Iceland
Our last few days! We can't believe this year has gone by so fast.
We had booked Iceland as our last stop one year ago because one it looked amazing and two in order for our travel insurance to be valid we had to have a return flight back to the US. If you have ever looked at flights to Europe you may notice that Icelandair is one of the cheaper airlines and they always fly through Iceland as a stopover. The Icelandic government helps to subsidize the cost of the flight to try to get visitors to go through or stay in Iceland.
It seems to have worked because according to the latest data from the Icelandic Tourist Board, a total of 2.2 million tourists visited Iceland in 2017. This is up from 1.8 million the year previous. Bearing in mind that the total population of Iceland is less than 350,000 the total number of visitors to the country last year was more than six times the number of people living here. The largest share of these tourists, or 576,000 hailed from the United States, and in fact Americans comprised the greatest increase of tourists to Iceland between the past two years.
We stayed in a great little Airbnb in the capital city of Reykjavik. It is by far the largest city in Iceland and pretty much the only city in the country. Reykjavik has 200,000 residents which by our standards still makes it feel like a town. Our first night we wandered the streets and became aware of just how expensive the island is. For one beer, a burger and 3 tacos we paid $55. On average one local beer at a bar or restaurant costs about $13. Which explained why when we got off the plane we saw Icealandic locals sprinting towards duty free, grabbing a shopping cart, and picking up as much booze as they could buy.
Our first full day we had a fantastic walking tour around the city. It was a much different tour since normally we are dousing ourselves in sunblock and big hats, but here we were bringing fuzzy socks and four layers. We learned a few things about Iceland including:
After that we went to a rugged coast line where natural lava pools were formed and now create huge water spouts as the ocean waves collide with the rocks. At each stop Jesse as able to fly the drone and get some of the best pictures of the trip. On this particular day the wind was mild, sun was shining under the clouds so it made for very special conditions.
Our last stop was at the famous Blue Lagoon thermal pools. This is Iceland's most popular attraction so we had to have a reservation ahead of time. If you have not seen pictures of the Blue Lagoon you should Google it. The water is a milky blue color due to the minerals in the water. We enjoyed a few hours there and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
This isn't our picture, but just so you can get an idea of what it looks like.
Our final day of the trip we decided to do the Golden Circle driving tour on our own, which consists of four stops over 160 miles in central Iceland. The stops included Pingvellir National Park which is where Iceland's largest lake is, Gullfoss falls, Geysir geothermal area, and Kerio Crater. Jesse and I both thought we would love to see what the landscape was one million years ago just to see the big difference and the process of how the land has changed over time. We had hoped to view the northern lights one evening but the conditions never came together just right. Oh well there's always next time!
I can't believe this will be our last destination post. Jesse and I will each write a bit about what we took away from this wonderful year long adventure in a final blog post.
We had booked Iceland as our last stop one year ago because one it looked amazing and two in order for our travel insurance to be valid we had to have a return flight back to the US. If you have ever looked at flights to Europe you may notice that Icelandair is one of the cheaper airlines and they always fly through Iceland as a stopover. The Icelandic government helps to subsidize the cost of the flight to try to get visitors to go through or stay in Iceland.
It seems to have worked because according to the latest data from the Icelandic Tourist Board, a total of 2.2 million tourists visited Iceland in 2017. This is up from 1.8 million the year previous. Bearing in mind that the total population of Iceland is less than 350,000 the total number of visitors to the country last year was more than six times the number of people living here. The largest share of these tourists, or 576,000 hailed from the United States, and in fact Americans comprised the greatest increase of tourists to Iceland between the past two years.
We stayed in a great little Airbnb in the capital city of Reykjavik. It is by far the largest city in Iceland and pretty much the only city in the country. Reykjavik has 200,000 residents which by our standards still makes it feel like a town. Our first night we wandered the streets and became aware of just how expensive the island is. For one beer, a burger and 3 tacos we paid $55. On average one local beer at a bar or restaurant costs about $13. Which explained why when we got off the plane we saw Icealandic locals sprinting towards duty free, grabbing a shopping cart, and picking up as much booze as they could buy.
Our first full day we had a fantastic walking tour around the city. It was a much different tour since normally we are dousing ourselves in sunblock and big hats, but here we were bringing fuzzy socks and four layers. We learned a few things about Iceland including:
- The first settlers to Iceland were Vikings from Norway and arrived in 874 AD very close to the present day location of Reykjavik.
- There is one Costco in Iceland and its a HUGE hit. 25% of the entire population of Iceland shopped there in the first month it opened.
- Iceland is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world. Police are few and far between and there are no security guards in front of their house of Parliament even while in session.
- Can you guess the only flag that is constantly flying in the capital??? The American flag at the American embassy. The Icelanders usually only hang their flag on special holidays.
- The average age to start college is 26. There are public colleges that help to lower the cost of higher education to about $1000 per semester. Even at such a low cost, most students take the extra time after high school to work to learn more about their interests before going back to school.
After that we went to a rugged coast line where natural lava pools were formed and now create huge water spouts as the ocean waves collide with the rocks. At each stop Jesse as able to fly the drone and get some of the best pictures of the trip. On this particular day the wind was mild, sun was shining under the clouds so it made for very special conditions.
Our last stop was at the famous Blue Lagoon thermal pools. This is Iceland's most popular attraction so we had to have a reservation ahead of time. If you have not seen pictures of the Blue Lagoon you should Google it. The water is a milky blue color due to the minerals in the water. We enjoyed a few hours there and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Our final day of the trip we decided to do the Golden Circle driving tour on our own, which consists of four stops over 160 miles in central Iceland. The stops included Pingvellir National Park which is where Iceland's largest lake is, Gullfoss falls, Geysir geothermal area, and Kerio Crater. Jesse and I both thought we would love to see what the landscape was one million years ago just to see the big difference and the process of how the land has changed over time. We had hoped to view the northern lights one evening but the conditions never came together just right. Oh well there's always next time!
I can't believe this will be our last destination post. Jesse and I will each write a bit about what we took away from this wonderful year long adventure in a final blog post.
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