The Blue Lagoon
This was the first time I’ve spent almost three whole days in a country (other than the US, obviously) and I’m so glad it was Iceland. Sydney had an earlier flight than me so we decided to actually walk around Reykjavik this morning before taking her to the airport. Our first stop was breakfast - we ate at Sandholt again and this time we actually sat down for the meal which was a good call because it was very tasty.
We then began our walk to the few spots in town to see. For the capital city of an entire country it is very tiny (but cute) and there is not a ton to see, though we definitely saw some of the highlights. Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja church. You can see it from all over town and it is an incredibly unique design. The inside was very plain but there was an organ player playing the giant organ which was cool to see! From there we walked the main street, Laugavegur, where Sydney bought some gifts and I bought a wool sheep magnet (of course).
After we finished up on Laugavegur we headed to our last stop in town, Harpa. It was one of, if not the most, incredible Opera houses that I’ve ever seen. It was unlike anything architecturally I’ve seen before and the use of glass and light was really amazing to see from both the inside and out. After walking through we started the drive to the airport. It’s only about forty-five minutes from the city and Sydney was there in plenty of time for her flight. It was so great having someone join me for a stop, especially in Iceland! I think it would be really difficult (but obviously not impossible) to do Iceland on your own of every country that I’ve seen because there is so much driving, it can get really expensive, and seeing some of the coolest stuff ever it was nice to have a friend along to experience it with!
From the airport, I made my way to the infamous Blue Lagoon. I was not going to pay (almost $60 minimum) to go in the Blue Lagoon but I still wanted to see one of Iceland's most famous landmarks in person. I had three hours to kill before I needed to be back at the airport for my flight, and it was only a twenty-minute drive away. When I got there I found the cafe where I bought an orange juice and was able to sit and look out at the Lagoon from inside! It was definitely interesting, but I enjoyed walking around the other blue pools outside of the main entrance much more. You could get up close to the water which was better than watching a bunch of people swim around in basically an overpriced pool (that’s blue). I am glad that I saw the Blue Lagoon but also glad I didn’t pay to do it.
From the Blue Lagoon, I drove through some of the cool mossy rock landscape for a bit before turning back towards the airport. I drove past the airport to the coast where I found two cool lighthouses and also almost completely froze when walking to take their picture because it was so windy. I then drove on to the next town near the airport and just enjoyed driving around and seeing more of the country and especially the small towns because we saw so few of them. After a short drive back to the airport I returned the rental car with ease and was only a little early for my flight.
I’m really sad to leave Iceland and I can’t say enough good things about it. It was the coolest place that I’ve ever seen from the incredible landscapes throughout to Reynisfjara Beach, the Northern Lights, and everything in between. There is so much to see and I definitely recommend you put it towards the top of your list! And the good news is, even though I’m leaving Iceland at least I’m headed to Spain (and Andorra)!
58 countries down, 138 to go.
Read about my second day in Iceland here.
To learn more about Old Charm Reykjavik Apartments click here.
