Come with us to the land of fire and ice for a week in Iceland – in the dead of winter! On this wintry adventure we go to Snæfellsnes Peninsula, The South Coast, The Blue Lagoon, on an epic Northern Lights chasing tour in the middle of the night, and even saw some real lava! This episode is full of tips for visiting Iceland in the winter, how to navigate stormy roads, and how to plan for this finicky destination during the dark, winter season.

We HIGHLY recommend: These two items from Amazon for your winter Iceland trip: ⁠Heated Jacket⁠ and ⁠Hand Warmers⁠, but check out our whole ⁠Winter Travel Packing List on Amazon⁠ for more suggestions!

Hotels we stayed at:

• ⁠101 Reykjavik Hotel⁠ – Upscale stylish hotel downtown
• ⁠B14 Apartments in Reykjavik⁠ – Great private room on Rainbow road
• ⁠Hotel Smyrlabjorg⁠ – In Hofn near Vatnajökull National Park – Big guest house with nice rooms and a restaurant (with a breakfast buffet!) on site

This trip was booked entirely off tours, check out our ⁠Iceland Experiences Viator list⁠ for all the tours we did + more we couldn’t fit into our schedule!

If you enjoyed this winter Iceland trip, also check out our episode on a Summer Iceland Trip!

Things to Do in Iceland in Winter – Episode Transcript

0:35

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast. Today we’re taking you to the land of fire and ice to Iceland for a Winter Wonderland trip.

0:54

I’m really excited to hear about your trip, Kim, because as you know, we’ve been in the summer, but watching your stories and seeing the winter Wonderland that you were experiencing and even the delays that got you to Iceland, I’m really excited to hear all about your experience in Iceland in the winter.

1:11

Want to hear how cold it was, what your favorite thing was, how the landscape was.

I’m just so excited to dive into this trip overall.

I’m really excited to dive into it also because Kim, you went here in December of 2024.

Brittany had alluded.

We’ve been to Iceland before.

1:27

We went also in 2024, but in July and when Brittany and I were planning our trip, we were really in the dilemma of like, are we going to Iceland during the winter?

Are we going during the summer?

Which way do we we really want to see it?

And ultimately we decided on summer mainly because of course we wanted to do some hiking also, but just even like our own thought process on it.

1:48

I was like, yeah, no, it’s going to be way better during summer than it would be winter.

You’re probably going to be really limited on what you can do.

And then here we are seeing like your stories and posts and all that stuff that you were doing.

I’m just like, oh man, I looked at Brittany like probably day 2 that you were there and said we really need to go back to Iceland, but this time during winter.

2:06

So I’m really excited to hear all about it and your experience and because you went to a lot of the same places but saw in a completely different landscape than we did during summer.

I really think you do have to see it in both ways because seeing it in winter is just an entirely different world, so beautiful, so crazy, like unbelievable scenery.

2:27

But then in the summer you have the greenery and you are able to actually enjoy the outdoors a little bit more.

So I think you have to see both.

But I’m excited to talk about it.

I want to talk about some things I learned about Iceland before we get into the tips because I learned a lot, actually.

And I did my trip very differently than you did when you 2 went.

2:46

You rented a car, You did the road trip by yourself.

You might have done a couple tours, like the snorkeling in between the tectonic plates, right?

We did.

I did tours the entire time.

I did not rent a car.

And I think that’s a big myth.

Well, not a myth, but when you hear about Iceland, everyone says rent a car.

3:01

It’s so easy to drive on the roads.

And I could see how that would be easy during the summer, but during the winter, Oh hey, well no, I would not know.

So tours is the way I went and I learned something about the roads.

If you are taking a car, there are yellow poles on the side of the road with reflection.

3:19

So when there’s a white out, these come in really handy because on the right side, the reflector has one line, on the left side it has 2 lines.

So if you fear off your correct side of the road, you can kind of look to those poles to get yourself back on track.

3:35

That’s scary that it would get so much of a white out that you have to rely on that to get you back onto the road safely.

What’s not scary is that polar bears are not native to Iceland.

You will not find yourself getting into a polar bear attack while you’re in Iceland.

3:53

But you know they do come over sometimes, right?

Did you guys learn anything about polar bears when you were there?

We did not.

And as a matter of fact, I was like, why is Kim even talking about polar bears?

There’s no polar bears on the island, but you’re telling me you learned that when it freezes up they can come from certain places and end up on the island?

4:10

Is this what you’re saying?

Occasionally a polar bear will break off an iceberg from Greenland and float over to Iceland.

And when they arrive in Iceland, they’re very angry and they eat all the sheep, and unfortunately the Icelandic people will put them down and get rid of them.

4:27

So polar bears do not natively exist in Iceland.

In fact, no animals natively existed in Iceland except for one.

Do you have any idea what that could be?

I have no idea.

The Arctic fox was the only animal on the whole island country of Iceland when it was discovered.

4:44

I love how you have all of these cool facts and that’s I guess the bonus of doing tours and having a tour guide that talks while you’re out there because we didn’t learn any of this cool info.

Every single tour guide that I took gave us these facts so I heard the many times over.

5:00

It’s not an early morning country so I’m sure you guys didn’t like that but I found most places didn’t even open.

Even coffee and breakfast places did not open till 9:00 AM.

You know, I wonder if that was the case because it was winter when we went.

We spent, you know, a couple days in Reykjavik, like when we first arrived and then our last day there.

5:20

And that’s really like, if you go to Iceland, you’ll understand.

That’s really the only big city.

Everywhere else is really rural.

So those rural places, you are right, we did find some breakfast and coffee places open early, but that was really, and when you get there, I’m sure we’ll talk about Victoria, but that is kind of a main place where a lot of people go.

5:39

And so they needed to have something.

But you’re right, in general, probably not a lot of places open early.

But during summer season, we did find one or two breakfast spots that are like, OK, like there’s not full sit down restaurant, but to go and get your coffee early enough, but not like 5-6 AM like we’re used to here in the US if somebody wants Starbucks.

5:59

That’s right.

Now, Iceland wasn’t always a very popular tourist destination like it is now.

Jamal, do you have any idea what caused the influx of tourism and when?

I am not too sure.

The only person I know of that is for sure from Iceland is Bjork the musician, and she became really popular in the 1990s and I find it very hard to believe that she was the influence that brought people to Iceland.

6:24

So no, I’m not sure what the tourism was on.

Music video where he did out in Iceland.

No, it’s called the land of fire and ice because of the volcanoes and how the volcanoes hit the ice.

6:39

And it is Iceland, right?

So in 2010, there was a massive volcano that erupted for more than 40 days and it got so much news coverage.

The plume of smoke covered Europe, grounded all the planes in Europe for many, many days because all the smoke blew over there.

6:58

And it had this crazy name that I won’t even try to pronounce.

But all of the news anchors reporting on it were butchering it.

And so it became very famous after that.

Well, what’s funny is I would have imagined there would have been tourism and a lot of it to Iceland before 2010.

7:15

But I am very familiar with that story that you’re talking about, about when the volcano erupted.

Because I do remember hearing how a lot of flights from North America to Europe and vice versa had to be grounded because just where the volcanic ash was up in the atmosphere, planes couldn’t fly through it because it was so thick that it would get in the engines, cause failure, etcetera.

7:37

So I I’m aware of that.

But that is really the turning point, is what you’re saying of what everybody in Iceland told you on your tours of like, yeah, this is when the influx came because people were excited to see erupting volcanoes.

Yep.

Mind blown right now.

Crazy.

Unfortunately, I have one other sad little fact, and that is that scientists predict within about 300 years that the glaciers on Iceland will disappear.

8:01

That is so sad.

That’s just around the corner.

Not in our lifetime, of course, but see it while you can, because 300 years there won’t be any more glaciers, but there will be a lot more waterfalls.

What’s funny, and when I say funny, I mean ironic, and I know you will get to it at some point ’cause I know you went to Yokelsarlen, if I remember how to pronounce it correctly, where they really do have that glacier that forms a pond and you could see the icebergs.

8:27

We were standing at a point where they said, Oh, yeah, 50-60 years ago, the glacier was all the way over here.

And then you look back and it’s more than several kilometers receded back, creating that lagoon.

So even in a short amount of time, you can see how much it’s already disappeared.

8:44

And to think 300, they’re all gone.

That’s wild.

That’s sad.

Yeah.

So go to Iceland.

So I want to get into some tips about Iceland, especially tips for the winter.

One of my biggest tips is to bring those disposable hand warmers.

I use them every single day.

9:00

Even though I did have an electric heated jacket, which by the way was 1000% worth it.

It’s like 100 bucks on Amazon.

Will link it in the show notes.

Get both.

Even with gloves on, my hands were hurting.

They were so painfully cold that having those hand warmers in my pockets to put my hands in while I was walking or whatever. 10 out of 10 could not have done Iceland winter without them.

9:23

What you do not need is sunglasses.

I brought 2 pairs of sunglasses.

I didn’t wear them at all.

There’s like 5 hours of sunlight in the winter and it’s not even bright.

You know, it’s funny that you brought 2 pairs like you thought you might need them, but you know when you are in snow, if it’s really bright out and there’s a lot of sun, it can hurt your eyes.

9:42

So I can see it both ways.

But that’s a good tip to know.

I also strategically packed cute shirts and outfits, and I ended up wearing my heated jacket completely bundled up with a scarf and a beanie the entire time.

So don’t even worry about what shirts you’re wearing.

9:58

And what was the temperature while you were there?

Just so our squaddies know how cold it was while you were there.

The highs were probably like 25 to 30°F.

The lowest low that it got was 6°F while at night Northern Lights hunting extremely cold.

