Landing in Iceland looks like landing on the moon. It's expansive, and it's really volcano-y. It has a fresh smell and a sheer quality, like the whole country was edited in photoshop to be -10 saturation.
Reykjavik, 2015
Our first day was long, but we jumped right into exploring. The sun in Iceland in May rises around 4am and sets at 11:45pm, so landing at 7am that morning gave us 16 hours to play! A nap did occur, I admit. And COFFEE. Coffee definitely happened.
On recommendation from at least three people, we ate at Snaps three times! It really was the most reliably delicious option in the non-fancy realm of dining in Reykjavik. There are lots of set-menu fine dining options in town for those with aims on super-fine nordic cuisine, but we stuck to tried and true favorites in the glass-domed dining room at Snaps. You can enjoy the fading light while you eat, because it stays light or at least magic hour for HOURS... and then ultimately never really gets dark-dark!
This is "night" in Reykjavik in May!
All over Iceland, there are fabulous pops of color amongst the muted tones, when you least expect them!
Our AirBnB was a sweet, bright, quiet place. Felt like such a lucky find! We spend quiet afternoons watching the long hours of Icelandic afternoon light shine in our many windows. With the faint echo of our upstairs neighbors' singing to keep us company, our minds took time to wander.
Road-tripping to a tiny town down South, along the Golden Circle of Iceland. We just did day trips, but you can spend a whole week traversing the whole country on a single road!
I had a total moment with this beautiful horse. She waited by the fence until I drove away.
You've probably heard of The Blue Lagoon. It's a fairy-tale-looking geothermal spa just outside Reykjavik, and it'll be the first thing you are inundated with when you do your very first Iceland Google search. Because of the popularity, I assumed the experience of visiting the spa would be overrated and touristy. Here's the thing though. It really LOOKS LIKE THIS. Like, no Photoshop required. It's the ace up Nature's sleeve and it's a WIN.
There are so many more horses to pet, day trips to take and lovely people to meet. My biggest recommendation is that five days is NOT ENOUGH to experience Iceland! I will be back.