I've wanted to go to Iceland for a long time, so when I
finally had it all booked up it was very exciting! Before we knew it the time
had come to get on the plane and we were landing in Reykjavik and shivering in
the freezing air as we waited to board the bus that would take us to our hotel.
We’d booked a Northern Lights tour for the night we arrived, as I knew that if you didn't see the lights on your first trip you could go on the tour again the next night, and the next… until you did see them! I figured we had the best chance if we had the full 5 nights to try, and as seeing the Lights was one of the main reasons Iceland had been on my Must Visit list for so long, I was determined to give it my best shot! As it turned out the tour on our arrival day got cancelled due to heavy cloud cover, so the chance of seeing them that night was gone. Instead, we explored the streets of Reykjavik near to our hotel, and enjoyed a beer or two at a couple of the many bars we passed along the way.
Waking up on the morning of day 2 we set off to see more
of the city in the daylight. During Winter months there’s only around 6 hours
of daylight a day, so we were determined to make the most of it! Reykjavik is a
relatively small city, and feels a lot more like a town than a city. The
streets are quite narrow and there were lots of festive decorations around
which added to the cosy feel, despite the cold weather! We headed down to the
harbour to see the Viking boat statue before taking refuge in Harpa, the
striking concert hall which stands proudly on the sea front. Entry is free, and
we enjoyed warming up over a hot chocolate and people watching through the
glass sided building.
Harpa is stop 1 on the City Sightseeing bus tour, so we
decided to hop on to see more of the far afield parts of Reykjavik that we
hadn’t been able to reach on foot. I’ve used City Sightseeing in numerous other
cities and always enjoyed using the frequent buses to see the city from the top
deck of a bus. So, I was surprised when a small mini van arrived for the tour
and found out each stop was only served once an hour! Still, we jumped on and
plugged our earphones into the audio commentary and decided to do the whole
loop of the tour to get a feel for the city.
In total, the tour took around 45 minutes and listening to the
commentary did teach us a bit more about Reykjavik, and the buildings we were
passing. The ticket was valid for 24 hours so we were able to “hop on and hop
off” as much as we liked in that time, but as hopping off meant having to wait
an hour to then hop back on, it wasn’t a realist option for us. Perhaps the
buses are bigger and more frequent during Summer, but it’s not something I’d
recommend during the Winter months.
The Northern Lights tour was cancelled again that night
(more cloud, grrrr!) so after a meal and some more beers (Happy Hour is from
4pm to 8pm so we made the most of the lower prices!) we headed to bed as us
girls had an early start the next day as we’d booked to visit the Blue Lagoon!
We were booked onto the first bus of the day which meant a
hotel pick up at 8:30am, when it was still pitch black outside (the sun rises
at about 10am!) so arriving at the Blue Lagoon in the half-light felt very
atmospheric. The volcanic rocks and powder blue pools around the entrance added
to the feel that we were entering another world! We excitedly changed into our
swimsuit and robes and headed outside for our first glimpse of the lagoon. We’d
seen it on TV and in pictures of course, but to see it for real was amazing,
and just as exciting as we’d anticipated. Taking off our robes we were freezing but as soon as we were in the
water it was lovely and warm! Because we’d been on the first bus of the day the
lagoon wasn't too busy, so we were able to float around at our leisure and
apply face packs without too many crowds.
I’d booked a massage (you must do this in advance as the
slots fill up very fast) and was really looking forward to it as it was an “in
water treatment” and promised to be the most unusual massage I’d ever had! I
wasn’t let down – my therapist helped me onto a float and then covered me with
a blanket before dunking my body under the water to warm the blanket. She gave
me a lovely relaxing massage which was made even better by the floaty feeling
of being on the water, and despite the cold temperature I was always toasty
thanks to that blanket and regular dunkings! The massage was a fantastic and
unique experience and although a little pricey, I’d certainly recommend it as
it made my visit to the already awesome Blue Lagoon even more memorable.
Thanks to the early bus we were back in Reykjavik by
mid-afternoon and had plenty of time to get ourselves dried and fed before the
Northern Lights tour, which was finally ON that night! It was with excited
anticipation we boarded the bus with the other eager passengers, and set off to
the first stop of the hunt for the Lights. It wasn’t long until the excitement
turned to frustration however, as our driver took us to a small café where we
would “wait for the clouds to pass for 30 minutes.” That 3 minutes turned into
2 hours, and despite patiently looking up at the sky we saw only a slight
slither of light from behind a cloud, and the driver decided to call it a night
as that slither of light “didn’t count” and cloud cover meant there was no more
chance of seeing the Northern Lights that night. Two of our group were heading
home the next day, so we were all gutted and returned back to our hotels
feeling dejected and tired.
