We were not entirely sure what to expect in Iceland, but we were pleasantly surprised in finding quite a cosmopolitan city full of friendly locals prospering with well-established infrastructure (less so the further away you got from Reykjavik though). Sometimes I did wonder if we had returned to the ‘70s, looking at the style of furniture and wallpaper used, but decided it was more vintage and retro which is kinda cool rather than being stuck in a past decade. And I so wish I could take some of that furniture home with me – gotta love that Scandinavian style!

Of course Iceland is quite possibly one of the most expensive countries on earth, after perhaps Norway and Switzerland (and Australia by recent accounts!).  Cash transactions are not common as credit cards are accepted everywhere, and the only people who still use the kroner to buy goods are the older generation. It is considered quite  normal to pay by card for a bread roll from the bakery or chocolate bar from the corner store. With food and alcohol being two of the priciest things in Iceland, we decide not to partake in any alcoholic refreshments on this leg of our trip.  Also, we usually enjoy trying the local fare wherever we go. However, seeing lots of fermented and unconventional meat options on menu boards such as whale and puffin bird made me a little more comfortable about the fact that five out of seven nights we were self-catering.

So, why visit Iceland?  Well two reasons really.  First, when looking into flights to get us across the Atlantic, Icelandair came up cheaper than many of the direct flight options. After a bit more hunting we decided on WOW (another low cost carrier) into Iceland, and Icelandair from Iceland to North America and stopping for a week to explore as much as we could.  For both sectors it came in at just over $400 per person which wasn’t too bad considering the distance covered (total of around 9 hours of flight time).  The second reason (and more important one) was an opportunity to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis – nature’s most spectacular light show.  For the best chance of seeing the lights, our two options were either Norway or Iceland. As Iceland was more in the direction that we had to go anyway, and we had both been to Norway previously, which is now considered even more expensive than Iceland, the choice was quite easy really. (disclaimer: the photo below is not ours but to show an example of what the northern lights can be like!)

We knew therefore that this week would absolutely blow the excellent budget we had kept to so far but that is what it is all about: saving money where you can and spending it where you know you can’t!  If there is one thing I’ve learnt about travel is about having no regrets and in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really make much difference whether the week’s accommodation comes to $200 or $2000 (as long as it is only the odd week here or there though!).

After surfing online for hours about what to see and where to go, I came up with the first three nights in a self-contained apartment in Reykjavik followed by a four night accommodation and car hire package through Icelandic Farm Holidays.  Travelling with low cost carriers does have its disadvantages, like late departures and arrivals, and we had left Berlin after 9pm on Friday the 8^th March and it was nearly 3am (Berlin time) by the time we got into bed.

Day 1. Our apartment was very close to the imposing Hallgrímskirkja Church, and about a 15 minute walk from Reykjavik town centre.  After a slow start the next morning, David walked to the closest supermarket to stock up on food provisions then we all walked around the attractive downtown area of Reykjavik city, which has a real big-small town feel having a population of around 200 000 including the great Reykjavik area (there is only 320 000 people total in all of Iceland!), including a long stop at the very comprehensive information centre.

  Then it was off  to the Volcano House to watch a couple of interesting movies about the volcanic eruptions in Iceland’s recent history: 1973 on the island of Heimaey about 10km off the south coast of Iceland, and also the infamous volcanic events at Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 which caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe. About 20 countries closed their airspace and affected more than 100,000 travellers as a direct  result of  this  eruption. The Volcano House has some great examples of lava rock and ash which visitors are encouraged to touch.

On the way there we passed an interesting looking hotdog stand and stopped to sample some, only to find out later that hotdogs are often referred to as the Icelandic national food and Bæjarins beztu (operating since 1939) was recently voted the best hot dog stand in Europe. Not that we are big hotdog consumers I would say it was ok , but not that good…

Day 2. With one full day in Reyjkavik left and two significant Icelandic activities to try we were up reasonably early Sunday morning to go swimming in the thermal pools as we had a date with some Icelandic horses in the afternoon .

The entire island of Iceland is one huge geothermal wonderland and the locals make the most of it with heated public pools and saunas at almost every town and village dotted around the country and are put to use year-round. Always ready for a dip, especially to be able to experience swimming in an outdoor thermal pool in the freezing cold air, we grab our togs and headed for the Laugardalslaug Pool on Sunday morning.

