Iceland: Colorful, Cold, and Charming
Places mentioned in this post:
Milan, Italy
Vogar, Iceland
Reykjavik, Iceland
Keflavik, Iceland
We checked another bucket-list item off our wish list recently by visiting Iceland for two days on our way to America. We found some amazing ticket prices that weren't initially on our radar, and they were just too good to pass up. Something I have learned is that if you don't find a good price from your top choice airport, try looking at a few airports a little further out.
In our case, we always try to fly in and out of Venice because it's the closest airport and therefore convenient. But there might be another good option out of Bologna or Milan, so it's been helpful to check out their flight schedule and prices, too. We found an incredible deal on EasyJet from Milan to Reykjavik that was not only nonstop, but it was only 26 euros each way!! The next leg surprised us, too, because there was a direct flight from Reykjavik into Minneapolis - with NO LAYOVERS!! I bought a one-way ticket to Minneapolis for just $422, while Scott's round trip ticket was in the $800 range. *For comparison, I often pay around $1200 for a round trip ticket to and from Idaho Falls to Venice, but with two stops along the way and lots of sitting for hours on end.
We've decided that with the ease of this flight path + the amazing ticket prices, we will probably make this our new routine. Iceland has so much to offer and we had a blast during those two days. Plus, if we can grab a direct flight into Minnneapolis to see our grandchildren more regularly, all the better! It was a 4 hour flight from Milan to Reykjavik, and then it was a 6 hour flight into Minneapolis. Piece of cake.
Our travels began with a 2.5 hour drive to Milan, though . . . so we are considering taking the train next time, especially if we have less luggage to haul than what we had this time. I had my usual 90 days' worth of stuff, PLUS a few Christmas items, PLUS Maisie's new blanket, etc. It was a lot. It wouldn't have been fun to haul all of those things on a bus, to a train, to another train, to an eventual airport.
Monday, November 25th: We gave ourselves plenty of time to travel by car to Milan, which was wise because you never know if there might be an accident or something else to slow things down on the freeway. We left around 7:15 a.m., just as the sun was coming up.
Video of the lava flow near the Blue Lagoon: (10 seconds)
I had a great vantage point out my window, and a young lady across the aisle recognized this, too. She passed her camera phone over to me so I could get some pictures and videos for her. Occasionally, as the plane would circle and change direction, I would indicate for her to pass her phone again so I could get another couple photos or videos for her. She was so grateful!
Video of the somewhat bleak landscape as we came down to land in Keflavik: (9 seconds)
I was expecting more snow, I guess, but it was more brown than what I had envisioned it to be.
The language is pretty weird in Iceland. It definitely had a Scandinavian flair to it, but I didn't learn until the next day that Denmark and Norway have played a large role in how Iceland came to be.
Take this sign for toilets, for example, ha ha . . .
Video of the lava flow as we drove to our hotel: (12 seconds)
Here is a link to an article with recent aerial photos over the Blue Lagoon:
It is typical to have two twin-sized beds pushed together to form a "queen-sized" bed on the other side of the world. However, most of those places do a better job minimizing the "gap" in between than what we had in Vogar. Often we've seen one large fitted sheet placed over the two beds to unify them. But this time, the frames underneath prevented the beds from scooting up against each other and so we ended up with two very separate beds, ha ha.
For dinner that night, we had roughly one choice . . . to walk to Kim Yong Wings down the street from our hotel room. Vogar is teeny tiny, so there aren't a lot of options for dining out. We could have driven back to Keflavik, but we chose to just get out and walk for some exercise. It was freezing cold, but then life is an adventure, right? Plus this place was rated 4.8 stars . . .
One side of the menu is in English . . . (Note the pricing next to the items - for currency, they use krona in Iceland, also sometimes seen as "ISK".)
The other side of the menu is in Icelandic . . .
Hanging in the restaurant window next to our table were some Christmas wishes in Icelandic . . . "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"
We perused the neighborhood on foot after our meal, to see what we could see before going to bed for the night. We saw more than one 4x4 with giant tires parked in various driveways. I imagine that they would come in super handy when A) the weather is bad, and B) exploring the tough terrain in good weather.
Slight digression: A short summary of how Iceland celebrates Christmas. (Per Wikipedia)
Christmas in Iceland (Jól) starts four weeks before proper Christmas, which begins on 24 December (Aðfangadagur) and ends thirteen days later on 6 January (Þrettándinn, coinciding with Epiphany).
