Our Taste of Iceland

As many of you know, Icelandair offers an "Iceland Stopover" where you can get off the plane in Iceland, spend a few days, then continue on to your destination. So, since we were flying Icelandair, it seemed like a good opportunity.

When we arrived at Reykjavik Airport in Iceland, it was cold and raining hard. 






We hopped on the shuttle bus to head to downtown Reykjavik and found our small boutique hotel that we had booked. When we arrived, there was a buzzer - luckily, someone showed up to the door right way and let us in. The hotel is old and quaint and the room is really nice. 

We decided that the best way to get our "Taste of Iceland" would be to book a tour with a tour guide. So we signed up for a 10-hour tour where we had to meet at a bus stop pick-up at 7:30 am. We got up early enough to go get some coffee - because the European's idea of a cup of coffee is much less than what we're used to, we bought three. 

Our first stop was at Kerio Volcanic Crater Lake. This 6500-years old volcanic crater has a beautiful blue lake at the bottom.  We had the chance to hike around the perimeter of the crater as well as down to the lake at the bottom. 

Our tour guide, Anna, was an encyclopedia of information about Iceland on topics ranging from geology, the language, the Vikings' settlement in Iceland, to culture and fairy tales. We learned so much over the course of a day.

Our next stop was at the Secret Lagoon, the oldest geothermal swimming pool in Iceland. It has been a local hotspot since its establishment in 1891. We brought bathing suits and had about 45 minutes to enjoy soaking in the warm waters. 

Iceland is a hot bed of geothermal energy which includes the Geysir Geothermal Area, our next stop on the tour. 

It was fun to watch the Strokkur Geyser which erupts about every 5 to 10 minutes. 

Gullfoss Waterfall is Iceland's most famous waterfall. The wide waterfall's cascade drops in two stages - the first is 36 feet and the second drop, 69 feet, crashes down to the canyon below. Once again, we had time to hike to a vantage point below closer to the water as well as a lookout high above the waterfall. 

No place epitomizes the history of Iceland than Pingvellir (Thingvellir in English) by the river Öxará. The Icelandic Commonwealth period ran from 930 - 1262 AD. The Icelandic Parliment, Alpingi, founded at Pingvellir in 930 AD, is one of the oldest Parliments in the world. For a two week-period each summer, Icelandic Chieftans from all parts of the country would gather at Pingvellir to make laws, recite the laws, and settle disputes. In addition, all kinds other people would gather to watch the proceedings. The rock formations at Pingvellir form a natural amphitheatre. 

These yearly assemblies continued until 1798 when a massive earthquake changed the location of the government center for Iceland. 

Pingvellir National Park was founded in 1930 and in 2004, Pingvellir was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.