The Laugardalslaug Pool is the public swimming baths located in a park of the same name east of the city centre and comprise lap pools, play pools and hot tubs, pool toys and a twisting water slide.

Pool rules mandate that all swimmers must shower naked in the communal showers before donning your swimsuit and as with most Scandanavian type countries the locals are very uninhibited and you only stand out if you show your own inhibitions … so when in Rome and all that… meanwhile David has nuded up and showered with the uninhibited Scandanavian men in the open air change-room, and with the air temperature close to 0°C we all dash to the warm relief of the thermal pool after quickly donning our suits … Ahhh!

We all started in the main pool and then had a go on the water slide after which Dave and I moved to the hot tubs while the girls continued to go up and down the water slide until it was time to go.

Back in time to the apartment for a quick lunch before being picked up by Sven and taken to the outskirts of Reykjavik to Islenski Hesturinn,  Tripadvisor’s #1 provider of Icelandic Horse rides.

The Icelandic horse would have to be the cutest breed of horse ever! They are a lovely natured descendant of the first horses brought out from Norway by the Viking settlers. When we arrived at the stables the owner, Sven’s wife Begga, gave the most comprehensive and informative briefing I think I’ve had for any activity. We then went out to ‘bond’ with the horses that she clearly loved and cared for. Begga, Sven and their daughter also came on the ride and were lovely passionate hosts who shared many interesting facts about Iceland and Icelandic horses during our ride. They were determined that everyone would experience the unique ‘tölt’ the natural gait present from birth that only Icelandic horse have.  Faster than a walk, slower than a canter but smooth and comfortable unlike the regular trot it was fantastic to experience and really ‘feel’ the difference. For more than an hour we walked and tölted over the the beautiful, desolate lava fields and around the rock formations.

The horses still had their winter coats and we wondered how some of them saw where they were going because of the long fringes hanging over their eyes. Too cute!

Easily the best horse ride I have ever done I could easily have done again and again however it was not the cheapest activity coming in at around $300 for the two hours! Oh well – so glad we did it though, as it was so worth it! An excellent day from start to finish!

The next morning we were collecting our hire car so we started packing up and after an easy pasta and vegetable dinner it was off to bed.

Day 3. It was close to 11am before we finally set off in our hire car and set the GPS for the first stop of the ‘Golden Circle’ – a common day trip around some of the best sights in Iceland.

Firstly heading north-east to the Þingvellir National Park, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lake provides constant crystal-clear water and harnessed geothermal heat, Þingvellir is situated on the tectonic plate boundary of Mid-Atlantic ridge and where you can clearly see the gorges and fissures that ‘bear witness to the spreading of the earth’s crust.’  We walked through the valley between where the Atlantic and European tectonic plates are said to be drifting apart at a rate of 2cm per year.  The first settlers recognised this area as a special place and this is also where the first Parliament was held in the year 930 up until 1798.

The geological structure around this area was quite astounding – it really is a country of raw, natural beauty.

Next stop was Geysir (and yes our word geyser actually comes from the Icelandic verb geysa ‘to gush’) an area of mud pots, hot springs and active and dormant geysers.  Although not as big as some, the smaller of the two active ‘Geysir’s’ – Stokkur, erupts up to 35 metres high every 8-10 minutes so it is very consistent and we stayed long enough to see three eruptions before continuing a further half hour drive down the road to see the mighty Gullfoss waterfalls.

Leaving the ‘Golden Circle’ we drive for a couple more hours south before turning east along the coast road past the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, and stop to read the information board and view the photo taken during the eruptions.

A further half hour or so brought us to our first farmstay, near the seaside town of Vik and the most southern point of Iceland. It was really more of a motel than farm-stay and on finding the one course set dinner menu at an exorbitant price of around $45pp we decided to drive into Vik before it got dark to check out any other options for dinner.

Finding a busy diner frequented by working class locals we went in and ordered the universal fast food of burgers and fries for around $10 pp. Phew, that’s better!  We watched an impressive sunset highlighting the well-known seastack formations just off the coast before heading back to our accommodation around 15 minutes back down the road. With too much cloud cover forecast for a decent viewing of the northern lights we decided against setting the alarm and hit the sack.