Traditionally, one candle is lit each Sunday, until four candles are lit on the 24th. At 6:00 p.m. church bells ring to start the Christmas celebration. The religiously observant and/or traditional Icelanders will attend mass at this time, while the secular Icelanders will begin their holiday meal immediately. After the meal is finished, they open gifts and spend the evening together. In Iceland, people over the Yule holidays most often eat smoked lamb, ptarmigan, and turkey. Pork is also very popular.
Thirteen days before 24 December, children will leave their shoes by a window so that the 13 Yule Lads (jólasveinarnir) can leave small gifts in their shoes. The Yule Lads are the sons of two trolls, Grýla and Leppalúði, living in the Icelandic mountains. Each of the Yule Lads is known for a different kind of mischief (for example slamming doors, stealing meat, stealing milk or eating the candles). Yule Lads traditionally wear early Icelandic wool clothing but are now known for the more recognizable red and white suit.
Each home typically sets up a Christmas tree indoors in the living room, with most decorating it on 11 December. In addition to the decorations, presents are put underneath the tree. It is also a tradition in many homes to boil fish (skate) on the 23rd. The day is known as Saint Thorlak mass (Þorláksmessa).
During the holiday season, it is traditional for families to work together to bake small cookies to serve or give to guests. Most common are thin gingerbread cookies which are decorated in many different colors of glaze. Many families also follow the tradition of making laufabrauð, a flat thin bread that is cut out using a special tool and folding technique.
The end of year is divided between two days: the Old Year's Day (Gamlársdagur) and the New Year's Day (Nýársdagur). At the night of the former and morning of the latter, Icelanders shoot up fireworks, blowing the old year away and welcoming the new one.
Thirteen days after the 24th, Icelanders say goodbye to the Yule Lads and other mystical creatures, such as elves and trolls. There are bonfires held throughout the country while the elves, Yule Lads, and Icelanders dance together before saying goodbye until the next Christmas. This celebration is known elsewhere as Epiphany Day.
Isn't it so fun to learn about what other countries and cultures do to celebrate Christmas?!!
We passed by a sculpture garden on our way to the church, so we took a few minutes to wander through and admire the beautiful works of art as the sun continued to wake up. The garden is called: Einar Jonsson Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Video looking around the Garden as the church bells rang nearby: (10 seconds)
"Thor Wrestling with Age"
(Another favorite of mine) "Protection", made between 1912-1934.
Close to 11:00 a.m.now, and the sky was still trying to wake up . . .
You can read about the restaurants he visited here, on a blog that summarizes the stops he made:
Even though I knew it would be naughty and carbolicious, I wanted a hot, fresh cinnamon roll with all of my heart. So Braud & Co. was our first planned stop of the day. I chose the basic cinnamon roll (this time), but man-oh-man I WILL BE BACK. This place was EPIC.
Next, we walked down to the waterfront area. The streets were hilly in parts, and narrow, similar to San Francisco, but way cuter.
Meant to be a replica of a Viking ship, this artistic creation is called, "Sun Voyager".
I grabbed the traditional dog, just so we had a different kind to share. The dog itself was perfectly crunchy on the outside and juicy warm on the inside. I didn't care for all the sauces on top, though. After Scott took a bite of it, I opted to just finish the hot dog part and ditch the bun (on account of the carbs). I had eaten a glorious cinnamon roll less than two hours earlier, so this was a good compromise.
Note that it was lunchtime and still not fully bright outside yet . . .
Our next stop was the Aurora Reykjavik Museum - all about the Northern Lights. It was a lengthy walk, but we found plenty to ooh and ahh over as we made our way there.
In the interest of time, I won't type up the information found on these signs that we passed by on Austurstraeti Street. But I promise they are very interesting!! They talk about how Iceland became independent in 1918, and how there is a long Danish history.
I'll insert this here instead of later: As I spoke with the young lady at the front desk in the Aurora Museum, she was a wealth of information and I ended up asking her several questions. She told me that the two airports on this side of the country (Keflavik - international, and Reykjavik - domestic) were built during WWII when the Americans and the British occupied Iceland and needed a way to get in and out. Nowadays, if there's ever a severe storm or a volcanic eruption, then the other airport is still able to be used. The only issue is that the Reykjavik Airport has a smaller runway, so some of the larger planes would not be able to land there.
I also asked her about the museums in Reykjavik and which one she liked the best. She told me that her favorite is the FlyOver Iceland, which is just one block from the Aurora Museum. If you have dizziness or vertigo issues, this may not be the best experience for you . . . But essentially, someone created a short "movie" of some drone footage while flying over different areas of Iceland. You pay to get into a chair that will move, simulating YOU flying WITH the drone. There's a huge movie screen that surrounds the seating in the theater, and she said it's a really cool experience.