10:15

What’s cute about Iceland in the winter though is they keep their Christmas lights up.

I arrived the day after Christmas, but the tour guide said that they usually keep their Christmas lights up through February because it’s so dark and it cheers people up and everywhere has Christmas lights around Iceland.

10:30

That’s actually really cool.

I think I remember hearing something about that before that.

That actually is a thing.

And I’m not disputing you saying that.

And of course I know the tour guides mentioned it, but I remember seeing something one time where they were talking about that just for that very reason that you mentioned, which I think would be cool if you go during the winter, but after Christmas you could still have some sort of like second Christmas or something, so to speak, or early one if you want to look at it that way.

10:55

So really cool.

One thing I did read a lot about was to dress in layers because once you go inside, you’ll want to shed your layers that it’s very warm inside Iceland restaurants and hotels and whatnot.

I actually did not find that to be true.

There were sometimes I didn’t even take my jacket off.

11:12

Sometimes of course I did, but I did not think it was overly warm with all of the layers that I was wearing.

They’re just used to it there, they don’t need it as warm as you’d want it.

I wasn’t cold necessarily, but people made it seem like you’d be sweating wearing layers that you couldn’t shut off.

A couple things about hotels that I found out.

11:29

Most of the hotels and tours have a 24 for our cancellation notice.

Some of them have 72 hours.

This is not ideal in the winter because of flight cancellations delays.

Tours get cancelled because of winter weather all of the time.

11:45

So this is the one place and type of trip I would actually encourage the trip insurance.

Did you have any trip insurance other than what’s provided on your credit card?

No, and I did miss a hotel night and I’ll get into that.

OK.

I did find out towards the end of the trip that some hotels have a Northern Lights wake up call.

12:06

So if the Northern Lights are being shown, they will call your room and wake you up so you can go out and view them.

You can see the Northern Lights from Reykjavik.

That’s another myth that you have to go outside of the city where there’s no city lights.

You in fact can just step away from city lights even just a few feet and look up to the sky and still get really good views of them when they’re strong.

12:27

Oh, and one other thing that you 2 mentioned on your summer Iceland trip episode was that the hotel that you stayed at in Reykjavik smelled like sulphur.

Yes, and that all hotels had the showers smell like sulphur was what I heard from others as well.

That is not true.

The first hotel that I stayed in did not smell like sulphur whatsoever and I was surprised by that.

12:48

And it’s because the ones that smell like sulphur are using geothermal water, but not all of them use it.

So if you don’t want that sulfur smell, look for a hotel that does not use geothermal water.

That’s good to know.

I wonder how many there really are because my understanding and even like, I don’t know if you were able to see it with the snow cover, but when you drive during the summer, you can actually see all the pipes that carry the the steam and water all into Reykjavik for like their natural heating that way.

13:17

So I bet you it’s far few and in between.

But good to know because the bedroom did not smell.

I just want to bring that up.

The bedroom did not smell.

But as soon as you go to the bathroom and start running the hot water to take a shower, it kind of gets that misty sulfur smell, you know, from the tap.

13:33

I think if you’re staying in a nicer hotel, it probably doesn’t, but if you’re staying in an apartment or guest house type or even a hostel, they probably use the geothermal energy.

But it will say it on the listing so you can always check that before you book.

All right, so let’s get into this trip.

13:52

I booked it to leave Austin on Christmas Eve and then come back on December 29th.

I strategically booked 3 legs of a flight.

One leg was Austin to Boston, the other leg was Boston to Reykjavik and back, and then the other leg was Boston to Austin.

14:09

I did that because as the domestic portions of the trip, I used points.

The other one I spent about $550 doing that round trip.

So I saved a lot of money doing it this way.

But even though it saves a lot of money, I now know it can cause a hiccup in your travels.

So what happened?

14:25

I mean, obviously we know you got delayed, Kim, right?

But tell our squad is what really happened and why that would be a hiccup.

So as I was getting on my flight to Boston in the morning, I got a notification that my flight to Iceland was cancelled.

And it didn’t say cancelled and rescheduled.

14:41

It said cancelled and we’re trying to get you on another flight.

So I didn’t know if by the time I got to Boston I’d have another rescheduled flight or if I should go talk to the Delta gate agent and try to change my flight.

I didn’t have anything and the flight was boarding, so I went to Boston.

14:58

When I got to Boston, the flight was completely cancelled and rescheduled finally for the next day.

So now instead of leaving on a red eye on Christmas Eve and arriving on Christmas Day, I was going to have to spend Christmas Eve in Boston.

Totally unplanned, no hotel, everything’s basically closed and I’m by myself, which wasn’t ideal for my Christmas Eve.

15:21

But how’d you make the most of it?

Well, I did get a hold of Iceland Air on the phone.

I had planned a packed trip of tours.

I didn’t want to miss anything so I called them and I extended my trip one day.

Did they charge for that?

They did not charge for it thankfully and I actually had booked a non changeable flight too, but they were able to accommodate it because of the issue.

15:42

The issue was a winter storm.

Every single flight into Iceland was cancelled that day.

The airport was shut down so no one was getting in or out.

So what I decided to do was book a hotel and go to the Boston Seaport area.

15:58

I did make sure to book it through my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, even though it was Marriott because I wanted to file a trip insurance claim because the credit card gives you about $500.00 for Uber’s, hotel and food and beverage if your flight is delayed more than 12 hours.

16:16

I believe it is.

So I didn’t feel as bad because I’m like, OK, I’m going to get reimbursed for this, so let’s make the most of it.

I did a little Boston Seaport tour.

There wasn’t like much open though.

So I ended up kind of going back to the hotel bar, met this pilot named Renee.

I met this lady named Karen who was kind of one of her first Christmas without her daughter who had just passed.

16:37

So I made friends and we had a good little time, had some drinks, woke up in the morning Christmas Day ready to get this trip back on track.

Well, I’m glad you made the most of it.

It sucks just in general when something like that happens on a trip, let alone on a holiday.

16:53

But at least you know, as frustrating as it was with utilizing the credit card to get reimbursement, Iceland Air understanding the situation, changing it for you.

The chips are starting to fall back in place to lead into a phenomenal trip.

I also forgot to mention that when I got to my hotel in Boston, I was trying to change everything.

17:11

I tried to change my hotel booking because I didn’t need that first night.

I needed to change the tours to that that day at the back end because I wasn’t going to make the Golden Circle tour, the Blue Lagoon tour or the Northern Lights tour that I all had booked on that first day.

Oh, and a bus ride from the airport into Reykjavik.

17:29

Most of those things I was able to change without any fees.

The hotel would not change my hotel room.

So I lost that first night, whatever.

And then the bus, I had to pay a new bus, which was like €30.00.

So at this point, that’s kind of what I’m down.

17:44

Well, I’m excited to hear all about it once you get get into Iceland, but before you get to arriving in Reykjavik, Kim, I want to take a moment here to tell you Squad.

He’s all about the resources that we have for you guys on our website, travelsquadpodcast.com.

We have a whole bunch of our itineraries on there of these exact trips that we take for you guys help plan it out for you.

18:06

You could also sign up for our monthly newsletter that we have two editions come out each month that will also give you additional tips, tricks, advice and recommendations from us at the squad.

So be sure to go over to travelsquadpodcast.com and check it out.

So Christmas Day, I checked out of the hotel at one PMI went to the Boston airport.

18:25

I knew my flight wasn’t rescheduled until 7:00 PM, but I really had nothing else to do in Boston on Christmas, so I thought why not?

I do know that there are three lounges that I can get into.

I think there might have been 4, but there were three that I really wanted to hit up.

And so that’s what I did.

18:40

I went on a little Tour de Logan lounges and I got to say it was a good use of time.

But when was your favorite?

So the best 1 was definitely the Chase Sapphire Lounge.

Anyone can get into it with priority pass.

It’s opened up priority pass which is cool, but also of course if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card you get in there and it is like a Speakeasy like massive bar and restaurant with tons of seating, a menu, a buffet, really great craft cocktails.

19:10

I love it there.

So I’m pretty jealous that you got to experience it because the one time that Brittany and I were flying in and out of Boston, we arrived late in Boston, which when you arrive, you can’t really get in.

And by the time we were leaving early in the morning, it wasn’t even open yet.

19:25

And it was really devastating because at that point, I think it was the only Chase Sapphire Lounge that was open in the US, the other one only being in Hong Kong.

Now, of course, the Sapphire Lounge is open in a number of different cities scheduled to be open and many more here within the US.

19:41

But we have experienced the Sapphire Lounge in New York and just as exactly as you described, Kim, just amazing in there.

I just want to say this.

Of course, if you do have the credit card, as you mentioned, you’re able to get in if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

But when you say you can get him with priority pack that is true but the sapphire lounges if the only way in is with priority pass.

20:02

I believe they limit you to only like one or two visits a year into a sapphire lounge before they don’t let you in anymore.

So do keep that in mind.

So I had a good time in there.

I got a little bit of stuff down on the computer and hung out and then I got to my gate for the flight at 7.

20:18

Got on the plane and then more delays.

The flight didn’t end up leaving till 8:30 PM because they said there were delays with loading and then they were fixing a water issue.

I’m like, my God, is Iceland’s air ever going to take off?

But finally we did and no one was actually sitting next to me on the flight, which is cool.

20:36

This is the only time I’ve ever paid to pick my seat.

Paid like 40 bucks because I wanted to have as many opportunities to see the Northern Lights as possible.

And if you sit on the left side of the plane when you’re flying from the US into Iceland, you have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

20:52

I didn’t see them, it was way too cloudy, but I did get the row all to myself, which is another great hack.

You could choose your seat and you could see which seats are open.

