The feel like temperature outside today is 101, so it seems like the perfect time to share some reflections on my recent trip to Iceland. Ice…land. I feel cooler just saying it.

Anyway, I’m too stupefied by this heat to write long sentences – in short, Iceland is weird and wonderful. I loved it and I want to tell you about it.

Getting there

My dear wife and I flew Icelandair direct from Raleigh Durham to Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. Why are American airlines so crappy? We traveled coach, as we usually do, and I swear the seats were bigger and there was definitely more leg room than on US carriers. And all the flight attendants were blonde and beautiful. I’m just reporting the facts. You can purchase food on Icelandair but no meals are included, which I think is a great idea. Just the smell of airplane chicken wafting down the aisle makes me nauseous. I’m a pescetarian and the veggie meals on US airlines are basically 50 Grains of Orzo. Keep your crappy food and I’ll pack my own snacks. Thanks, Nabs.

One more note relating to travel: This was my first trip with my new 19” international carry-on bag and I’m hooked. It was easy breezy and nothing can get lost in your suitcase because there’s just nowhere for it to hide. And bonus – you have way less laundry to do when you get home. In the past, carry-on bags were a trigger for me. Over the years, I have been clunked in the head by so many unconcerned men in Dockers rushing to get their bags down because they are so much more important than me. The colossal delays in airports post-Covid motivated me to seek help on this issue. Thanks, Kohl’s.

WELCOME TO REYKIAVIK

Keflavik International Airport is the largest airport in Reykjavik and has one terminal and 14 gates. I think it would be hard to get stressed out in this airport. I mean there’s even a giant dinosaur egg sculpture outside of the airport to welcome you. It’s about a 45-minute drive from the airport into the city of Reykjavik – population around 140,000, about 116,000 less than Winston Salem, NC where I reside. The entire population of Iceland is 375,318 – the whole country! Iceland is about the same size as the state of Kentucky. This completes the factoid section of this post and you can think of me kindly when you slay on Jeopardy!.  

The trip into the city makes you feel like you’re driving on the moon – not that I’ve ever done that, but you’ve seen Apollo 13. All you see is miles and miles of lava fields – no trees, no animals, just miles and miles of dark rocks and craters created by the eruptions of Iceland’s 38 volcanoes. Volcanoes in Iceland you say? Yep, that is how Iceland became known as the land of fire and ice. Most of Iceland’s volcanoes are not active but one did erupt this past July. I’m sure you can find some tourist selfies on Instagram. What could go wrong?

Our hotel room was not yet available, which was probably good. If you’ve ever traveled internationally, you know the worst thing you can do after an overnight flight is to lay down, so we stashed our bags and headed downtown. We had the dumb luck to be in Reykjavik on what had to be the best day of the year. It was sunny and 65 degrees – the average high in August is 55. The natives were downright giddy in their shorts and t-shirts. I do hope they applied their sunscreen liberally – Icelanders are astonishingly white.

REYKJAVIK HIGHLIGHTS

Perlan – Wonders of Iceland is a huge glass dome standing between six large tanks. One tank is filled with hot water for the city by means of geothermal energy. It has a very Lost in Space vibe.

Harpa is a beautiful concert hall and convention center on the harbor that features a colored glass façade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland.

Iceland is crazy about cats – kattar in Icelandic – and they roam freely all over the city – including shops. There’s even an Icelandic reality show called Keeping Up With the Kattarshians. You see what they did there?

Sun Voyager is a striking sculpture that is a tribute to the Icelandic Viking History. I thought it looked like a chorus line of reindeer.

Laugavegur is the main shopping street in the city and features Rainbow Street, a permanent piece of art painted by local residents. Iceland is a very gay friendly country and we saw rainbow flags in many rural areas. Thank you, Iceland. It matters.

CHASING WATERFALLS

It is estimated that there are as many as 10,000 waterfalls in Iceland and I’m not going to argue with that number because we saw hella waterfalls once we left the city.