I really enjoyed gleaning some lesser known nuggets of info about the background of Iceland from her.
Video of the outdoor ice skating rink at the end of the street: (10 seconds)
Oh my bacon-y cuteness! A Christmas Pig?!! How delightful.
And finally, we arrived at the Aurora Reykjavik Museum, a museum dedicated to the beauty and the science behind the Northern Lights.
Thankfully, there were lots of comfy leather couches to sit on and rest in each room. We were tired from such a long walk. In the first room, you can opt to get your photo taken with the Northern Lights in the background and then it will be emailed to you. (I've included that photo a little further down below)
I loved reading about all of the different myths and legends regarding the Northern Lights, depending on which country you were from. Feel free to learn more by clicking on the photos below.
I opted for the beanbag bed on the floor . . . it felt so amazing to just lay there and relax for a while. Plus, nobody else was in the museum except for us that afternoon. So we had this room all to ourselves.
If you need a moment to relax, perhaps you'd like to watch this 54-second video of the Northern Lights:
How I wish we had been able to see the Northern Lights for real. It is still something on my Bucket List.
Even though I never wanted to leave that dark and relaxing theater, we had seen all that we came to see. We had a 35 minute walk back to our car, which allowed us to walk along the shoreline for a few minutes. It was beautiful, even though the sky was moody and cloudy.
They sure know how to repurpose lava rocks in Iceland . . . we saw them everywhere. Small black gravel paths, landscaping, and borders. Black sand next to the water's edge. And even put to use as a dyke or barrier to the sea itself.
Video of the lava rock shoreline: (11 seconds)
After we had the car back at our disposal, we drove across town and parked near the SeaBaron Restaurant to eat an early dinner. This was another place from the episode of Somebody Feed Phil. I wanted the Lobster Soup!!
Video of the yummy soup: (7 seconds)
The skewers of fish and veggies came out a few minutes later. They were equally delicious. I was very happy with what I ordered.
My husband is a funny guy sometimes. Like in this instance. For some reason, he has "decided" that he only eats a large breakfast and a large dinner, with maybe just a spoonful of peanut butter for lunch (when he's at work back in Vicenza). When he "decides" that he "doesn't" eat lunch, he refuses to order anything if we're at a restaurant together during the lunch hour. But what he DOES do sometimes, is he snitches at whatever I've ordered. Sometimes he just drinks water and watches me eat, too, which I don't really like either. I've tried to tell him that: 1) it's best to eat several smaller meals throughout the day; 2) in Italy especially, the server is visibly uncomfortable when we have come to their restaurant but he (Scott) doesn't want to order anything; 3) it's uncomfortable for me when I'm the only one eating and he's just sitting there; and 4) maybe I don't want to share my food, LOL.
Ultimately, because I love him with all of my heart, I end up sharing my food anyway, which is what I did in this case. He tried a spoonful of the soup and then he let me savor the rest, which I 100% enjoyed. He snitched about half of my wolf fish and veggies, but I figured he needed some nourishment, so I didn't say a word. :)
His brain is so incredibly smart. Sometimes I feel dumb and insignificant compared to how smart he is, but not because he makes me feel this way. Recently, I melted into tears because I felt like I won't be much use in the next life. He has a brain that is ready to design and build and he understands science and math and physics and stuff. My brain is more focused on how can I make something pretty, or ooh - this tastes really good, or maybe I want to clarify some information on the internet or ChatGPT for my blog. But I don't think those things will be really necessary in the next life . . .
Anyway, I just marvel at his intellect so many times.
We stopped at the grocery store (Kronan Granda) near the Aurora Museum after our light dinner. We grabbed a few things to haul to the U.S., along with a giant panini sandwich from the deli for Scott and a yogurt bowl for me (with fruit, oats and peanut butter).
I saved my receipt because I wanted to share how much things cost in Iceland.
The total amount of 9587 krona is equal to $69.34 in USD for November 26, 2024. Each day, the rate is slightly different, so I had to be specific in my question to Chat GPT. We bought a sandwich, a yogurt bowl, a banana, a couple of extra yogurts, some granola and milk, and some chocolate. We also bought a couple of soup mix packets. So not very much overall. $70 for what we brought back to the hotel room seemed like a lot, but we were happy to have any food on that mostly deserted island with a volcano erupting nearby. :)
Speaking of volcano, I marveled at how fun it was to see the lava spewing each day, like we were checking on our little lava baby or something. How's he doing today? Oh good, he's still there, and he's still spewing.
