The Land of Fire and Ice

 Reykjavik!

June 6-8, 2025

The Adventure Begins!

Our first day of this grand adventure was a crazy combo of never-ending amazement and never-ending exhaustion! The Beatles’ poetic way of describing such a “Hard Day’s Night” pretty much sums it up!  Sorry if I just started an ear worm!

This day started out with a four-hour drive from Waukee, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota where we met up with Lauren, Adam, Emma and Evie before heading to MSP to catch our flight to KEF in Keflavik, Iceland.  Once our bags were checked and we made it through security, it was time to eat the delicious sandwiches Lauren had made and wait to board our 7:58 pm flight!  It was then that the hard day’s night officially began. 

Sleeping on a plane has never been something I’m good at, and this flight proved to be no exception!  We landed on time at 6:40 am (1:40 am Iowa time) and hit the road running!   We had arranged a transfer to get from the Keflavik Airport to our hotel, which worked slick. Alex was there on time, loaded our baggage and drove us the 45 minutes to Kovsin Hotel in downtown Reykjavik. Being the day (day? really?) was young (you’ve got to be kidding me!) and check-in time wasn’t until 3:00 pm, we stored our luggage at the hotel while we did a little exploring. 

First off, we walked around a bit of the shopping district which led us directly to Hallgrimskirkja Church, one of Reykjavik’s major landmarks. 

Having a bit of an appetite, we couldn’t help noticing Brauð & Co. The pastry-filled window was hard to miss, but the crowd milling around the outside made it impossible to walk past!  So good!  In fact, we went back the next day, and the day after that!  They are known for their vanillla rolls, which are good, but their danish, happy marriage cake and cinnamon rolls are all tops in my book!  

Wandering around was not a chore. Downtown is filled with museums, shops, bakeries, art, bars, restaurants and more!  The city is clean, safe and friendly making it a perfect entry location to land in this country of fire and ice. 

As we walked around the waterfront, the “Sun Voyager” grabbed our attention.  This is another high-on-the-list Reykjavik attraction!  This sculpture represents a dream boat and a song to the sun. It is intended to represent the vision of hope, progress and freedom.

As soon as we were able to get checked in, we headed to the quaint restaurant, Islenski Barinn. It had a nice little pub vibe and did a wonderful job of introducing us to Icelandic cuisine. I thoroughly enjoyed a bowl of meat soup -- picture vegetable beef soup but replace beef with lamb, while Dick feasted on their fish and chips.

Dinner was followed by going up to Venems’ room, equipped with a rooftop patio for a proper vodka nightcap. Although it was maybe 6:00 pm, we all agreed this hard day’s night was over and officially called it time to hit the sack. 

Hoping to be refreshed and ready to go (jet lag adjustment takes time – right?), Dick and I started our second day in Reykjavík by going to Mass at Cathedral of Christ the King.  Mass was in Polish and it was standing room only!  Who knew there is a significant Polish population in Iceland? 

Visiting Christ the King Cathedral was especially meaningful as Dick’s brother and his wife got married there almost 55 years ago. Doug was based in Iceland while in the Navy and met his beautiful bride, Rowena, while stationed there. It was fun picturing them at the front of the church reciting their matrimonial vows to each other. For our experience there, we were more than a little surprised to find ourselves receiving Eucharist at the communion rail in front of the altar!  It felt a little like we had gone through some type of time warp!

July 16th will mark 55 years for these two!

For Part 2 of this day, we took the public bus to Nautholsvik Beach, a local favorite spot which was our big adventure for the day!  Blue Lagoon, a geothermal bath, is on the list as a “must do” when visiting Iceland, but we decided to save our geothermal bath experience for one of the more remote, less touristy ones later in the week.  We did want to have some type of geothermal water experience while in Reykjavik, so the public beach was where we headed!  Adam quickly figured out the bus system and, before we knew it, we were having our very first Icelandic beach experience!  This was very different from any other trip to a beach I’ve had!  We started out in the outdoor steam bath. This geothermally-heated bath was such a delightful way to soak out any travel knots that had found their way into my body!  The hot tub, located near the shoreline, was a fun and unique experience as well. And, who can resist a quick jump into the ocean?  At a balmy 48 degrees air temperature, I did manage this feat, but it wasn’t too long before I found my way back to the bath!  We missed going to the sauna but you have to save something, right?  To make the pot even sweeter, the entire experience is free for ages 67+. 

It was quite the juxtaposition to be in our swimsuits, watching people walking across the beach in their winter coats and stocking caps as we were toasty warm in the steam bath!  

The change from the touristy area of town to a spot where the locals spend a Sunday afternoon was refreshing in itself. Double the value with the added scenery, wonderful company and heat penetrating sensation of this volcanic-heated water!

Dinner was a soup bread bowl, which left just enough room for gelato!

Once back to our rooms, before heading out to dinner, a few of us had a competitive round of Spoons, while a few certain others, not to be named, fit in a catnap. I’m continuing to fight adjusting to the time change along with the 21 hours of sunshine. I’d say daylight, but that’s actually more like 24 hours!  It’s absolutely never dark here this time of year. I’m resisting naps thinking eventually my body will adjust!  

Stay tuned -- tomorrow we drive the Golden Circle!