It’s no guarantee there won’t be anyone there, but you’re increasing your likelihood of that happening.

And I bet the 40 bucks was worth just that too.

21:09

I laid down.

I took magnesium and melatonin.

I slept the whole time.

Very nice.

So I finally land Thursday December 26th at 7.

AMI was supposed to get in at like 5:15 AM and I basically went as soon as I got off the plane.

21:25

I rushed to the bus which is right outside of the airport because I had a tour planned for this day and I am going to ruin every single Icelandic word so sorry about that.

But the Snafelness Peninsula tour is what I had booked this day.

21:41

It was supposed to leave at 9:30 but they changed it to 8:30 just to add on more stress to my rescheduled days.

Oh my gosh, I would have been so stressed.

With the flight delay, basically I was supposed to get on the bus, a 7:15 AM bus.

21:57

It was going to take about an hour to get there.

Actually, I think the tour was 8, not 830 because I, I knew I was probably going to miss it or barely just get in time.

Well, I got into the BSI bus station in Reykjavik around 8 and by eight O 6, I was on my way to the bus stop number six by my hotel because they don’t bring the big tour buses into town.

22:19

And while I’m just on that bus driving over, the other bus driver of the tour says, are you here at the bus stop?

And of course they leave me, don’t wait for you.

So I’m literally going to miss this for just 5 minutes of being late.

So I’m stressed out.

22:34

I get there, I tried, I called back actually once I get there and it’s hard to get through to the tour companies, but I finally do and he basically tells me your only chance is to get a cab to where all of the buses of the tours meet.

They haven’t left town yet, so you if you leave on your cab now you can make it.

22:54

I haven’t changed, I haven’t washed my face, I haven’t brushed my teeth.

I went to the hotel, told them I’m checking in and to ask if they could call me a cab.

The cabs are very fast in Reykjavik.

They push a button and literally 2 minutes later the cab driver showed up.

It was amazing.

23:11

That was your saving grace.

So that was my saving grace, but I didn’t actually know where to meet them.

He said meet at some gas station and when you get in the cab, call me back and I’ll tell him, but I’m calling him back and he’s not answering.

So the cab driver, like, thinks he knows where it is.

Finally get a hold of him.

23:26

He says it.

I get to the meeting point, I get on my bus, I make the tour.

It’s also pouring down snow and I’m in like yoga pants.

Well, I’m glad you made it.

Unfortunately, that is very stressful.

And that’s right.

You said you didn’t change so you were probably in something looking comfortable.

So you were in yoga pants huh?

23:42

Oh my gosh.

Must have been really cold then at that point.

Yoga pants and like a crew neck sweater.

It’s pouring down snow.

But here’s what I did that was smart in my shoe bag.

I had packed my snow boots and stuffed them with my long John socks, the outfit I was going to wear.

24:00

So I was able to just pull that out of my suitcase really fast and bring it with me.

So I had a change of clothes and I eventually did get to change when we stopped at a gas station about an hour later.

It’s good at least, maybe a little bit warm for you for the rest of the tour.

Still didn’t brush my teeth though, so we’re going hard on this one.

24:16

All good, all good.

Was there a lot of people on the tour?

I was actually surprised by that.

It was a huge tour bus, 60 people completely full.

I was the last person to get on the bus and I didn’t even see a seat.

But luckily the tour guide had shown me, oh, right here in this front row, you can sit next to this guy.

24:36

And it was actually very uncomfortable.

I had thought, oh, I’m going to journal, I’m going to read, I’m going to relax on the bus and get a lot of stuff done during all this bus time.

No, this bus was way too uncomfortable, way too crowded.

It couldn’t even like bend down to like get anything out of my backpack, so that didn’t happen, but that’s OK.

24:55

So you caught up with them.

The tour’s starting.

Where did you go first?

So it stops at a gas station and he tells us to get your lunch now because we’re basically not going to stop anywhere else.

And this was my first sandwich experience in Iceland.

I got a sandwich and a coffee.

25:10

And as I come to find out, Iceland eats a lot of sandwiches.

Ham sandwiches, pepperoni sandwiches, tuna sandwiches.

Like all they eat is bread, pizza and coffee.

Oh, and lamb and fish, which I don’t eat.

But did you guys notice that it was just like sandwiches galore?

25:26

I don’t feel like I had a sandwich the entire time I was there.

I had like 3 sandwiches, 2 pizzas and 12 coffees.

Yeah, we had, we had two pizzas.

We ate pizza at the same spot that you ate it at in Victoria.

But yeah, I mean, I feel like if you’re getting food from the gas station on the road, yeah, you’re going to come up with sandwiches.

25:45

We had a lot of time.

When we were done with our day, we went out to dinner and didn’t really have them.

But I see what you’re saying.

I don’t disagree with you.

This tour guide was really funny.

He told us a lot about Iceland and one of the things that he kept saying every time we stopped to use like the bathroom or whatever, he would say, okay, this is a bathroom stop, go in there, use the bathroom intensively and be back in 5-10 minutes.

26:10

He would always say use the bathroom intensively and I don’t know if he was meaning to use that word, but it was just hilarious and I couldn’t think of what he maybe he meant intentionally, I don’t know.

Maybe he meant quickly if he’s telling you to get back in like 5 to 10 minutes.

26:26

Yeah, maybe he met quickly, but he kept saying intensively and I was just like, all right, we’re going to go to the bathroom and be intense in there.

Because if it’s a tour bus of 60 people with limited stalls, yeah, be intensive.

You sit down as a girl to go use the restroom.

Just push a little bit harder for it to come out faster.

Maybe that’s the intensively that he means.

26:43

That’s that.

That’s the way I took it.

Yeah, well, we were on time.

He kept congratulating us for getting back into the bus on time at each stop.

When he first started talking on the mic, it was like 10 in the morning.

And he’s like, I know it’s very early and you’re all tired.

26:58

And I just started laughing because 10 in the morning is not very early, but it’s so dark still that it feels like it’s 5:00 AM.

And he’s giving just like we get with gate one in the tour buses.

He’s giving a bunch of facts about this area and that area and the Icelandic people and he talks about how happy of a country they are, which we all know.

27:17

But he talked about his life there.

He said it’s a very good life, people make good money.

Community is very, very big there.

Your family all lives in Reykjavik, your friends you went to school with are still there.

It’s such a big community oriented country.

And that’s what my hunch is why they’re so happy Community.

27:34

I think that’s a really good hunch.

You know, in Iceland, unless you’re living somewhere remote, everyone’s going to be near Reykjavik.

And so you’re growing up and living with all of these people that you’ve known your entire life and you’ve built this community.

Even in the little villages, the fishing villages and whatnot, it’s still very community oriented.

27:52

You’re all next to each other, right?

So that’s what I think maybe us Americans can take a little page out of their book.

He also shared many, many sayings that I can totally see why.

So some of them are.

Life goes on.

We’ll see.

28:07

Because you will see.

You’re not guaranteed to get what you want or do what you want in Iceland.

We’ll see it will all work out and if you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change.

So along this tour, it was pretty much an all day tour we went to.

28:24

Sorry about the pronunciation, but something that looks like it’s spelled like greatest level.

That’s definitely not how it’s pronounced.

But it was this beautiful snowy mountain range next to this black rugged beach.

Had a couple seals in it.

You could go down to the beach.

So that that was a nice stop, but definitely wasn’t the highlight of the trip.

28:42

The next one we passed by Bora Haron Lava field on the coast there was mountains.

This beautiful black church.

It looks stunning against the whiteout landscape.

It’s actually a church that’s used in different countries for eyesight testing.

28:57

I don’t know why, but several people on the tour had said, Oh yeah, I know this church.

It was used in my eyesight test.

Random.

Super random, but there’s always that one kind of like iconic thing that’s always used for something.

So maybe Kim, when we’re older and maybe you’re pushing 40 a little bit closer and you’re going in to check your eyes, you’ll see that same church for the eye test.

29:18

Who knows?

So at this place we stayed quite a while.

It was really pretty.

They had this big troll stone statue and it just looks so majestic, being all black and huge and the snow falling all around it and like nothing else around it.

Then when you go to the coastal part part of it, the sea was so rough and it was crashing against these Black Hills or black coastline and it was snowing like crazy.

29:44

It was really, really pretty to see that.

The last up on the tour was Mount Kirk.

You fell.

This is a probably the most famous part of the Snafelness Peninsula.

It is this gorgeous pointed giant mountain that has, from the right viewpoint, a little waterfall right underneath it.

30:04

It was so pretty to see.

You know, all these tours are really racing against the daylight.

We almost didn’t make it to this one.

We got there as quick as we could because our tour was on time.

So when you’re on a tour, make sure to get back to the bus on time, especially in the winter because it could be the difference between seeing something and not seeing it.

30:22

We did get it right on time.

We walked the path over to it, it was gorgeous, got pictures. 2 minutes later it was covered in fog and it got dark, so if we would have been any later we would have missed it.

I believe that is Iceland’s most photographed mountain, and I really wanted to go here, but this is the one area of the trip that we did not get to do.

30:41

So I’m so excited that you got to experience it and you got to see it without cloud cover.

And I’m hoping that you didn’t pull a Mount Rainier and you got a picture of the waterfall and the mountain at the same time.

I did.

I saw both of them at the same time.

30:58

Since I was sitting in the very front of the bus, I was off the bus first most of the time, so I got there first.

People that were in the back of the bus that were lollygagan, they missed it.

The cloud cover was already there.

Wow, you got so lucky, which is so great for having to go through all of the hardships that you had on this trip in the beginning.

31:16

Yes, I was really happy that I did not miss this because the sights were so gorgeous.

