Iceland - Worth the Bucket List (pt1)

I just spent 8 days in Iceland. It was magical. I get it now. The obsession with this cold nordic island. 

I'll admit, I had a small meltdown in my therapist's office two months out. I had booked the trip on a whim, after what was suppose to be my 50th birthday solo trip had to be postponed due to the pandemic. At the time I was ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Then I had a horrific year full of heath problems, and Piper had a year of their own mental health challenges, which in turn were my challenges as a mother. It was not an easy year. I had brain scans, an MRI, so much blood work. Nothing but thyroid and hormone issues showed up. I was off balance. I had vision problems. After 6 or 8 months, vestibular integration therapy made the most difference. A year later, I seem to be 95% better, but at a huge cost to my fitness and mental state from that point I booked the Iceland trip. So, yeah, I had a 'what was I thinking? I should just cancel and book a beach trip, I'm not in hiking shape anymore, I'm going to be the oldest one in the group (of strangers) and hold them back, what if the vertigo shows up while I'm hiking up a glacier?!', and my bucket list pictures I had in my head were beautiful green landscapes and waterfalls, not white frozen tundra. She talked me off the ledge and assured me I NEEDED this trip. She reminded me of all the anxiety stuff we have worked on for years, the VOOing (google it), the box breathing. I know how to get past the anxiety. She was right. She always is. That's why I pay her ;)

So off I went, solo, to Reykjavik, Iceland. I booked a flight via Seattle on Icelandair with 30,000 Alaska miles. Unfortunately, with an award ticket, I wasn't eligible for an upgrade to Saga class, and was kinda bummed. But, as it turned out, I did get an extra legroom seat and had the whole row to myself. AND, we saw the northern lights from the plane. Perfect way to start my little adventure!

I arrived in Reykjavik at 6:15am having not slept since the day before. My first flight was delayed, so I had to run to catch the connecting flight to Iceland. My luggage, however, did not make it. I knew enough to pack most of what I needed for the first day in my carryon, but was going to need to waterproof/windproof pants. Icelandair is fabulous, and will reimburse you for the necessities you need until they get your luggage to you.

I had a custom Icelandic wool sweater knit for me and this sweet woman delivered it to me at the airport at 7am before heading into Reykjavik. It's beautiful! (SavinasWorkshop on IG)

The group I booked with trip with was from a facebook points and miles travel group (10xTravel.com). There was one couple (the founder of 10xTravel and his wife, two friends that came together, and 4 others that came solo like myself. And our Icelandic guide, Baddi. It couldn't have been better! The group was so fun, and the guide absolutely made the trip. We traveled in a Mercedes Sprinter van, and ventured across the entire south coast and back, staying in a different hotel every night but one.

So we all met at the hotel and explored the city that first day, on zero sleep ;)

Hallgrímskirkja

 The view from the bell tower in the church.

It was windy and freeeeezing!

Iceland is a very liberal and inclusive country and everyone loves the rainbow street that leads up to the church.

The Viking mural. Lots of murals around the city.

The Sun Voyager.

Inside Harpa, the opera house. Where I had my covid test for the return flight home ;)

The exterior of Harpa.

The Icelandic Phallological Museum

We didn't have a reservation for lunch and it was hard to find a place to eat, especially during brunch, which apparently lasts half the day on the weekend ;) Everyone raves about the hot dog stands, so we did try one, but I thought it was gross. Ha. We finally got into Monkeys. The bathroom and the Champagne Train were definitely unique. You washed your hands in a 'shower'. So bizarre. Also, note the letters on the bathroom doors. Depending on where you sat in a restaurant, you would use the restroom with that same letter - to keep covid spread a little more under control.

Also, we went out about 9am and it was still dark, and hardly anyone was out. It was weird. Many stores didn't even open until 10am. This was partly due to covid. All restaurants closed at 10pm. Mid January, the sun rises between 10 and 11am and sets about 4pm. So we did a lot of driving in the dark. In the summer, they have the midnight sun. I definitely want to go visit in the summer!

Part 2 up next...