fun time everyday. The next time we go we said we should do Ring Road, which is the road that goes around the island. That would give us a better chance to see the Northern Lights since it seems the eastern side of the island is less cloudy. The 5 days we were there was a sufficient amount of time to see Reykjavik and do the things closer to the city.

My snack of Skyr on the plane ride back to JFK.

We arrived back at JFK on Tuesday night but there were no American flights to Phoenix that night after we had landed. So we just stayed at a hotel close to JFK and had booked a flight for 9:40am Wednesday morning (March 21st). Well that day was forecasted to be a snowstorm in NYC and most of the flights out of JFK were cancelled. We were fortunate that our flight continued to say on-time because if we did not get out Wednesday we were hearing rumors that it would be Friday before we left.

JFK was a little eerie with no one in the airport on a Wednesday morning. Usually it would be bustling.

The snow started to fall just as we were boarding. But they de-iced the plane and we had wheels up. I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief when that happened because no one wanted to be stuck for 3 days.

The more I travel and see new things, the more I want to continue traveling. There is so much out there in this world God has created for us to enjoy!