Just to see the black and the crazy sea and the mountainscapes and the snow and everything.

It was a really good tour.

I would highly recommend it.

And it really wasn’t that expensive either.

31:31

I want to say it was somewhere between like 70 to 100 U.S. dollars.

Not bad, especially for Iceland.

Yeah, I got back to to my bus stop around 7:30.

And the bus stops in Iceland are all numbered, and there’s usually one close enough to where you’re going to be staying.

31:48

The tours won’t pick you up usually from your hotel.

I mean, there’s some bus stops that are right outside.

Mine was just literally across the street, so almost right outside.

But the big tour bus doesn’t go to all of the inner city downtown areas.

So he dropped me off at a different bus stop and I was like, OK, where do I go walking in the snow on the side of the road with my luggage?

32:11

Woo, not my luggage, but my big backpack.

Well, you figured it out though.

Yes, obviously.

I got there and I got my bearings in downtown Reykjavik.

If you’re going to be going, especially on a solo trip like I was doing my first maybe only solo trip, I would highly recommend staying somewhere central and easily accessible.

32:30

So this was supposed to be my day too but it ended up being my day one and I had already pre booked a reservation at this restaurant called Food Cellar Metark.

And I had booked it because I saw another creator post to TikTok about a solo trip that she went on and that she took herself on a fancy 6 course tasting dinner here.

32:51

And I really wanted to do the tasting course.

I looked at a lot of different menus and I I was into it.

It was a chef’s choice 6 course tasting dinner with six wine pairings.

Six wine pairings.

That’s right, six wine pairings.

33:07

And I asked them before I ordered it if they could do it without fish because I don’t eat seafood.

And they did.

And Oh my God, it was so good.

I literally sat there for two hours by myself just eating.

I ate reindeer carpaccio.

I ate quail and duck and pork belly and steak and all sorts of other delicious things.

33:29

What was your favorite thing that you ate on that menu?

Oh.

That’s a good question, but I think it would have to be probably the first two tastings because I was really hungry when I went in there.

So of course they’re going to taste better.

The first one was a beef carpaccio and it had like everything had little sauces and it had pickled beets in it was ginger Jelly things.

33:49

It was really good.

The next one was a fried pork belly slice with some other things on it.

One of the last things would have been really good too.

He’s like, Are you ready for the main course?

Like the main course.

I’ve been eating meat this whole time and I’m like, so full now.

But I knew what I was getting myself into, and it was two different steaks, mashed potatoes, carrots.

34:11

Obviously somewhat small portions, but that was really, really good too.

It all sounds really good.

So I got done there probably around 10/10/30, walked back to the hotel, showered, was fully ready for my tour the next day.

34:26

Said you showered.

Did you brush your teeth yet though, Kim?

I did brush.

My OK good.

But I did go to sleep OK, and I had my alarm set for five.

AMI was going to get about six hours of sleep.

I was ready for this.

34:41

I had a tour picking me up at the bus station the next day at 8:00 AM.

Do you think I made it?

I’m going to say no because I know you didn’t make it, Kim.

So Iceland stays dark and despite having two alarms set, this is what got me.

34:57

I couldn’t find an outlet near the bed, so I plugged my phone in on the bathroom counter.

If it had been by the bed, I would have heard it.

I don’t know if my alarm was just turned down very low or I was really tired and it was dark or whatever.

It was jet lag, I don’t know.

But I didn’t hear the alarm go off.

35:14

I didn’t hear the multiple phone calls from the tour guide.

And I woke up and I was like, oh wow, my alarm hasn’t even gone off.

And then I kind of like jolted and was like, I need to check my phone.

It was 10/20 in the morning.

Oh no.

And your tour was supposed to start at what, 8:00 AM?

35:31

8:00 AM So I tried to call.

I was like, I’ll take a taxi to wherever you are, even though apparently taxis are very expensive in Iceland.

I don’t know because I haven’t even looked at my bank statement and I don’t really want to.

I’m kind of hiding from it.

So I don’t even know how much the taxis were that I did take.

35:49

It’s none of my business.

Right, it’s last year’s problem.

Well, when this the bank statement closes or the credit card statement closes, you’re going to find out.

But nevertheless, you know you’re on a trip.

What are you going to do?

You got to do it.

So I, I’m calling the tour guy and they’re like, we tried to call you, didn’t you hear?

36:06

And I was like, no, I didn’t.

And so they basically told me you can’t come join the tour because the taxi ride to where we are would be way more expensive than the tour itself was, which was about $700 for a 2 day South Coast tour.

Oh my goodness.

36:23

I asked her if I could book for tomorrow, she said no, we’re completely sold out and they have AI think either 24 or 72 hour cancellation notice.

So basically $700.00 out the window.

What a buzzkill and bummer.

That’s no fun.

36:39

The night before I was texting the friend and I was like, yeah, it’s been really, really stressful with all these delays and just so glad I’m finally here and I could relax tomorrow and everything’s going to be good.

I wasn’t there to wake you up and make sure you were out of the door on time.

36:54

I know, I know, and I would highly recommend if you’re on a solo trip you set a lot of alarms and do a hotel wake up call.

Good tip.

So I’m like freaking out like what am I going to do?

I can’t waste another day here.

I’ve already like lost a day and all this and so I was able to find another two day South Coast tour with a different company.

37:15

Luckily they had a spot open the next day.

So I took the loss there and I booked another one, another $700.00 and I booked that two day South Coast tour because I really, really wanted to go on the South Coast tour.

That what was I going to do in Reykjavik for two days?

Just doing nothing.

37:31

No, absolutely.

The South Coast is probably one of the favorite things that we did when we went to Iceland.

And I know as you get into it and talk more about your time there and I’m I’m pretty sure you’re going to feel the same way or do feel the same way, right?

I mean, the South is just beautiful.

So many cool things to see.

37:48

So now this is messing up all of my other plans because I on the last day I was supposed to go Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon, Northern Lights chasing.

Now I can’t do that because I’m doing the two day South Coast tour a day later.

So I canceled the Golden Circle tour.

That’s just not going to happen.

38:04

It was probably the least exciting thing that I had booked.

I wanted to squeeze it in, but I would rather do South Coast than Golden Circle.

Which is funny because we recently posted a reel on our Instagram that was like, if you were going to miss one thing in Iceland, it would be to the golden circle and you were booked for the golden circle.

38:21

But then right after that you ended up missing it.

So out of all of the things to miss that, I would agree like least excited for.

It’s cool to see, but if you have to skim off of one thing, that’s the thing to skim off.

Totally.

So luckily I was able to cancel that because it was enough days out that I didn’t lose that money and that was like 130 bucks.

38:42

So fine, the Blue Lagoon I changed to this day instead of the final day.

There’s no fees to change the Blue Lagoon, which is amazing, but they only had five PM was the next available slot and it gets dark at 5:00.

So I was like oh man, well whatever.

38:59

I booked a bus that was from the BSI bus station to the Blue Lagoon, which was about 30 bucks and it’s a 20 minute walk from the hotel.

So I found myself walking the streets of Iceland in the snow quite a lot, which is not something I would typically do like hey, a 20 minute walk in the snow.

39:17

But when in Iceland, I guess that’s what you do.

Were you wearing crampons?

Great question.

I actually brought crampons and I did not use them once.

Did you feel like your snow boots had enough tread?

Were you slipping and sliding on the streets of Reykjavik?

Well, some of the streets were like an A sheet of ice.

39:35

And I think that if you have them, you definitely use them.

I did not use them.

I mean, if you don’t have them, you don’t need to buy them.

You’ll be fine.

I didn’t fall, I didn’t slip.

There were some close calls, but I mean, it’s unnecessary if you’re trying to like, not buy them.

But if you have them, go for it.

39:52

I did use them on one tour and they provided them.

So I went to the Blue Lagoon while I’m on the bus to the Blue Lagoon.

I decided to check again to see is there any earlier bookings because it was all booked up before.

So I’m on the 3:00 PM bus.

It’s going to get there just about 4:00 PM.

40:08

A 4:00 PM slot opened up, so luckily I was able to get in early.

Oh, that’s nice.

So now you have a little bit of daylight to play with.

I don’t know if I would have got there at that time, they still would have let me in it.

Even though my booking was at 5.

I feel like I could have got my way in there.

40:26

I was willing to try it.

I have heard that if you come like 1530 minutes early, you’re fine.

And if your bookings at say 4, you have between 4:00 and 5:00 to actually get in there.

I feel like I could have got in, but I was happy that something opened.

So that’s a good tip for you.

Squatty’s, if what you want is an open, keep checking it.

40:44

And this was the day of.

So it’s not like the Blue Lagoon is severely booked up in like super, super high demand.

It’s a pretty big venue on this day as well.

I guess I forgot to mention before I even went to the Blue Lagoon I did need to kill some time.

I did the Rainbow Rd.

41:00

I saw the Christmas cat.

I went to the Broad Bakery and got the cinnamon roll and another coffee.

I got the Icelandic hot dog which was not good.

Did you guys like it?

I will say this, everyone was talking about Icelandic hot dogs and we had it the first day when we arrived in Reykjavik.

41:17

We tried two different types and they were decent.

But I mean, I’m not in love with it, you know?

But we.

Also went to a different cart than you went to because I saw you post and we went to I think a different one.

I forgot where we went to, but it is right in front of the big main church that’s being led to right from Rainbow Rd. in downtown Reykjavik.

41:40

And that hot dog cart is ranked one of the best places to get Icelandic hot dogs.

So we got it from there and I thought it was just OK.

The one I went to is supposedly the most famous one in Reykjavik, and I just don’t like a lot of onions.

There was a lot of onions and a lot of onion, fried onions.

