I’m really not interested in writing a long narrative about my trip to Iceland. Not because it isn’t deserving (duh, it so is), but because I don’t have the energy to think about descriptive phrases and uncommon adjectives to use in my write-up. And frankly, ‘amazing’ and ‘awesome’ would just get overused. Instead, I’ve put together a list along with a few photos (mainly terrible iPhone photos) to keep things interesting. If you want to see a full (professional) photo tour of my Icelandic adventure, check out my post here.

Let’s go!

• September 4-5: Flew from IAD (Dulles) to KEF (Keflavik) on a red-eye.
• Who can sleep sitting up? I can’t. Midway through the flight with my head leaned up against the window, I glanced away from the headrest screen playing Friends and looked out the window. I was graced with the magical moment of seeing the northern lights literally dance across the sky. I woke Jon up to show him, and then went back to hogging the view to myself.
• Iceland is cold. And wet. And windy. But despite that, remember: Greenland is full of ice, and Iceland is very nice!
• Breakfast at 8am? Not very easy to find in Keflavik.

• A visit to the Blue Lagoon is SO worth it, especially after a sleepless red-eye from the United States. Stay until you’re pruny, and then stay longer.
• Definitely slather your face in their famous silica mud, but also heed the advice to keep your hair out of the water. Condition the hell out of it both before and after your swim/soak.
• Look for Blue Lagoon employees with iPads – they’ll take your picture and email it to you!
  

  Champagne? Why certainly!

  

• Reykjavik is the northernmost capital in the world. The entire country lies just south of the Arctic Circle.
  

  This says something.

• Prohibition of beer lasted until 1989 in Iceland.
• Icelanders are definitely okay with parking on the sidewalk.
  

• I met my birthday twin in a craft beer bar in Reykjavik: she and her friends sang happy birthday to me in Icelandic, and our group sang to her in English.
• I celebrated my 32nd birthday in ICELAND.
  
  

  Sadly, I did not run into Gunner Stahl on my travels.

• When the hours to a coffee shop in Reykjavik say “open at 7am”, it’s merely a suggestion.
• You’ve got to visit Hallgrimskirkja to hear the organist play, and then visit the top for the incredible views.
• Icelanders have made up for their gray weather by making their buildings colorful. Prepare to make comments such as “Why are Americans so boring with their beige and gray houses?” as you feel envy over the unique view.

• Iceland has a museum dedicated to the penis. And because I have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old boy, I went in.
• I mailed a penis postcard to my mom, specifically to make her mailman judge her a little bit. 😉

• Renting a car is a must in Iceland, even if you’re only there for two days. Reykjavik has much to see, but I’d be remiss if I visited Iceland and did not experience the country outside of the capital city.
• Iceland’s geography is unreal. Moss-covered lava rocks cover much of the coastal landscape. Inland, the country’s proximity to a fault line is evident as rolling hills give way to features that resemble mountains. But really, what we’re seeing is the land masses that remain after glaciers carved through them leaving large valleys.
• There aren’t many trees, despite Iceland being very green.
• We visited Þingvellir, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. They’re moving apart at 2cm per year, and we walked right in between them both, which was quite beautiful and relaxing, but would have taken a turn for the worse had there been an earthquake.

In Iceland, one can hipster SO hard.

• Over 60% of the population lives in Reykjavik, meaning that outside of the capital city, food was hard to find.
• We eventually found a restaurant in a town called Laugarvatn where I ate reindeer. (Sorry, Santa)
• Funny story: we’re eating lunch and a couple walks in the door. They’re American, too, and are seated behind us. Jon leans over to me and whispers that the guy looked familiar to him. ‘Dude, we’re in a random town in Iceland. Who do you know here?’ Jon suspected the man was an author whose books he really enjoyed, and had recently watched a Google Talk with him so he knew what he looked like. After some back and forth with each other, I turned around and asked him ‘Excuse me, are you Hampton Sides?’ Indeed he was, and shocked was he to realize he’d been recognized, as authors’ visages are not exactly as visible as actors or singers. We had a great conversation with him and found the whole experience serendipitous.
  

• Driving back to Reykjavik, we were stopped for a few minutes due to a pony crossing. A pony crossing. Amazing.
• Like the rest of the world outside of the US, Icelanders are fiercely loyal to their football team. In the city center, Icelanders sat (in the cold, cold, rain) at picnic tables before a large projector screen to watch Iceland face off against Kazakhstan in the European Cup, waving their version of the red, white, and blue around with pride. I snagged a flag for myself. When in Rome Reykjavik, right?
• Icelandic wool sweaters are huge business, but man, are they scratchy.
• My birthday cake was French chocolate (with a cup of tea), and a side of Happy Birthday sung loudly and lovingly by my two friends and my husband.
• Street art is huge in Reykjavik. Some of it is really unique and cool. Others lack inspiration. I mean, honestly:
  

  When you see it…

• The water smells like eggs. Makes taking a shower really confusing.
• It’s true: Icelanders love their nightlife. And on the same note, they are not morning people.
• Food is indeed expensive in Iceland, and with good reason. For a country with little agriculture, pretty much anything that’s not fish has to be imported. Buy groceries and cook for yourself if you’re there for more than a couple of days.
• Surprisingly, the market near our apartment had a great gluten free selection.

Dude. Chocolate covered Bugles, or Freyju Súkkulaði Bögglar (you know). They are as delicious as you might expect.

• A final important note: Keflavik Airport is nuts in the morning. International departures are all scheduled at the same time, which means when you arrive two hours early expecting it to be slow and quiet (because Iceland), and instead see a line wrapped around and practically out the door, and then make your flight with minutes to spare, you wonder how in the hell their system manages to work day after day.

Once again, please be sure to view my travel photo essay
to see far fewer selfies and terrible phone pictures!