We woke the next day to a hurricane warning. Not quite
what we’d had in mind for the girls’ last morning in Reykjavik, but we
soldiered on nonetheless and headed down to the harbour for one last famous hot
dog for them, and some souvenir shopping before waving them off on the airport
bus. After they’d gone we decided to shelter from the weather with a visit to
Hallgrimskirkja church, which sits on top of a hill looking out over Reykjavik.
We passed on the lift to the top (which offers views of the whole city but
charges a fee) and decided on the free option of an English language service
from the local priest. Hallgrimskirkja
is a beautiful church with impressive high ceilings and an enormous organ, so
to experience a service there was lovely. We could hear the wind howling
outside and being on a hill leaving the church meant we got the brunt of the
terrible weather and were nearly blown away as we headed back down to warm up
in our hotel room!
That evening we managed to get out to eat dinner at a
nearby restaurant but the hurricane meant we had to hurry back to our room and
take safe shelter. Needless to say, this was not the weather for flying, and
the girls’ flight home had been cancelled – they were holed up at an airport
hotel and had to phone work to explain they wouldn't be in as planned the next
morning! Of course, the Northern Lights tour that evening was also cancelled
too. We were starting to think we weren't meant to see them.
The next morning we woke early, as we were booked onto a
Golden Circle tour. Much to our happy surprise, the tour was going ahead as the
worst of the storm had passed. There was now snow falling but the worst of the
wind had died down, so we jumped back on the bus and nabbed the front seats for
the best views as we drove through beautiful Iceland.
The Golden Circle is a well-trodden tourist trail, but
for good reason. It covers around 300km
looping from Reykjavik and back, and takes in a geothermally active valley
featuring the active geyser Strokkur, the huge and impressive Gulfoss waterfalls,
and stunning Þingvellir National Park where the tectonic plates of Eurasia and
North America meet, albeit with a gape between them which is visible as you
pass by. All three locations were fantastic, and the snow only added to the
magical atmosphere. Watching Strokkur blow was hugely impressive, as was our
first glimpse of roaring Gulfoss, as it’s waters crashed down. Þingvellir
National Park has been used to film scenes for Game of Thrones, so
people on the coach who were fans of the series really enjoyed seeing locations
from the show. I don’t watch it myself, but still loved walking through the
park and admiring the beautiful snowy lakes, waterfalls and rocks. It did feel
like we’d stepped back in time to the years when Viking parliaments were held there
and the drowning pool was in use for law breakers. Out Golden Circle day tour
was fab, and I’d definitely recommend anyone heading to Iceland does one if
they have the time!
Even though we’d had an amazing day already, it was about
to get better… the Northern Lights tour that night was ON! Even better, we
could see lots of blue sky above the snowy streets, and felt quietly confident
that tonight could be the night. Back on the bus we were taken back to the
national park, as earlier tours had seen the start of the lights there, and as
soon as we stepped off the coach we could already see more than we had on our
previous attempt. Three distinct lines were forming – white and fluffy, but not
like clouds. As we craned our necks to the sky the lines got more prominent,
and we could also see slithers of light coming from the cloud base where the
lines began. It was beautiful, but not the green colour we’d seen on
photographs… our Northern Lights were white, with an occasional minty hue to
them. Apparently cameras make the greens show darker, so although the naked eye
does see green on particularly strong shows, it’s more usual for the colours to
be fainter when you’re looking at them compared to photos. This was proven when
some photos of the night were shared on Facebook… the picture below was taken
by another lady on our bus, and it appears much greener than we saw. Still, there
was no doubt about it this time – we had seen the Northern Lights! It was the
perfect last night of our Iceland trip, and we headed back to bed with smiles
on our faces, which remained there the next day as we boarded the plane back to
England, and back to reality. Iceland, you are magical. I hope I will be back
again one day.
We booked our tours in advance through Wow and they were
operated in country by Reykjavik Excursions. We stayed at Centerhotel Klopp and
flew with Icelandair. All come recommended!
With additional thanks also to Ester at the Blue Lagoon for her help booking our packages and massages in advance.
