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This wasn't our exact route, but here's a rough idea
of the road trip we took around the island.
Photo from: http://www.misswanderlust.ca/category/iceland/
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Reason for going to Iceland? To take a break from our demanding studies to see the majestic beauty of this country, and it truly was majestic. We saw waterfalls (I can’t even count how many), geysers, hot springs, a glacier, several black sand beaches, and much more.
We experienced nearly every weather pattern during our stay, including snow (a blizzard), pouring rain, and powerful winds. On our trip to Dalvik in the North, we hit a winter snowstorm in the mountains, and we passed two cars that were overturned just off the road. It was horrifying to see. It didn’t look as though there were any deaths, thankfully, but we couldn’t imagine having such a traumatic experience in a foreign country.
Thankfully, we arrived safely to and from all of our destinations, and we have returned home.
The beginning of the trip, quite frankly, was stressful. Out of the 9 of us, WOW Air (which, by the way, is an airline that I do not recommend to ANYONE) did not load FOUR of our luggages. They were left behind in Chicago, and the four of us did not have our own changes of clothes, toiletries and other necessities for most of our trip. FOUR OUT OF NINE. We did not find out that our luggage was left behind in Chicago until about 2 days after our arrival.
We finally retrieved our luggage at the airport after not having it for nearly 5 full days. I spoke to another woman at the Baggage Service desk who said that on her flight from Baltimore, WOW Air left behind the luggage of many people on that plane as well. She said she was never flying with them again. I too am never flying with WOW Air again. I don’t think I will ever understand how an airline can be so incredibly irresponsible. This is a level of incompetence that I have never before experienced (or heard of!) on my previous travels.
The luggage situation was stressful but I was still grateful to be in such a beautiful place. I spent my 24th birthday in Iceland with wonderful classmates who made the experience a great one.
Our original plan was to drive around the entire island, but a bridge collapse and poor road conditions on the way to Vagnsstaðir (in the South) forced us to change our plans, cancel our booking at the hostel in that town, and instead travel back the way we came in the North.
Here’s a very quick rundown of the things we saw:
Sunday – Arrived in Keflavik (airport), drove to Reykjavik (the capital), grabbed some food and explored the city little bit (as well as other attractions on our way to our first hostel in Saeberg): the church, Leiff Erikkson statue (given as a gift to Iceland from the U.S.), a waterfall, and Deildartunguhver (no idea how to pronounce that), Europe's most powerful hot spring.
Monday – On the way to our next hostel in Akureyri (AH-KOO-RAY-REE: not 100% sure if this is the correct pronunciation haha, but we’ve been calling it this the entire trip), we stopped at Húnaþing vestra to admire the pillar rocks, grabbed lunch at a homely restaurant (the seafood soup was delicious), stopped at a black sand beach where we saw jellyfish stuck in the sand, seals, another waterfall, and a huge, picturesque rock (whose significance we don’t know).
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That night we grabbed dinner in Akureyri at Fish and Chips. Some of us ordered fermented shark :O The meat was very slippery; it was hard to eat it on its own, so it's typically consumed with Brennivin, a special type of Icelandic vodka.
Tuesday – On Tuesday, we stayed in Akureyri for a bit to grab coffee, check out the local gift shop, and visit a small botanical garden before heading out to Reyðarfjörður (one of the locals taught us how to pronounce this town correctly, but we forgot it, so we continue to call it by the much easier and endearing name: Rey-ferger-burger). On our way to Reyðarfjörður, we stopped at Myvatn Nature Baths for a dip, smaller hot springs (which all smell like sulfur [rotten eggs]; some of the showers in the hostels also smell like eggs because they’re geothermally heated), and we explored the entrance to a cave (where a couple of us swore a love scene in Game of Thrones took place).
Wednesday – The hostel we stayed at in Reydarfjordur has the best view and accommodating owners! The hostel was actually a huge house with an amazing view of the mountains:
That morning we grabbed coffee and some breakfast at a local shop. I was craving scrambled eggs, so I ordered an egg and cheese sandwich with white garlic sauce. Once I received it, I saw that the eggs were cut up pieces of hard boiled eggs, the cheese was not melted, and the garlic tasted a little strange in the sandwich. Once our server set my plate down in front of me, one of my classmates started sniffing wildly and looking all around him. “What smells like sulfur? Do you guys smell that?” We just stared at him. “It smells like eggs. It’s following us everywhere!”
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| Dettifoss |
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| Solheimajokull glacier |
On our way to the next hostel in Dalvik, we went to see the most powerful waterfall in Europe (Dettifoss) and another waterfall. On this day alone we drove through a blizzard and pouring rain in the mountains. After the second waterfall we decided to head straight to the hostel for fear of the weather getting worse.
Thursday – Four of us left early to drop off one of our classmates at the airport (~6 hour drive) and pick up the luggage that WOW Air left behind in Chicago. For the rest of the day we drove around the Golden Circle to see geysers and another waterfall :) That night some of us went out in Reykjavik 😊
Friday – On our way to the small village of Vik, we saw an old Icelandic house made of stone and grass roofs (built years and years ago), a tall waterfall (Skogafoss) that you can see from the top after walking 527 steps, the Solheimajokull glacier(!), and a black sand beach, Reynisfjara, Iceland’s most dangerous beach (bottom right).
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| Skogafoss |
Saturday – Headed back to the Keflavik airport from Vik
~*~*~
Shortcomings of the trip:
Gas. We spent hundreds of dollars on gas this week. They charge per liter, not per gallon like in the U.S. A gallon has 3.78 L. On average, gas prices are 204 Kronas (which is about $2). So to fill up our tank, we’d have to spend around $100 (split 3-5 ways, depending on how many people are in the car).
Prices. Iceland is expensive. We'd spend around $12-15 just for a burger. The fancier meals could be as much as $50. On average, if you want a good, fulfilling meal, even at the places that aren't fancy, you’d have to spend around $20-30. Other things: coffee/chocolate (~$6), regular, plain, no-name brand woman’s T-shirt ($12), a pair of thin, plain socks ($10), hot dog (~$4-6), etc. You get the idea. The cost of things is ridiculous because wages are higher over there. (Income taxes are also significantly higher as well).
Trip highlights:
The beautiful sights. You might be able to see bits and pieces of the incredible landscape in other places, but Iceland has it all.
The warm, friendly people we were able to meet (from Iceland and other countries). At one of our hostels we actually met two sisters who are from Peoria, IL, nearby our own homes. The diversity of the tourists was amazing. Most of the tourists visiting Iceland were Asian, but there were many others from Europe and the states.
It was wonderful spending a week in one of the most beautiful countries in the world with 8 other enthusiastic, fun-loving medical students.
Thanks for reading :)
Takk fyrir! (“Thank you!”)
