Blogs from Southwest, Iceland, Europe - page 24

So I'm here safely in Iceland, and wow is this a beautiful country already. I guess I'd better start with the plane ride tho... Sat next to this lovely couple from Sarnia who shared with me the story of their nephew travelling all around the world, a super intense version of what I'm doing. Short but sweet flight with complimentary Icelandic Glacial water and LEDs above the overhead compartments that simulated the Northern Lights (how freakin' cool is that?!). Anyways, now I'm on the bus on the way to Reykjavik and it's the most scenic bus ride I've ever been on, surrounded by snow covered mountains and the ocean right by. Oh Ya, just a little bit of snow here ;) Dropped my big bag off at the hostel because it was only 8am and I ... read more

First entry to my blog and what a great place to be writing about. The whole of Iceland has a population of around 300,000, set on two great plates it makes Iceland one of the worlds most volcanic islands in the world. We, my beloved partner Ryan and I, spent our time in Reykjavik the most northern City in the world. The city itself is quite small but holds a host of interesting and delightful cafes, restaurants, shops and museums. The first day here after the 3hour flight we spent mooching and enjoyed tea and cake and generally finding our way around. We stayed in the Icelandic air marina hotel which is opposite the harbour, the harbour is very near the centre and has views into the working fishing harbour. Unfortunatly we had a road view ... read more

We set off early on the first morning to catch or flight to Reykjavik. We had no trouble getting through security and had time to sit down and grab some breakfast before getting on the plane. We arrived in Reykjavik a bit behind schedule, because of the bad weather in Dublin, our plane left late. We settled into our hotel called Reykjavik Lights and then headed to the pizzeria downstairs for some dinner. The pizzas were really tasty, and we tried the local beer, Viking, or as the locals call it, "Wicking". A bus was waiting for us outside the hotel to take us to the Blue Lagoon and the Northern Lights. On the way to the Blue Lagoon we learned a thing or two about Iceland. The population is only 330,000, with about 200,000 living ... read more

Even still at Gatwick airport on the way to our adventure in Iceland we had evidence of Viking genes - where the Icelandic family in front of us in the queue were all taller than I, including mother and twelve year old son. We read in the Lonely Planet that a particular restaurant we would visit had an owner who was affectionately referred to as "The Hobbit" because of his height. Maria Chiara joked that it would be interesting to find out if I am shorter than the hobbit - low blow! As it happened he wasn't there that day so we'll never know. As well as bestowing the English language such words as "berserk" and "scorn", particularly significant is the word "saga". The Icelandic sagas are legendary. Iceland's early history of settlement is told in ... read more

Normally when we are on a three hour flight we are heading south and it is to somewhere that's significantly warmer than where we had left. This was our first time heading north and we were bracing ourselves for it to be significantly colder. The country is called "Iceland" after all. Our flight was extremely early, leaving Luton at six in the morning and, after a short taxi ride, we were in Reykjavik before ten and ready to explore the city. It was colder than in the UK, of course, but with it being September, it was fresh rather than freezing cold, which was a pleasant relief. Reykjavik isn't that big and can easily be explored on foot. We started with a walk along the seafront, with a quick stop for what looked like a modern ... read more