41:58

And I don’t know, it’s like a mouthful of onions.

And I didn’t think the dog was that good and I actually wouldn’t eat it again.

You like better wieners?

I like my wieners OK and this one did not impress me.

Not impressed, nor did it satisfy.

But let me ask you a serious though question.

You said you went to Blue Lagoon.

42:14

Tell us about the experience in there.

Because when Brittany and I had gone to Iceland, we were debating, are we going to do Blue Lagoon or are we going to do Sky Lagoon?

And of course, Blue Lagoon’s iconic.

I mean, I feel like if you mentioned Iceland, that’s one of the first things that comes to mind other than volcanoes or Northern Lights, right?

42:33

We chose something different.

We love Sky Lagoon, but tell us about Blue Lagoon.

Well, I loved Blue Lagoon and I know you guys.

One of the reasons you picked Sky Lagoon was you read it had a better view, had an ocean view, right?

Correct.

And the harbor and some of the mountain scape that you have there in Reykjavik, yes.

42:50

Which I think would be really pretty and I would have loved to see that too.

But the Blue Lagoon had a beautiful scenery.

There were mountains all in the distance.

They were like white snow covered mountains.

The beautiful blue water that is just so gorgeous.

43:06

And it’s kind of like a property.

Like there’s a lot of different spots to it.

There’s bridges you can walk over.

There’s a swim up bar on one side, swim up bar for the face masks on the other side.

When it was light out, I thought it was extremely beautiful.

43:21

Well, when we go back to Iceland, we’re going to have to try it.

It’s not like we didn’t want to do it.

It was just if we’re doing one of the type of spa experiences in thermal waters, we chose Sky Lagoon.

But you did not do Sky Lagoon, right?

You only didn’t lagoon see.

So when we go back opposing, you’re going to have to do Sky Lagoon, we’re going to have to do Blue Lagoon and then compare notes.

43:42

I did the premium experience and I’m going to do a whole mini, just the tip episode on it.

But the premium does come with three masks of your choice, 2 drinks of your choice.

You also get a robe, which is nice when you get out of the lagoon.

And I guess you could put the robe on if you were like walking around the bridges and going to a different part of the property.

44:01

I didn’t really do a whole lot of walking around because it was extremely cold outside and so I stayed in the water.

One thing though, before I went, a volcano in this area was erupting.

This is the Reynes Farah Peninsula, I believe it’s called.

Might be saying that wrong, but it’s the peninsula from the airport into Reykjavik.

44:18

The volcano system there has been going off a lot over the last year, maybe even a little bit more.

It has awoken after many, many decades of being asleep.

And so they’ve built different systems to divert lava from the Blue Lagoon and from the village of people that live there.

44:35

But they really don’t know how long that’s going to hold.

This volcano likely will continue to erupt.

And, and how they know it’s going to erupt is as the magma and lava and whatnot start building under the surface, the earth starts to swell.

So they’ve measured it.

44:50

And once it swells to the certain spot that it erupted before, they kind of know it’s going to erupt again.

Which I thought was very interesting to learn how they can not predict but somewhat predict when it’s going to go off.

Volcanology, crazy subject the study of volcano I’m telling you you know it is, but that’s actually like really cool they’re actually seeing it swell up and they’re like Oh yeah with certainty it’s about to erupt here pretty.

45:12

Soon I want to go back when it erupts.

I really want to see it erupting.

But one thing that happened was the lava came over the Blue Lagoon parking lot and Blue Lagoon was closed.

Now in this area, it’s completely covered in lava fields on both sides of the road.

It’s lava fields which are really cool to see to.

45:28

But we pulled into the parking lot.

I don’t know if they’re just really quick to pave new roads or what, but you could not tell that lava had taken over the parking lot.

There was still plenty of parking lot.

So it’s like the media kind of inflates things, I feel.

I don’t know if the media really inflates.

45:44

It social media.

True, true, true.

But not that the media doesn’t inflate things.

But what I mean by that is, like a week or two before your trip, I did send you an Instagram photo and video of of the volcano and the lava flowing into the parking lot area of Blue Lagoon.

46:01

But I think a lot of countries are just a lot better than the United States at fixing things when things go bad, you know, it’s like if it came across the road to get to the parking lot, it’s not a matter of fixing the parking lot.

It’s a matter of like, hey, this is like really the only road to this side of the island.

So we need to pave it and get it done and do everything else.

46:19

And maybe maybe they’re used to it, but even the parking lot was completely paved with plenty of parking.

So maybe part of it got just destroyed.

But it wasn’t all of it for sure.

But one day it will.

So Squatty’s 300 years for the glaciers.

Who knows how long we have for the Blue Lagoon because one day the lava will take it over.

46:38

And that could be any day.

So TuneIn for just the tip this week and you’ll hear more about the Blue Lagoon experience.

But after that, I took the bus back.

There is a bus schedule that shows when they go from BSI to Blue Lagoon and when they go Blue Lagoon to BSI.

So as long as you get that last one of the night, you’re good.

46:55

It goes all day long.

When I got back to the hotel, guess how many alarms I set?

100.

Something like that. 100.

I also had a wake up call coming in and I was going to be on it this next day.

So this is a day that you rebooked your two day South Coast tour.

47:12

That’s correct, and it was picking up at 8:30 in the morning, but I really wanted to get breakfast before because I did not want to eat gas station food and sandwiches again.

So I found a restaurant called Sandholt in Reykjavik downtown that opened at 7:30 in the morning.

47:28

It’s one of the only restaurants that was open that early to get breakfast and it’s a really good restaurant.

I would highly recommend going here.

It’s of course pretty busy at this time, but they have really good bakery options for take away or you can sit down.

I got this amazing.

47:45

It came with two pieces of like bread, sourdough, rye bread, 2 fried eggs, bacon, steamed tomatoes.

Oh my God it was probably other than that 6 course tasting dinner.

It was the best thing I ate in Reykjavik.

Sounds really good.

Yeah, it was really, really good.

And so I finished that real quick and I went over to the bus station that was picking us up and I made it on time and I got on that bus.

48:08

The first stop is Cellulanda Foss.

So how do you say this?

I think when we went I remember Googling it and it’s like celluland Foss.

Celluland Foss.

Yeah.

They pronounce their J’s like wise, and that’s a very beautiful big cascading waterfall.

48:25

It’s of course snowing.

So I’m seeing this beautiful waterfall in the snow.

There are other waterfalls in this area, depending on the weather, how much they’re flowing or if some of them are not flowing.

But there’s another one.

It’s called something like.

I think it’s like Gluefobui.

48:42

And so it’s just a short walk from that one and it it’s really pretty.

I would highly recommend it.

Even if it’s snowing, take that little pathway walk, go take a look at it.

There was a really cool area.

You can go into the rocks and get really cool pictures.

I liked this stop.

It was a good one.

We stayed there about thirtyish minutes.

48:59

Did you go behind the waterfall at Cellular Foss?

Cuz here at Cellular Foss there’s the three waterfalls, right?

The main 1 you could go ahead and get behind.

When we were there during the summer, we did that.

And then of course, you walk the pathway to the other waterfall hoop that’s very hard to pronounce.

49:17

No, I didn’t because it was closed.

OK.

They didn’t let you go back there if you’re probably freeze to death because of all the water and mist that’s going to get on you if you did.

But the area where you said you were able to get into the rocks where it flows through, was that one frozen because it there’s a waterfall in there?

49:35

I didn’t go in there when we were there.

Brittany did.

But it’s seen from the photo that you took that that was actually frozen, the one in between the rocks, like the third one that they have in this area.

It’s a small 1, so I think it was frozen, but it was still a really pretty spot.

49:50

I, I took a little picture there because I’m on a solo trip.

It was a great spot to prop up my camera on the rock and get a little picture of the snow falling there.

So definitely take a little spot.

There is another spot you can go into where there was a Creek and some people were going in and taking to look at it.

50:06

Everyone coming out was stepping into the ice cold water and getting their shoes wet.

So I didn’t go in that one.

OK.

I think that’s the one Jamal was talking about.

I went back there during the summer, of course, and he stayed behind because he didn’t want to get wet.

But I think at some point of times, if it gets cold enough, that whole area freezes over.

50:25

And people have said it looks like Elsa’s castle in Frozen because it’s just so, so icy and so cool.

Yeah, it was pretty.

I’ve seen the Elsa.

I didn’t need to go back there and get wet.

My shoes were not that waterproof.

Did you bring your tripod at all during this trip and take pictures with that or did?

50:41

You just fully did.

OK.

So I only brought a small tripod though because I I wanted to use it at the Blue Lagoon.

I did not bring the the tall one.

I didn’t really have room in my suitcase for it.

The next stop is Skogafoss and you can see it from 2 areas, the bottom area and then the top area, this pot and Celia Foss.

51:03

We did use the crampons that the tour guide provided so that was nice.

I was able to crunch through the snow real quick.

Nice little workout in the snow to get to the top.

Well, let me ask you this.

Before that I thought Skogafoss, you could walk up to it and be like right next to it.

51:19

You can get close, but the myths coming off of it is pretty strong.

You only want to get so close to it.

When I was there, there’s a pathway and the pathway potentially dead ends the Creek that’s coming off of the waterfalls all right there.

So there wouldn’t be a way to walk up to it.

51:36

I just really think it depends on probably how much volume of flow that it actually has, because the stairs are to the right of the waterfall, so there’s probably some place in between the stairs and there where you could get to it.

So when people say like right up on it, maybe they mean like up into the Creek to the closest point.

51:52

But yeah, I mean I.

Don’t know.

I mean, all the pictures I see, it’s like people are right next to it, like running up to it.

