Travel & Hotspots
ICELAND DIARY
Kiek had the coolest birthday ever of almost 30(!) hours
If I would like to go to Iceland and Chicago at the invitation of Icelandair. To messages on my birthday also catch that. You understand: I didn't have to think long about this. ‘YAAAAA’ (but with fourteen more A's) it sounded in my head. To then respond with a very cool ‘Sounds great! I'll get back to you!’.
Only downside: my fear of flying (read here by the way what you can do about it). It's not so bad that I don't fly at all, but if I can help it, I'd rather ride fourteen hours on a donkey in the freezing cold than sit three hours in an airplane. But, realistic as I am: you only see the coolest places on earth if you do step into the steel beast of the sky – grumble. So I had to. The day before I left, I thought I was dying, but once I was in, it turned out to be a huge relief after a small moment of panic. Drama queen.
Iceland had been on the bucket list for a long time. Probably because I've seen ‘I'll show you’ by Justin Bieber too many times. Really, if you don't know this: shame on you, check it out here and you will immediately want to go to the island, mark my words. Even if it's just to touch the same rock that Biebs leaned against with his butt. So off I went, towards the DNA of Biebster.
‘Iceland is bucket list material: even if it's just to touch the same rock that Biebs leaned against with his butt.’
When we (I'm with five other journalists and wanderlust enthusiasts) arrive at the airport after 2 hours and 50 minutes, it's immediately clear: it's BEAUTIFUL here. There's space. Peace. Nature. After a short ride from the airport we check in at the Icelandair Marina hotel in Reykjavik, in the harbor district in the west of Iceland. Airplane clothes off, birthday dress on (of course I forget to take a picture, sorry, sorry) and off to restaurant The Fish Company. I can be very brief about this: they serve salmon trout that will blow your mind. In all of Iceland, by the way. This is just not normal anymore.
Packed and with a few birthday glasses of white behind us, we explore the center of Reykjavik in the evening. In terms of architecture, not the most stylish city ever, but very typically Icelandic and in the evening very cozy to randomly step into a pub. Which is also necessary, because I wouldn't really recommend wandering around on the streets for too long at this time of year due to the wind. The best time to visit Iceland? Between late June and early September. But if you want jeep safaris, cross-country skiing, and snowmobile tours through the winter landscapes, then February, March, and April are ideal. In short: I advocate that everyone should just have been to Iceland at least once in their life. Because Iceland is always worth it.
”You do a thousand things in a day”
Once I've parked my butt back in the hotel on my nice bed, I'm flooded with birthday wishes from the Netherlands. OH YES THAT'S RIGHT, I'M BIRTHDAY GIRL. Well, tomorrow. But it's after 12 o'clock so technically it's already tomorrow. Hyper as I am, I call twelve people, including mom, my love, and bestie, and of course I go to bed way too late again. And then the alarm goes off again at 06:30. Ugh. Just a disclaimer for everyone who thinks that a press trip is simply a mini-vacation with journalists and bloggers: no it ain't. You do a thousand things in a day, don't always have time to freshen up after lunch for the evening program, and you almost always sleep Very Very Short. And further, it's fantastic and you won't hear me complain. Really.
‘The island treats you to boiling mud pots, smoldering volcanoes, kilometers of crater rows, glaciers, Justin Bieber waterfalls, you name it...’
The next day (really birthday girl) we leave after breakfast (AGAIN. THAT. SALMON. OMG) to Þingvellir, one of the three national parks in Iceland. It's about a three-quarter hour drive from Reykjavik and is a 6 by 40 kilometer large depression of the earth. No wonder it's on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is quite something special people, it's indescribable. Actually, Iceland is not comparable to any other country. In summer, it stays light for an extremely long time, large parts are still pristine, and every ten minutes you encounter another WHUT-this-is-impressive-photo-moment. The island treats you to boiling mud pots, smoldering volcanoes, kilometers of crater rows, glaciers, Justin Bieber waterfalls, you name it. And that for a relatively small area – Iceland is about three times the size of the Netherlands.
I could go on for hours being lyrical and crazy, but you really have to go here yourself to experience it. Can you give me tips for next time because I was here way too short. But anyway, we were here to test the new #Mystopover option from Icelandair via Iceland to Chicago, so that will be the next destination: America, baby. Also no punishment. Oh, and we fly from Iceland for at least five hours in time, so that means: extra long birthday. More about this tomorrow and much more of course.
P.S.: also flying to Chicago via Iceland?
This is brilliant. From this month on, Icelandair flies every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday to Chicago via Iceland, if you want. You can choose to have a stopover on the island (of up to seven days), after which you Chicago depart without your ticket becoming more expensive. How do you mean, flying a hundred in one go? Unbelievable, I'm sold. You can already book a round trip with Icelandair from €425.
