Iceland, Incomparable - Days Two and Three

Faster than a trip to LA!

A short four-hour flight from New York City and you are transported to a different world. According to IcelandAir’s trivia video, a majority of the Icelandic population believes in elves. And as you travel the otherworldly terrain, almost entirely absent of trees, you can understand why. I half expected Frodo to pop out from behind a rock and ask me for directions to Mordor. While that didn’t happen, we were treated to a tour guide telling Icelandic folk tales and singing songs over the tour bus microphone.

If you’re only in Iceland for a few days, or in potentially harsh weather conditions as we were, then taking tours are the way to go. Both Gray Line and Reykjavik Excursions have everything down to a science, from hotel pickup and dropoff to efficient and entertaining transport. But under any other circumstances I would recommend renting a car and driving, as about every 10 seconds you are going to see something amazing out the window and want to pull over for another look. 

As for the weather, all things considered, we really lucked out. Although cold, our first and last days did not bring rain. But on that second day – the day of our South Shore Adventure – Iceland showed her brute strength. It was totally unreal. The photos I took of that day are not so great, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I can’t tell you the rush of exhilaration Janine and I felt as we darted towards the Myrdalsjokull Glacier in a freezing downpour. The whipping rain felt like icicles were impaling my face and yet all I could do was marvel at the sight and try to snap photos as quickly as possible before I froze to death. Oh, how I wished I had a pair of photographer's gloves, but of course I didn't think of that until I was standing on a glacier taking photos barehanded. My fingers were so frozen that I had to keep switching hands in order to find a finger with enough feeling to press the button. It was nature in its rawest form, and this city slicker was no match. Although I packed everything from Under Armour to hand warmers for the trip, I brought none of it with me for the tour! The weather had been pretty mild in Reykjavik, and I had no idea what I was in for in the open space of southeast Iceland. Whether at the beach, the glacier or the waterfalls, the wind was so strong it would literally blow me out of position. My camera was soaked in rain, the lens covered in fog. Snot was running down my nose and my fingers were frozen into place on the camera. I have never had more of a challenge or more fun taking pictures. When taking photographs in Iceland, you are not just a spectator, you are an active participant. You are interacting with the scenery in a very real way.

A gorgeous sky after the rainstorm.

With each stop on the tour, we bolted from the bus and repeated the process of fighting back the elements to capture photos. There were times I thought I couldn't go back out there, but I always did. Iceland was calling and I had to answer. Soaking wet and freezing, we were the last ones back on the bus every time. With so many incredible photo opportunities in every direction, Iceland truly is a photographer’s dream. You simply can’t take a bad picture in Iceland – it does all the work for you.

Day Three took us on the magical Golden Circle. This is the creme de la creme (or de la Skyr, if you will) of Iceland scenery. If you're only going to do one tour, make it the Golden Circle. I had heard so much about this route that I didn't possibly think it could live up to its hype. But it did. In fact, it exceeded it. Harsh, wind-carved terrain, powerful waterfalls, bubbling geysers, volcanic rocks and steaming earth gave me the feeling not that I was in another country, but on another planet.

Pingvellir Sunrise

We departed in the dark and were treated to a glorious sunrise as we drove across the Icelandic landscape. To this day, in all my travels, I have never seen anything as beautiful as that morning in Iceland. The first thing that struck me as we drove out into the countryside was how absolutely pure it was. No billboards. No garbage. No construction cones. No buildings. No people. It was as though we were viewing the earth as God intended it. I imagined it must look the same as it did when man first arrived on this island, some 1,000 years ago. Pristine. Unspoiled. Divine. As the sun rose over Lake Pingvallavatn in Pingvellir National Park, I felt blessed to be standing there. And I mourned the fact that the rest of the earth was no longer this immaculate.

Although the Myrdalsjokull Glacier was the most brutal weather we experienced on the trip, a close second was standing atop Gulfoss, which was basically a freezing cold, high-velocity wind tunnel. If I thought taking pictures on the Glacier was bad, my face and hands nearly froze off from the wind force at Gulfoss.

With all this talk of freezing my butt off, you may wonder if I still think it was a good idea to travel to Iceland in November. I say unequivocally, absolutely! Each season in Iceland brings with it its own unique experience, it's own pros and cons. The summer has the best weather and you can make the most of your days with nearly 24 hours of sunlight, but it's also the most expensive time and you'll be overwhelmed with tourists. The spring offers a more gentle climate and bird migration – including the arrival of puffins. In the fall, like us, you’ll have the chance to see snow kissed mountains and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets to bookend your days. And if you go in the winter it’s really all about lower prices, lower prices, and lower prices. (Oh, and the northern lights too.)