There was a little hill or bluff near our hotel, and we parked up there for a few minutes to get a better view before we drove "home" for the night.
Wednesday, November 27th: We had really chatted ourselves up about going back to Reykjavik the following day to finish seeing some of the things we didn't get to the day before, but the next morning we realized that this wasn't the wisest itinerary. It only takes about 40 minutes to get from our hotel to Reykjavik, but that doesn't include all the gnarly traffic.
We were quite surprised the day before as we drove into the city at how many people were on the roads. We did a quick internet search and learned that the population of the city itself is roughly 140,000 in 2024. This does not include the towns and villages that surround Reykjavik. Approximately 2/3 of the entire population of Iceland lives in Reykjavik! With the University and an abundance of tourists (like us), the number of people driving around goes up even more.
We would have spent a good hour just to get into the city and park the car, plus another hour to get back. That wouldn't leave much time to play, and we'd be far away from the airport (our flight was later that afternoon). So we decided to find some things to see in Keflavik instead, which was only 10 minutes away and home to the international airport, too.
The skies were very pretty on our short drive to Keflavik.
We decided to visit the Viking World Museum first, since that would take the longest amount of time. Everything after that could be prioritized, once we knew how much time we had leftover before we had to be at the airport. It's located on a tiny peninsula which is part of a small protected harbor (from the harsh Norwegian and Labrador Seas).
The most popular feature of this museum is that they have a replica of a 9th century Viking ship right in the center of the building. At the ticket counter, there is a souvenir list of Viking Laws that you might want to look over before we begin . . .
An intriguing board game was set up and ready, called Nefatavl. The instructions are below. The play reminds me a little of both chess and checkers.
What the women traditionally wore . . .
Typical foods that they ate, including Skyr (a type of yogurt that we see in the grocery stores today), and how they preserved their foods . . .
Video of the length of the ship: (13 seconds)
What a historical journey! The man who built the boat is a descendant of Leif Erikson and wanted to recreate the experience to educate children about their important history. You can read more about their adventure on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Dslendingur
Of course, sailing across the sea many centuries ago inevitably came with a darker side to have to deal with . . .
As an avid family history fan, I'm always curious about what other cultures believe about the afterlife. In the case of the Vikings, they believed that the deceased needed tools and supplies to not only GET them to the next world, but to help them survive there as well.
Next to the photo - within the photo below - it says (in small print):
"Viking Age Cemetery - Lindholm Hoje, Jutland, Denmark.
Two hundred graves were marked with stones set in the shape of ships. Although less extravagant than the royal ship burials at Gokstad and Oseburg, these symbols were meant to transport the deceased to and in the other world. This Scandinavian custom, known since the Bronze Age, is still practiced by some Siberian people."
There was a hint of a rainbow as we drove into town, and it looked like it originated straight out of the museum! Also, there are some thatched roof huts outside that you can explore as part of the museum experience, but it was rainy and windy so we opted to skip that part, sadly.
A travel writer from Iceland has written all about the gigantic troll on her website, including some excerpts from the lovely children's books about Sigga and the Giantess (16 in all). It is a delightful read, I promise!
https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/sigga-the-giantess-in-the-cave-in-keflavik-town
Video of the first half of the cave: (31 seconds) You can see the postal box where you can leave a letter for the Giantess, and the little tree in the back of the cave where little ones can leave their pacifier when it's time to "graduate", ha ha.
When I brought Scott in a few minutes later, we heard her not only burp a couple of times, but she also tooted in her sleep, LOL.
It was a place that I would definitely want to take my grandchildren, if we are ever so fortunate as to bring them to Iceland some day. I think they would get a kick out of this for sure. I want to see if the stories of Sigga are in English, too, because they could help set the stage for a future visit.
I somehow convinced Scott to order something: pulled pork tacos.
I loved every minute of Iceland and I can't wait to go back! I have a long wishlist of things I want to do and places I want to see. Given the fact that there is a cheap and direct flight from Italy to Iceland, and another cheap and direct flight from Iceland to Minneapolis, I think this will end up being a very popular route for us in the future. There's even a direct flight from Reykjavik to Portland!!
We had a nice, quiet 6-hour flight to Minneapolis where we were able to finally meet our newest granddaughter, Maisie. I'll share more about that in my next post.
Being a Grandma is the BEST. XOXO
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