Iceland

We have finally started our last leg of the “Land” tour, IceLAND! We took advantage of the Icelandic Air policy that allows you to extend a layover up to 7 days when flying through Reykjavik. We opted for a three day layover.

We rented a car through Sixt Car Rental and drove into downtown Reykjavik. We have a reservation at the Von Hotel.

Von Hotel

We booked three nights at this hotel located right in the city center of Reykjavik. Everything was walking distance and there was a grocery store right nier door. The rooms were small, but met our needs. I liked that they had two comforters on the bed, one for each of us! I may try this at home.

There was no parking at the hotel except street parking. There was a spot right across the street that we used. Street parking is free from 9:00pm-9:00am. We got there around 6:00pm, so we had to pay for parking. I downloaded the EasyPark app they use in the city and paid for the three hours leading up to 9:00pm. (There is a three hour limit, so it worked out for us) It cost about $14, so it was worth it. We just need to up and ready to explore by 9:00am tomorrow!

I had downloaded the “Iceland’s Golden Circle” Audio Tour from Action tour Guides. We will be driving that tour today.

The weather was rainy, so we mostly listen to the audio tour and learned a lot about the local folklore and geology of the area. You can take the tour clockwise ro counter clockwise. We went the recommended clockwise direction.

Laugarvatn Fontana

The tour recommended stopping at this geothermal rye bread baking bakery. The bread is cooked underground using the geothermal heat to cook it. We tried the bread. It was pretty good. A little sweet, but good.

Geysir

This is one of the country’s most famous geothermal areas. The Great Geysir is the original by which all geysers are named. It no longer erupts, but the Strokkur geyser erupts every 5-8 minutes. There are also hot springs, steam vents and bubbling mud pools in the area. We braved the rain and walked around to see them all.

Gullfoss Waterfall

This two tier waterfall was amazing. But the wind was really blowing and the rain would not let up. It was a quick stop for us. Would have loved to see this in good weather!

Fludasveppir Farmers Bistro

Another recommendation from the audio tour was to eat at this mushroom restaurant. We opted for the Mushroom Buffett. It had two types of fresh bread, four kinds of fresh made butter and five mushroom based toppings. All were fantastic. We even tried the mushroom ice cream. It was served with honey and nuts. It was different, but good.

Kerid Crater

This volcanic crater lake sits at the bottom of a 55 meter deep crater, surrounded by red volcanic rock and colorful flora.

At the end of the tour we took a small detour and found even more amazing rock formations. Every turn here holds some beauty.

Back in Reykjavik we had returned a bit earlier than expected. It was 5:00, so we had four hours before the free parking started. There are parking areas (P2) that allow up to four hours of parking. There was as P2 area about three blocks from our hotel, so we parked there and walk back. There were a lot of shops to checkout as we walked back. Sandy ended up buying a sweater.

Krons

We were in the mood for fish and chips, so we heard it was good at this restaurant. It was fantastic. Possible the best fish and chips I have ever had! The fish was flakey with a crispy, not greasy coating. Yum!!

The next day we decided to do our own tour and drive east towards the city of Vik. The weather was still rainy, but the forecast promised clearing skies. Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss Falls.

Seljalandsfoss

This waterfall drops over 65 meters and has a path that allows you to walk behind. We walked the path, but when we came out the other end, the wind surprised us and blew the waterfall on top of us as we walked out! We got totally soaked!

We headed back to the car to warm up and decided to drive straight through to Vik. When I was here a few years back we went to Katla Woolen knitting factory. I figured this would be a good stop to get Sandy some warm wool socks. (Her feet were soaked and we did not bring anything to change into). Our cloths had mostly dried during the drive (but not our socks). The knitting factory had moved since I was here last. It was up on the hill side, but now it is right in town close to the Lava Show. We got some nice wool socks and I also picked up a new Icelandic sweater!

The owner recommended The Soup Company located in the Lava Show building. Even though we were dry, soup sounded really good.

