We see you, Iceland – your landscape is breathtaking! The fermented shark was breathtaking too, but in a bad way.

In Reykjavik, we spent some time relaxing at the shockingly bright Blue Lagoon, strolled around the various city districts, experienced a virtual museum called Fly Over Iceland, and enjoyed some local beers like Gull, Viking, and the wonderfully named Malbygg Wonkadonk. We went on a food and history tour where we tried traditional Icelandic food including fermented shark (Alston had to hold back her vomit TWICE), dried haddock loaded with butter, smoked cod on volcano baked rye, fish stew, and THE famous Icelandic hotdog decked out with raw and fried onion, curry ketchup, sweet mustard, and remoulade.

On our third day, we took a day trip along the southern coast to visit the small town of Vik and see the famously beautiful black beaches. Along the way, we stopped at some incredible waterfalls including Ægissi∂ufoss, Seljalandsfoss, and Skogafoss, each with it’s own size and personality. Around every turn on the road was another incredible view of mossy mountains, or dramatic rock formations, or dreamy rivers. The landscape would be gold and green for five minutes from the wheat and moss, then immediately switch to black and red from volcanic soil and bright flowers. We spent almost six hours in the car, but it didn’t feel like it because we were constantly energized by the next beautiful sight awaiting over the next ridge.

During our time in Iceland, the sun did not set once (thankful for blackout curtains!) and we were lucky enough to only have one very rainy day.