Like you couldn’t really do that one because the big Creek, I mean, you would have to go stomping through the water to get to the other side of it.

In addition, that whole area where you would go to get close enough to get a picture was full of tourists.

52:13

It was a line of tourists.

Well, you just got to get there early in the morning when there’s not a lot of people.

When we were there, we were there early in the morning and we got up pretty close to it, but not like right up on it.

So saw that it was very beautiful, then turned around, went up the stairs.

I think it’s about 500 steps, maybe a little bit less up to the top.

52:31

Easy day.

Easy day.

I thought, should I do it?

Yeah, I should do it.

And our tour guide had said do the stairs first, then come down and take a picture.

I don’t know why he said that, but I can kind of imagine after I did, it was because you’d be warm.

You climb up the stairs, you get warm, you come down, then you’re fine.

52:48

I didn’t do it.

I didn’t listen to him, but I did get warm on that climb time is actually a little bit frightening.

There’s not hand rails all the time and it’s like snowing and icy.

But it was OK got up there.

It was actually really pretty from the top.

I always think waterfalls really aren’t that pretty at the top, right?

53:07

It’s prettier to see it from the bottom.

But I was really glad I went up there.

I would definitely encourage squaties to take the easy day because you get to see how tiny the Creek is.

That actually creates the waterfall and it’s kind of mind blowing.

It’s a small Creek and then a huge, huge waterfall, and then on top of that, when you’re looking out, you just see these snowy mountainscape and it’s really pretty up there.

53:30

So I agree with you, I feel like a lot of times it’s better to see a waterfall straight on or at like regular level and not from the top.

But what I think is really interesting about Skogafoss is also what you said, but the way that the viewpoint is angled, because a lot of times at the top of a waterfall viewing point, you’re not really looking at it at a good angle.

53:50

You really do have a good angle of there to really see it and appreciate it from that perspective.

And I don’t know how clear of a day it was for you, but when we were at the top, you could then see out to the ocean also.

So you get these really cool viewpoints up there.

And I know you couldn’t do this here in the winter, but this here at Skoglefoss at the top of the stairs starts a long trail.

54:11

I think you could do what up to like 22 kilometers to another town?

We obviously did not do that, but we hiked like 5 miles in and five miles out from like the top following that Greek that flows to create Skokopfa.

So really cool if you go during the summer, but during winter I bet you that was completely magical to just see that snow cover up.

54:30

Yeah, it was really pretty and then I needed to get back down to get back to the bus on time.

The next stop was Reynosfara, the black sand beach with the basalt columns.

There is a little restaurant there and the tour guide had said to go in there and get something.

I wouldn’t recommend that.

54:47

I don’t think the menu was worth the weight, the price or the quality, but I guess if that’s all you got, that’s all you got.

Anyway, I did stop in there, got a coffee, a Swiss mocha, which is very popular in Iceland for some reason.

Did that.

Then the tour guide had said, looking at the light system that they have, it was a red light warning, they have green, yellow, red.

55:07

When it’s red, you shouldn’t go on to the beach.

But we’re here and I looked out and I see all these tourists on the beach, like I’m going on the beach.

It’s a black sand beach.

It’s pouring down snow.

So it’s like an Oreo cookie out there.

Black sand, white snow.

You’re trekking through it.

It’s so pretty, the basalt columns.

55:25

I know in the summer you can kind of sit on them and take pictures and whatnot, but I wouldn’t have done that in the winter.

It was too snowy, too icy, but it was really pretty to see.

Walk the beach a little bit.

This is the beach where they have the sneaker waves, and they say never turn your back to the beach here.

55:40

Oh, I could see how they’d be sneaker waves.

There’s some crazy looking scary waves out there.

You call them sneaker waves, or that’s how they were described.

I call them rogue waves and Brittany do not believe me that rogue waves exist until probably got taken out by 1.

So yeah, you definitely don’t want to do that.

55:56

Even when we were there during the summer, they were still coming in pretty hot.

I can imagine during the winter with the storm, and obviously you do not want to be swept out into that Atlantic cold water and 20°F weather.

That would be absolutely terrible.

So I kept a safe distance away, but I still was able to see it and enjoy it and I really, really liked it.

56:16

Couple more stops on this day.

We went to Victoria and as they say in Iceland, we’ll see changing our itinerary based on clarity of the sky and daylight.

So we did see the church in Victoria that was really pretty.

It’s kind of up on a hill and you look down on Reynosfara and the Drohei Cliffs.

56:34

Is that what they’re called?

Yeah, that’s where the puffins are.

Cute.

So the Drohei Cliffs, you can see them from the Reynosfara down where we were, but you can see them a little bit better when you’re at that church in Victoria up at the top of the Cliff.

It’s really pretty.

When you went to the church, were you able to go inside?

56:51

Was it open?

Because when Brittany and I went, OK, it was closed.

OK, I was going to see if you got to see inside.

But yeah, it’s a beautiful viewpoint on top of the the town and gives you amazing scenic views of everything that you just described.

Yeah, it was really cool to see the town, the crazy cliffs, the ocean right there.

57:08

I was imagining myself living in a place when I travel and it’s like, wow, this is a crazy place to live.

The last stop was spur of the moment.

We stopped at a lava field that is iconic for having helped create Iceland, what it is today.

57:24

In the 1700s, it was one of the most massive eruptions in history.

The volcanic ash went all the way to Japan.

Oh wow.

So we were able to stop there and see that while the visibility was good before we made it to our guest House Hotel in Hoffman.

57:41

If you’re looking for a guest House Hotel, it’s called Hotel Smile a Borg in Hoffman.

It’s got a lot of rooms in there and a lot of the tour companies do stop here because it felt a lot like gate one with like your assigned table and the buffet, but it was nice.

57:57

And was your meal included in your?

Tour it was not.

When I got to the menu, I was like, oh man, I don’t really like anything on the menu.

I was between Brie cheese and pizza, so I got pizza.

Everything was lamb or fish.

I was.

Going to say you didn’t want to try the lamb.

No, I don’t like lamb.

58:14

I know, but when in Iceland?

When in Lebanon and when in, I’ve eaten a lot of lamb.

So the tour that I had booked originally, I paid a little bit extra to stay in a single room.

I did not do that on this tour because it wasn’t even an option.

58:29

But I did get my own room so that was nice.

Very nice.

I tried to go out and see the Northern Lights because the sky for the first time yet on this trip was actually clearing up.

You could see stars.

It was dark out in the middle of nowhere in Hoffman kept going out there but couldn’t really see them.

58:46

It just wasn’t the night for it.

So I called it a night, Went to bed.

Sunday the 29th, Part 2 of the tour woke up.

There was a 7:00 AM breakfast buffet.

Love a breakfast buffet, how was it?

Not bad, not bad at all.

59:02

They had toast like the bread in Iceland is good.

So I guess that’s maybe why they ate so much bread.

Good bread, eggs, bacon.

They had fruits and yogurts and it was, it was a good one.

While I was here in this hotel.

The only downside of this hotel is the Wi-Fi doesn’t work so well in your room so you have to be in like the common areas which they had a lot of really cute common areas.

59:22

Or this breakfast.

So I know when I get back to Reykjavik tonight, I don’t have a hotel booked yet because I have extended my trip for a day.

Yeah, you were originally supposed to fly home this day.

That’s correct.

So I was going to go back to the apartment or the hotel that I had, which is One O 1 Hotel Reykjavik.

59:41

It’s part of the Marriott family and it’s really nice.

But they had jacked up the price.

I think I paid something like 250 months ago now was at 500 and I’d already been screwed on a another $700.00 tour and I just didn’t want to do it.

So I looked on Expedia and I found a place called B14 Apartments that was right on Rainbow Rd.

1:00:01

It’s a great location and it was only a block from the other hotel and the bus stop that I was going to be dropped off at, so it was perfect.

I booked it and it was really cool because it was one that you don’t actually have a reception.

They just give you a code and you have to go through three different doors to finally get to your door.

1:00:19

Basic room with just a bed and a bathroom.

But then it.

Common areas with a whole kitchen and laundry and couches.

So squaddies.

If you’re trying to go there to Iceland, I would actually recommend B14 apartments.

It was all around really great, but we’re not going there just yet.

1:00:35

This is probably the day I was the most excited about for the whole trip and the reason I booked another one because I did not want to miss this.

And it was first, the blue ice cave bright and early in the morning.

We get outside, we’re drive about 20 minutes and then we transfer to this massive Jeep with like crazy tires that fits like 14 people.

1:00:56

As we’re transferring, I look over in the sky and I see this weird shaped cloud looking thing just sitting there.

And I know from the tour guide that he said most of the Northern Lights actually look white.

But if you want to know if it’s really Northern Lights or a cloud, take a picture of it.

1:01:12

And if your phone picks up color green, usually you know it’s Northern Lights.

So we’re like moving pretty quick, but I snap a picture and it was green and I was like, no way.

I just saw the Northern Lights.

Awesome.

So I already know it’s going to be a great day.

1:01:28

I hit a breakfast buffet.

I got the Northern Lights in things are looking up for me finally.

So we get into this rugged vehicle.

We get out to the glacier where the hole is for the ice cave put on helmets headlamps because it’s still pretty dark at this point it’s starting to get lighter, but it’s still a little dark.

1:01:48

We go in and ice caves are really cool It’s it’s not something that you can do in this summer.

So if you want to go into a blue ice cave, which you do want to do, you have to go in the winter to see it.

Every ice cave is different.

They change every year.

They’re naturally created from rain and glacier melt off That happened.

1:02:06

So every year they could be a different size, different shape, different location in the glacier.

And it was really, really cool to see.

