PostcardsFromM

After spending time at Landsmót, it was time to continue our journey back to the capital city. The last days of our time in Iceland had begun and I was really sad about it. However, we made the most of the two remaining days. Spending some time in Reykjavík and seeing a little bit of the Golden Circle. It was a slow goodbye, that’s why Days 8 and 9 are combined here.

Day 8: Geyser experience

The weather was better today. It was still cloudy but it stopped raining. But rain wouldn’t have stopped us anyways to go to the probably most famous part of Iceland, the Golden Circle. Which is so well-known, because it is not too far from Reykjavík and therefore easy to see within a day trip. So we packed up and left Hella and the Landsmót behind us. It was an hour drive before arriving at the first stop of the day.

One of the things I was really looking forward to seeing in Iceland was the original geyser, the one that every other geyser in the world is named after. So the plan was to go see it. There was a big parking lot with a café and to our surprise, there weren’t too many people around. We got out of the car and crossed the street to follow a path to the geysers. It was quite a muddy path, which led us through a very nice landscape. We finally got to the geyser. So we waited in a little bit of distance, to not get wet again. It took some time for it to erupt and spray water into the air, but it eventually happened. And well, my boyfriend and I looked at each other in kind of a disbelief and started to laugh. We were so hyped up for this spot. But when we actually saw it, it was just more than underwhelming. We both thought that the water fountain would be a lot higher and just more impressive. But to be honest, it just seemed like a bit of a joke to me. We then thought maybe it was the wrong geyser, because there were two in the same area and looked at the second one. And… it was the same underwhelming experience. Now we have seen it and I’m not sure if I would come back for it. The walk there was more of an adventure than the eruption itself.

A little bit disappointed we headed back to the car. But we decided to grab some coffee and something to eat in the café. There’s also a souvenir shop, that had some nice things. So we browsed through there as well. And I have to say, the coffee and food was nice. Therefore, this stop wasn’t a complete fail.

Day 8: A Final Waterfall Stop

After this interesting experience, we thought the next stop should be better again. We headed to our last waterfall on our must-see list. It’s called Brúarfoss and is also on the Golden Circle. When looking it up, it was always called “Iceland’s Bluest Waterfall” and that it is very photogenic. So another must stop, for me. There are two options to get to the waterfall. Either you take a 7-kilometer hiking trail or you go to the parking lot, which is right next to it. We chose the second option, but only because we didn’t know about the hiking trail. So we stopped at the parking lot and headed out. There weren’t too many people around. After a five-minute walk, we spotted the waterfall. The water was a vibrant turquoise colour and looked crystal clear in contrast to the volcanic riverbed. It isn’t as a big of a waterfall as we have seen in Iceland before, but it is nice to see and definitely worth a visit. We weren’t blown away by it, but it was rather peaceful.

Day 8: Hot Pot Stop and Reykjavík Campsite

After the first two stops, we wanted to go to the Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River. It just sounded too intriguing and I also wanted to visit another Hot Pot before leaving. So we set off. However, as soon as we arrived at the parking lot, we noticed that all the tourists seemed to be here at this day. It was absolutely packed and even though I really wanted to see it, I wasn’t too keen on waiting for an open spot. So we decided against a little soak.

We than had to choose between going straight to Reykjavík and visiting Thingvellir. But since we were pretty drained from driving so much in the last couple of days, we decided to go straight to Reykjavík. We also had to find a Campsite and we thought, that it could take us some time to find one, if we arrive later. But to our surprise, the first one already had a free spot. We parked up and had a bite to eat. We had a little nap afterwards, before it was time to have a little look around the city. We didn’t want to do too much exploring, since we had a full day in Reykjavík left. But equally we wanted to see some parts. So we decided against taking the bus and walked the 40 minutes instead. The weather was really good, so it didn’t feel that long and it was also a way to get to know the area. And most of the way was right next to the ocean, which was also quite nice. We saw the Sun Voyager, which was nice but also not that impressive. One thing I really wanted to see straight away was the Hallgrimskirkja. Even though it doesn’t really get dark in Iceland at this time of year, it did get a bit darker. And I wanted to see the church lit up against a darker sky. My boyfriend wasn’t too keen about the building, but I really enjoyed the view of it and also the big Leif Eriksson Monument in front of it. So happy with that final evening in Iceland, we returned to our camper.

Day 9: Last Day In Iceland

I woke up feeling happy but also sad, because I already missed Iceland and I wanted to see more. It was a sign for me, though, that I am definitely coming back at some point. But we had one last day left. Since we packed most of our stuff already the night before, there wasn’t too much left to do. So we decided to have some breakfast in the city centre. This time we took the car, so we didn’t have to come back again before heading to the airport.

When we arrived in the city centre, we headed to Hygge Coffee & Micro Bakery. A friend recommended it. It’s a small, cute and very good coffee shop. They have a great coffee and pastry variety. They also had some savoury bits as well, but we fancied something sweet. And it was really delicious. I’d recommend checking it out, if you are ever in town.

After that, we headed towards the city centre and stumbled upon the City Pond Tjörnin. There were loads of swans and ducks around, so we decided to take a stroll along it for a little bit. There’s also a really nice park area right next to it, where you can sit and just look at the water, which is what we also did. I would say that this place was one of my favourite places in Reykjavík already. We spent almost an hour here, just sitting and watching the birds in the water. But we had to do some more sightseeing before it was time to go to the airport.

Next up was the Rainbow Street and exploring some of the Shops and streets around it. It was livelier here, since it was also a very well-known photo spot and it’s just busier in the city. But there are some really cute little souvenir shops, besides the big tourist traps, where we found some magnets for our fridge. I was really happy about that. Besides that we did some window shopping and just enjoyed the walk in the city. Reykjavík is not huge, but perfect to spend some time wandering through the streets and admiring the colourful houses. There’s also a fair amount of street art, which also looks really cool. Even though, we had been at the Hallgrimskirkja the evening before, I wanted to come back for one last look.

After that, we couldn’t delay our trip back any longer. So we headed to our camper van one last time and drove to the car rental to drop it off. There we said goodbye and the lovely staff dropped us off at the airport at 4:30 pm. This meant we had another 90 minutes left before our gate closed. So plenty of time to check in our luggage, have another look around the duty free and find our gate. But then a notification popped up, saying that our flight was one hour delayed. As it wasn’t too long, it didn’t bother us. We moved on with our plan. While we were paying for an Icelandic Gin to bring home with us, I got another notification from the airline, saying that our flight is going to be delayed by two more hours. Well, we couldn’t do anything about it, so we looked for a place to grab something to eat and then sat down at the gate and read for a while. And finally at 11 pm it was time to board our flight back home.

Today’s Route & Facts

• Hella to Reykjavík to Keflavík Airport
• Main attractions: Geyser, Brúarfoss, Reykjavík
• Highlight of the day: Tjörnin
• Hours spent in the car: 4h 5min
• Kilometres made: 264 km
• Days left: 0
• Almost cried: 3 times, in the morning, sitting at Tjörnin and at the airport

Goodbye Iceland

After nine incredible days in Iceland, I can definitely say, that I’m even more in love with this country than before. And now I’m sure I’ll have a better idea of what to bring next time. This country has given me some stunning waterfalls, amazing landscape, the nicest people and a sense of calm I haven’t experienced before. And even though my bank account didn’t look to good after this holiday, I left it with the best memories. Thank you Iceland, for showing me how to slow down and appreciate every little moment!

Lots of love and takk fyrir,

M.

Thank you for reading my Travel Diary about Iceland! If you have enjoyed it, stay tuned for more and let me know if you want to hear about something specific from me.