They were all beautiful but the money shot was the famous Golden Waterfall of Gullfoss and on a clear day the mist from the falls creates a huge rainbow. And guess what? We had a spectacular day. Seriously, our Iceland travel karma was off the charts.

I’M ON A BOAT

We sailed around Breioafjorour Bay on a Viking Sushi Cruise. We didn’t see any Vikings – or puffins – which was the main reason my motion sickness challenged wife slapped on a patch 24 hours before getting on a boat. Puffins are fickle bastards and so far they have eluded us in Maine, Alaska, the British Isles and now Iceland. We seem to always arrive a day late and they have already departed for the winter. I’m beginning to think we have a better shot at a Big Foot sighting than seeing a colony of puffins. Fortunately, my wife is a good sport – I mean she married me, right – and was happy she saw four of them in the distance running to catch their flight to the open waters of the Atlantic. I did see lots of sushi after the trawling nets were dumped out and the crew popped open some deliciousness for us. Now that’s fresh.

WE SAY GEYSER, THEY SAY GEEZER

Iceland is crazy with geothermal activity. It has something to do with tectonic plates bringing heat and magma (not MAGA) closer to the earth’s service. It’s not unusual to be driving along and see clouds of steam rising out of the ground. And they put all of this activity to good use – over 85% of all houses in Iceland are heated with renewable energy sources. A guide in a power plant we visited told us that her electric bill is usually around $14 a month – maybe a bit higher in the winter. And get this – the busiest streets and sidewalks in Reykjavik are heated in the winter – no shoveling snow.

If a geyser erupts and no one snaps a photo, does it even count? Stokkur blows every 6-10 minutes.

The geothermal pools are groovy but the real showstoppers are the fountain geysers that erupt on a regular basis. Icelanders pronounce geyser as geezer and well, that makes it even more fun. My wife was absolutely mesmerized by the eruptions and the first time the big one went off, she cheered and giggled with two Asian women for a long time. They didn’t speak any English but geyser geeks share a universal language.

Blue Lagoonies

This is your spa on drugs

Our last day ended with a big blue splash in the warm, milky waters of The Blue Lagoon. This geothermal spa located in a lava field is the most popular attraction in Iceland. Duh. It began as a pool of wastewater from a geothermal plant when someone was brave or stupid enough to take a dip in the toasty azure water. People found that soaking in the rich mineral content of the water was helpful for many conditions and I’m a believer. We were in the water for about two hours and nothing on my whole body hurt. It was one of those rare communal experiences in life when everyone – toddlers to grandmas – were having the time of their lives. It was Mother Nature’s cocktail party and the dress code was casual – a goofy smile on your muddy face.

BE WARM, BE WELL

We absolutely loved Iceland and to be fair, I’m sure our absurdly good weather during our visit didn’t hurt. We never even opened our umbrellas. We had no rain – in Iceland! I packed a fleece and only wore it on our boat trip. When we were going through passport control at the airport on our way home, the agent went through the regular questions – “What was your reason for your visit?” “Vacation,” we answered. He then asked us how we liked Iceland. We replied enthusiastically, “We loved it!” He smiled and said, “Well, we would love to have you come back but you will not have this weather.” Duly noted.

I think we would have loved Iceland even if the weather had been more seasonal. Iceland is so unpretentious – it never tries too hard to impress you. It simply lets its magnificent, sea swept landscapes and natural beauty woo you. There’s a freedom and unspoiled wide openness about Iceland that you don’t find many places. And it is so wonderfully weird with all of its geothermal mojo going on. I think if Iceland were a movie, it would be directed by Wes Anderson with a soundtrack by The Talking Heads.

“Be warm, be well” is a saying you see all over Iceland and those words felt as genuine to us as all of the Icelanders that we met. So, if you get a chance, pack a tiny bag, throw in some snacks and a rain jacket – just in case – and shoot for the moon. Iceland rocks!