I wouldn't trade my November trip to Iceland for anything in the world. What's funny to me about travel, is that the moments that are the absolute worst - the freezing, the frustrating, the tired, cold and wet - become the most fond recollections. So vivid in my mind, those are my trip's sacred memories. Because that's when I knew I was out of my comfort zone. That's when I knew I was in a new world. I was in Iceland, on her terms. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ice-land Baby - Day One, Reykjavik

In November of 2010, my girlfriend Janine and I decided to take a trip to Europe. Icelandair offered the irresistible deal of having a free stopover in Iceland on the way. To me it was a no-brainer, spend a few days in Iceland on the way to a bigger European trip. What a mistake. Iceland is not a layover. It’s a destination.

View from atop Hallgrimskirja.

From the moment we landed at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday until our Tuesday morning departure, Janine and I went nonstop, yet barely scratched the surface of all Iceland has to offer. Most people choose to hit the Blue Lagoon with the FlyBus on their way to/from the airport. But since it didn't open until 10 a.m., we headed straight into Rekyjavik to explore the world's northernmost capital city. We checked in at the tiny Metropolitan Hotel, which I would highly recommend for location, comfort and price. After napping for a few hours, we went out to see as much as we could of the city before heading to the Blue Lagoon. We began at the Kolaportid Flea Market, Iceland's only flea market in fact. It was packed with the bizarre and fascinating, from packaged horse meat to giant masks, paintings of the Icelandic landscape and second hand clothes. We then stopped to take in the view of Lake Tjornin before heading to the Hjartagarðurinn (Heart Garden) to look at the giant graffiti murals. We walked to the shore to catch a glimpse of the Solfar (Sun Voyager) Sculpture, doubled back to hit the shops on Laugavegur, and made our way up to the observation tower of Hallgrimskirja Church for a 360 view of the city.

The Blue Lagoon at dusk.

With dusk approaching, we made our way to the Blue Lagoon, an absolute picture-perfect time to be there. Despite being man-made, expensive and touristy, it was still a sight to behold. Of course it was freezing at that time of year, so I can only imagine how much more crowded it must be in the summer months. The Blue Lagoon struck me as much smaller than it appears in pictures, and to be honest, it wasn't hot enough for me. I noticed that the baths around Iceland were more on the "warm" side than scalding hot the way we have them in America. This made it really hard to get into. One of the funniest memories I have of the trip was when Janine and I tried to enter the water despite the freezing cold temperatures on our body. Even though they have a tunnel that allows you to enter the Lagoon from the indoors, it was still brutally cold, the kind of cold you can't really get used to. And something to keep in mind as you visit the Blue Lagoon is how much money you're going to drop. Not only is there the $55 entry fee, but the temptation of the swim-up bar is strong, and those drinks aren't cheap. And then there are the towels, which you have to pay to rent. Two people renting towels could easily spend $20, so I would advise packing your own.

Even the parking lots are stunning in Iceland.

As the sun set on our first day in Iceland, it was time to check out the nightlife. A sleepy town by day, Rekyjavik really comes alive at night. Well, more like at 2 a.m. On the weekends. We had heard about their infamous pub crawl, the rúntur, and even though we had been going all day on almost no sleep, we made a go of it. We hit the bars at 10 p.m. - and they were completely dead! They really didn't pick up until 2 a.m. This made even New York City's nightlife seem tame. Alcohol, like everything else in Iceland, is ridiculously expensive, so you'll want to pre-game in your hotel room. We bought some booze in the duty free shop, but I'll go you one further - just buy it at a local liquor store and pack it in your checked luggage. You, and your wallet, will thank me later.

One thing I loved about the bars in Reykyavik was the music, which seemed totally random. One minute you're listening to an Icelandic pop song you don't recognize and the next, people are dancing and screaming to "Twist and Shout" and "I Will Survive." The soundtrack reminded me of something straight out of one of my junior high dances.

And the traffic lights are happy to be there too!

That first day in Reykjavik ranks as one of my all-time favorite travel days. Sure, we could have taken it a bit slower and not done as much, but sometimes cramming so much experience into one day leaves your heart full and your mind blown in ways you can't describe. The next two days we would be on tours through the Icelandic countryside, so on this day, we took in as much of Reykjavik as we possibly could. The smell of sulfer soothed us to sleep, and we'd get up and go at it again in just a few short hours.