There’s some parts where you understand why you need the helmet because your head is grazing the top of the ice.

But it’s it’s like so vibrant blue and so thick when you touch it, it’s like a a marble wall almost.

1:02:28

It’s got this crazy blue WAVY pattern, like truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

And pictures don’t do it justice either.

You have to have like a really good camera to get a good picture of the blue ice caves.

Yeah, I think if it’s lighter out, you might get a better look at it.

1:02:46

But part of the ice cave on the other side, they had lights pointed at it so that you could see the blue better because it is a little bit hard to see and you’re in a cave, so there’s not a whole lot of light getting in in there.

But it was still really, really cool.

We probably spent maybe like 30 to an hour in there.

1:03:02

There’s a lot of tours coming in and out.

So it’s like a little bit crowded, which doesn’t necessarily take away from it, but a little bit, you know, it’s not like you have it all to yourself and you have to do a guided tour.

You can’t go on your own.

But it was really, really cool.

Once we were done in the ice cave and we came out and we were driving back to our original tour guide, we saw a pack of wild reindeer.

1:03:24

They live at this glacier area.

Wow, that’d be really cool to see.

They don’t live anywhere else in Iceland, according to the tour guides.

They only live here on this glacier area, so that was really cool and the glacier it’s right by Yokel Sarlin Glacier Lagoon, which is another thing that I really, really wanted to see.

1:03:43

I saw it in your trip, which is cool because you can still see it in summer, but it just looked so cool.

He’s crazy.

Blue icebergs floating in this lagoon.

There were no seals when I was there, but it was so pretty.

It was insanely cold.

1:03:58

You know when we were there.

So just to give a picture of what this is, of course, this is like a big massive glacier.

The one that I mentioned earlier in this episode that like 60 years ago, it was right here where this lagoon is right by the road close to the ocean, but it’s retreated so much.

1:04:14

But where it’s retreated and fallen back, of course, as the glacier ice melts off, it’s created this lagoon.

And now as the glacier loses ice in a process called, like, caving, where it breaks off, now you have icebergs that are like floating in this lagoon.

1:04:31

You have a small little passage outlet that takes these icebergs out into the ocean.

And when we were there, too, yeah, it was super cold even during the summer because of course, you’re getting the wind coming down the mountain on a giant block of ice.

And I can’t even imagine how much colder that wind chill is in the winter hitting you.

1:04:51

It was so cold, in fact, that I couldn’t really use my phone.

Like the gloves that I had, they said that you can use them with phones, but they weren’t.

I don’t know if it’s because I have nails or what, but I would mostly have to take my glove off to snap a picture.

So I just turned video on and took video footage of this area and then I got screenshots of it later for pictures.

1:05:11

So that’s a hack for you.

Squatty’s.

If you’re solo traveling or if you don’t want to snap each individual picture, video is the way to go.

But it was really, really, really pretty.

I remember when I was doing my research, I really wanted to see Yokelsarlin and Diamond Beach.

Not all tours listed both, which is kind of crazy to me now that I’ve been there.

1:05:31

Because Diamond Beach, it’s essentially the glacier breaks off into Yokelsarlin and then floats directly into the ocean, which is Diamond Beach.

So they’re right next to each other.

You can’t see the glacier without seeing the lagoon without seeing Diamond Beach.

I know you.

1:05:46

There’s that one bridge that crosses the outlet inlet or inlet, depending on which way the water is flowing, right where it goes out, and then the beach is right there.

So you hit the nail on the head in that description.

Why it’s called Diamond Beach is the ice that washes back ashore, which is just broken up small pieces of the glacier.

1:06:04

And then it just like glistens on that black sand that’s right there to make them look like diamonds.

Yeah, that’s stupid.

If it doesn’t list both, I wonder if it’s just because the assumption is you’re going to both because they’re right there.

But for somebody who doesn’t know, you would think like put them both in there.

1:06:20

So I know that that’s what’s happening.

And I remember looking on the map to do research and it looked like they were far apart.

I was like, Oh yeah, maybe they don’t go to Diamond Beach because it’s way over here.

Or maybe I was thinking about the black sand beach.

Either way, the research can be confusing.

1:06:36

But I’m here to tell you, if you’re going to Yokosarlin, you’re definitely going to see Diamond Beach too.

And so that’s what we did.

We went over to Diamond Beach next.

It’s a pretty Long Beach walk to get down to the coast part of it.

But it was the perfect timing when we got there because the sun was coming really up.

1:06:53

I guess up for winter time because it doesn’t fully go up in the sky.

But it was about probably like 11 or so.

So this is 1 vacation, Brittany.

I woke up to see the sunrise.

At 11:00 AM.

1:07:10

And it looked so beautiful.

It was like orange and yellow and just shining and it was glistening off of the water and all of the blue icebergs and diamonds on the beach.

It was just magical.

I don’t know which of these three things today that I liked more because they were all so beautiful.

1:07:29

Spent a bunch of time there.

Again, I used the video trick because it was still really, really cold.

Walked the beach a little bit.

Got to see a guy who doesn’t listen to the warnings and he sat on in this big ice chunk that looked like a chair and it was kind of cool when he was sitting on it.

1:07:45

But then this Rogue Wave came for took the iceberg and he got drenched.

I saw that in the video that you had posted and I’m just like, Oh my gosh, Can you imagine being that cold in the winter and up to like his knee his entire like shoes are just wet and soaked and then whatever clothing you have on pant wise to your knee just like saturated with ocean water does not sound fun.

1:08:09

Yeah.

So be really careful if you’re going to sit on any of these icebergs that are actually in the water and try to get a quick pick.

I feel like Diamond Beach in the winter is better than in summer because when you were showing your pictures and your videos of Diamond Beach, there was a lot more diamonds there on the beach than when we were there.

1:08:26

Yeah, I have heard that it’s really hit or miss.

Like you could come one day and there’s nothing and then come the next morning and there’s a lot.

So I got really lucky and there was a lot on the beach.

After we were done here at these three stops, we stopped again in Victoria.

1:08:42

We weren’t at the top of the hill in Victoria this time.

We were actually down in the town and we were stopping just for a quick lunch stop before we mostly made our way back to Reykjavik for I think it was going to be like 3 hours or so.

Driving back, I really wanted to go to the Black Crust Pizzeria here in Victoria.

1:08:59

Even though it’s not volcanic ash, it’s charcoal that makes it black and it doesn’t taste like anything different, but it looks cute and I wanted to try it.

And the pizza was good, don’t you think?

We loved it when we went to Black Crust.

We ate there twice.

We ate there the first night when we were in Victoria, and then we continued on and we stayed close to Yokelsarland, you know, because we were on our own.

1:09:22

And so when we drove back through Victoria, we’re like, well, let’s just pick up some more black crust pizza.

But even though it’s called black crust pizza, yes, they have it.

But you can also get non black crust pizza just like regular dough.

Also dough.

Yeah, they have different varieties.

Really good.

1:09:37

Probably one of the my most favorite places that we ate in all of Iceland was here at Black Crust Pizza.

Yeah, I agree.

We had about an hour stop here and across the street I saw these Icelandic horses.

I had a list of things I wanted to see, which was Icelandic horses.

1:09:53

I wanted to see the blue ice, real lava, Northern Lights, and that’s what was going to make me happy.

And so I had seen these horses while we were in the bus and they were out in the fields or whatever, but they weren’t super close to the roads.

So when I saw it right there, I was like perfect timing.

1:10:09

I ran over there, saw the horses.

They’re so beautiful.

They’re so majestic.

They’re like little ponies.

I love them.

They are really cool looking, especially the fact that they grow a lot of hair around like their mains and on the back of their neck just to actually keep warm.

They have a different look than American and horses.

1:10:25

That’s for.

Sure.

And fortunately, you know, for you, Kim, you’re saying this is the first time you came across them.

Of course, it’s winter, so they’re probably either like in stables or somewhere else or whatever out.

There, I was surprised, yeah.

Yeah, because a lot of, I mean, there are some wild ones, but a lot of them are not like wild, you know, there, there’s just so much open space that they’re actually somebody’s, you know, horses out on the range, so to speak.

1:10:47

They were everywhere during the summer.

There was not one day that went by that we did not see dozens of them.

Yeah, so I finally got that in.

I got my pizza and I barely made it back on the bus.

This was the only time I was actually late getting back on the bus and I knew my pizza was about to come out and the tour guide was calling me like, where are you?

1:11:07

He knew I was going over there to get it because he had told people to go this other spot that was a little bit closer, but I knew it was right there so I went over there anyway.

He kind of like pulled the bus around and I ran over there and got on just in the nick of time before he left me.

There you go.

And so we were making really good time and the tour was supposed to get back around 8, sometime between 8:00 and 9:00.

1:11:32

And I was a little disappointed because it’s my last night and I really wanted to go on that Northern Lights tour.

But because of my sleeping incident, I wasn’t going to be able to make it.

But since I had told the tour guide this and he’s like, I think we’re going to be back around 6:45.

So you know, you have the time to book the tour.

1:11:50

And I was like, yes, so last minute I find a Northern Lights tour that picks up at 9:30 and I book it.

And boy, am I glad that I did because I had plenty of time to get checked into my hotel, chill there for a while.

I even went downstairs and got a beer.

And then I walked over to the bus stop, got on the Northern Lights tour, and I just really wanted to see the Northern Lights.

1:12:13

I had a little tease of them that morning, but it was so quick, right?

So we get out there, we start driving around to a couple different spots and the tour guide is really knowledgeable.

He’s talking.

And This is why I would recommend you taking Northern Lights tour versus going out on your own to do it, because he’s looking at all of the different reports and whatnot.