The Soup Company

This restaurant had a great choice on soups. You get them served in a bowl or bread bowl. You could also order a flight of three soups. I got the. Red Hot Lava Soup, it was like a good chile. Sandy got the Broccoli Cheddar. Both were delicious!

We started our drive back to Reykjavik as we had 6:30 dinner reservations, but we had plenty of time to make some stops on the way back. We saw a sign for Viking Park and turned in to check it out.

Viking Park

This is not a theme park, but a natural area with three parking areas. First is a Viking grave and ship. Second was Yoda Cave, the last parking area was a black sand beach.

We did not stop at the Viking Grave or ship, but went straight to Yoda Cave. At first it looks like a big cave along the beach. Once you walk inside, it is a big cavernous room. Turn around and look out towards the beach, you can see an outline of Yoda from the cave openings. I was not expecting this! Next we drove down to the last parking area to walk on the black sand beach. This beach was huge. There was black sand as far as I could see. We could barely see the water!

Even though it was cloudy and rainy, we still enjoyed the drive. So many beautiful sights to see.

Solheimajokull Glacier

We saw signs for a glacier and turned out to see it. Like everywhere else, we had to pay for parking, but walking to the glacier was free. It was pretty crowded. There were services there to kayak and hike the glacier. We just did the hike. So cool to see a glacier!

Old Iceland Restaurant

This family run restaurant focuses on authentic Icelandic cuisine. I got the Lamb Ribeye, Sandy got Fillet of Cod. Both were cooked to perfection. The lamb was tender and the cod was flakey.

Our last day, we took the Action Tour Guide tour of the Reyjanes Peninsula that I had down loaded. This worked out great as we had a 4:45 flight that day and the airport is at the end of the the Reyjanes Peninsula.

The tour is supposed to start at the far south end of the peninsula, near the airport, but we did it in reverse so we would end at the airport.

We drove through huge lava fields with the lava covered in moss. It seemed to go on forever! The roads were pretty empty so the driving was fairly easy.

Krysuvik

This is a high temperature geothermal field with bubbling mud pots, hissing fuaroles and vividly colored mineral stained ground. They had a nice walkway to access all these wonders. We had to pay to park, but the walkway was free.

Volcano Skali

This is a volcanic viewing area just outside of Grindavík. As usual, there is a parking fee, but the hike is free. The volcano is active and we walked right up to a frozen lava flow. It was still steaming further away, so it is active. The hike was steep going up hill to see it and another steep climb down to get close.

Grendavik

This small village had survived the volcano eruptions in 2022 and 2023 by building a barrier around it (as well as Blue LaGoon). It was really cool to see the lava fields surrounding the village right up to the barrier.

Blue Lagoon

This was an unintentional byproduct of a geothermal power station. Mineral rich geothermal seawater was released from the power station into the nearby lava fields. In stead of seeping into the ground as they expected, it collected in the lava rocks and a milky blue reservoir was formed. Locals bathed in it and noted soothing effects to their skin.

I had been here before two years ago and it was $75. Now it is $130. We decided not to waste our money on it and skipped it.

Brimketill Lava Rock Pool

This natural formation looks like a giant hot tub or pool along the seaside. Legend has it that Oddny, the night troll, stopped to bath in Brimketill after getting a whale carcass, but did not leave in time before the sun came up. She turned to stone as she was walking home. There was a lava pinnacle near here that represented her. The sea has worn it down now.

Gunnuhver Hot Springs

This geothermal site has steaming fumaroles, bubbling hot spring, mud pots and a ghost!

Icelandic folklore tells of a woman named Gunna that had a quarrel with her landlord and he seized her cooking pot for unpaid rent. After her death, she haunted the area until a local priest lured her spirit into the hot spring with a ball of yarn. This is how the hot spring got its name.

Baejarins Hot Dogs

Finally got Sandy to try the famous Icelandic hot dog. It is made with a special combination of beef, pork and lamb. The traditional toppings are mustard, remoulade, ketchup and fried onions. There is a famous stand in Reykjavik, but we got ours at the airport.