1:12:32

He says for two hours before the tour, he’s doing things, looking that up, and he’s talking to the other tour guides and they’re reporting when they’re seeing sightings of things.

And he said he just saw Norway is experiencing Northern Lights and they usually make their way over.

This is about the hour, about 12:30 when they come out.

1:12:49

So he knows all this stuff, right?

That you don’t know as a tourist just coming and lo and behold, we move to a couple different spots.

We go to thing Livier National Park, find a good spot and he goes out and he’s like, I see some Northern Lights forming.

I would not be able to see the Northern Lights without a tour guide.

1:13:07

They don’t look like what you see in pictures.

I mean sometimes they do with the naked eye when they’re really strong, but you would easily miss it if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

The color is not vibrant to the naked eye.

Most of the time it looks like a big cloud poof with a little bit of dull color.

1:13:24

Yeah, when we were seeing them in South Dakota, they were a little purple, a little pinky, but you couldn’t really tell without holding your phone up and really like seeing.

And then you could, to the naked eye, kind of like adjust and see it a little better.

But yeah, I would not be able to just find them on my own.

1:13:42

When I took a picture of it, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

We had greens, we had pink, we had red and full sky of stars too.

Just the most beautiful thing.

Like I will never forget it.

1:13:57

It was the happiest moment of my life.

And they put on a show for sometimes long time, sometimes a short time.

We got probably like good 15 minutes before it started fading away.

Well, 15 minutes is a good amount of time to just sit and appreciate and look at it.

1:14:13

And I know you said it’s not like as vibrant, but once you know what you’re kind of looking at, you can really enjoy it that way.

Yeah, Oh my God, it was.

It was the best thing ever.

Would you say that that was your favorite thing that you did?

I mean, God, it’s so hard to say because I’ve wanted to go the Blue Lagoon forever.

1:14:32

It’s been so high on my bucket list and that was amazing.

And then the ice cave and Diamond Beach were so beautiful.

But I think the Northern Lights do have to be the highlight because it’s not like the Blue Lagoon where you could just go.

It’s there, It’s guaranteed Northern Lights.

1:14:47

You have to get lucky.

Nature has to be on your side and it’s just insane to see it.

So yes, we got back around 1:15 in the morning and from what I’ve heard, sometimes if the show’s really good or they think it’s coming but it hasn’t come yet, these tours could stay out till 3/4 in the morning.

1:15:06

Wow, it’s like shutting down a bar.

I would do it if you’re, if you think it’s coming in the next hour, like go for it.

They gave out hot chocolate, and a lot of tours will advertise that there is hot chocolate, but it’s like a teeny little cup of hot chocolate that was kind of lukewarm by the time I drank it.

1:15:22

So if you’re really going for the hot chocolate, maybe don’t get too hyped on it.

Although nobody’s going for the hot chocolate, they’re going for the Northern Lights.

I know if you want to stay warm buy your own like Tumblr and fill it with whatever hot liquid you want is.

Basically what you’re saying oh I would recommend that because it was the lowest.

1:15:39

When we were out there seeing them it was 6°F.

Like 15 minutes was all I could handle.

My hands and my feet hurt and I was wearing 2 pairs of wool socks, 3 pairs of pants, gloves, hand warmers, a heated jacket, a beanie, a hood and I was still freezing.

1:15:54

Oh and a scarf and a buff.

And that mostly concludes my day.

I did have just about 1/2 day left on Monday before I flew out and I thought about should I just sleep in and just relax on my last day and I thought, you know what, no, I want to get a little bit more out of Iceland.

1:16:12

So I did wake up at 8 AMI went to this coffee shop called Mocha.

It’s the oldest coffee shop in Reykjavik.

I got a quick coffee there.

I wouldn’t say it’s like anything to write home about.

I seemed like waffles were popular on the menu, but I didn’t want waffles and they had sandwiches.

1:16:29

Did not get one.

You were already sandwiched out.

The coffee was pretty good and so I knew I had to check out of this B14 apartments by 11, but I wanted to go to the lava show.

They have a lava show in Reykjavik and in Victoria.

1:16:45

Can’t see real lava, but I could see manufactured lava.

So I wanted to get that in.

And so I was doing a little bit of research the night before about where am I going to put my luggage because there’s no front desk person to ask here.

And I did find out there is a luggage storage spot in downtown Reiki a bit.

1:17:04

It’s called trapper cot parking garage.

It’s not a far walk from the Rainbow Rd. at all.

Maybe 2 minutes.

There’s different pricing posted.

It’s about $15.00 for a 24 hour period to store a regular sized carry on luggage, maybe a checked bag.

1:17:22

They do not rent by the hour so you’d have to pay the full 15 regardless of 1 to 24 hours.

Whatever you’re doing now I knew and I’m only going to have it in there for like 3 hours.

Do I really want to pay that?

So squaddies, I’m very resourceful here.

I went back to the 101 Hotel Reykjavik, which was just down the street by the bus stop, and I told them I already checked out, but can I store my luggage here for a few hours until my bus comes?

1:17:48

And can you call me a cab?

Because I was going to take a cab to the Lava show, which was about a 25 minute walk.

They didn’t ask a single question.

They took my bag, they stored it and they called me a cab.

I mean, you did technically check out.

Just I know.

A couple days ago, but you know you didn’t tell him.

1:18:05

Leave that part out and just let him know that you checked out.

Even if you didn’t stay there, they probably wouldn’t have asked questions.

They didn’t ask me anything and it’s not like they recognized me.

But just in case.

Squatty’s, there’s a tip for you if you do need to pay to store your luggage.

The Lava show was mostly the last thing I did.

1:18:22

I got the 10:00 AM show.

They’re actually really, really cool.

I wasn’t planning on doing it because I thought it looked touristy and kind of, you know, like a waste of money.

But no, I would recommend and then doing the lava show, it’s actually so cool.

I sat front row.

It’s real lava materials that they heat up in their furnace in the back of the building to the degree that will make it melt into lava, right?

1:18:46

And then they pour it down the steel slide right in front of you.

Like everyone’s wearing safety goggles.

They pour it down right in front of you and then it’s this big pile of lava right in front.

You can immediately feel the heat of it.

And he starts kind of like playing with it.

It’s drying right in front of you, so it’s crackling like a fire.

1:19:04

You can see it turning black.

The part on the steel is turning into like a block of hardened lava.

And he like cracked it and you could see it forms this like inner core of hot lava still with the outer core of black.

And there’s also a little video that they play that taught me a lot about volcanoes in Iceland.

1:19:22

It was very informative All in all, and it was an extremely interesting good tour.

And I got to see my lava and I would recommend that Squatties.

When we were in Iceland and we were really debating doing this when we were in Victoria, funny enough, one of the restaurants that we went to in Victoria for dinner one night, we walk in there and I’m like, why is this place like so crowded?

1:19:44

Well, in the back of the restaurant is where they do the lava show for the location in Victoria.

But we didn’t end up doing it.

But I, I, I would do something like that.

I thought it was pretty cool, even from the advertisements that I saw of it.

I was so confused why the lava fields were so rugged and like bulgy and I was like why does it look like that?

1:20:03

And now after going to the lava show I understand because when it dries it makes these bubbles that pop and it like forms all together.

So I’m glad I went.

I learned a lot.

Yeah, it’s all that heat and gas trying to get out and it’s pushing its way and then just makes it really uneven you.

Know, and also depending on if it’s like iron in there, if it’s silica in there, it could look different and bubble up differently.

1:20:25

And the viscosity of lava depends on what it’s made out of.

So I’m a lava expert at this point thanks to this tour.

Yeah.

How long was the show?

Just under an hour.

So part of it is a spiel with the guy, then the movie, then the actual lava experience is probably like 2530 ish minutes.

1:20:46

So good.

Long time to be seeing the lava.

And then after that I kind of walked back toward the hotel, walked by the Harpa Concert Center, that was cool.

Saw the harbor.

It was extremely snowy this day and I’m just trekking through the snow.

And then I kind of get there, get on my bus and get back to the airport.

1:21:05

Called a trip.

A great trip at that.

Even with all the hiccups, it sounds like you had a great time nevertheless.

And like I said, you know, when we were just seeing you post those photos, it’s really inspired us to be like, all right, we really got to do Iceland during the winter, which is so funny because I feel like, not that I got my Iceland, feel like I would never go back there, but it wasn’t like high on my radar be like, yeah, I want to go back.

1:21:27

But seeing the winter action side of things, I really really do specifically for winter.

Would you drive?

Well, during winter, I mean, I really wouldn’t want to, you know, I mean, who wants to really drive in the snow?

But I feel comfortable in my skill enough to do it.

But it’s more one of those things where I feel like I much rather drive than spend several hours a day on a bus back and forth to Reykjavik like you did.

1:21:52

I mean, I know it worked out for you and it doesn’t seem like it would be bad, but I don’t know, it just really depends.

Haven’t given too much thought yet.

Yeah, pros and cons of both, I guess.

I would like to do it in the summer and do a camper van and actually camp kind of in the van.

The way you wake up and you just see the nature right there.

1:22:11

Maybe do like a four day, something like that.

The Ring Rd. of course, could take you more to the east side and then up in the fjords in the north, which would be really cool to see too.

One day, one day I’ll do that.

One day I’ll be back.

But Iceland took me for my money and it took me to my wit’s end.

1:22:28

It is not an easy country in the winter, but it’s a beautiful the one and absolutely worth it.

But you have a good time and great memories and experiences.

Yes, and that was my first solo trip, so if I can get through Iceland solo, I can do anything now.

1:22:44

And with that, squaddies, thank you so much for tuning into our Iceland episode.

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1:23:02

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