The Gang Gets Lost In Iceland

Dying to see Scandinavia, I get my first country in 2018: Iceland.

I set out for a week with two friends of The Gang Goes To Europe. I drove from Grand Rapids to DTW, Salfai left from STL, and Dubbs from MSP. We had staggered landings, and ultimately we met up at KEX Hostel.

Reykjavík

street sign — ??? left or ??? right? Me either.

the cabinet of iceland — Evidently there is a very large breakfast for the city held in the front yard, every year!

bonus supermarket in iceland — This is still the best logo I've ever bought anything from

two men and a car in a field — The Rental

myself, dubbs, and salfai on tour in the golden circle

two men at a large crater lake — Ran into someone I shared a pre-flight beer with at the Detroit Airport (cue "small world!")

drunk man riding fake bike — So yeah, there was a nightlife

We toured and naturally closed down the bars in Reykjavík for two nights, which unfortunately happened to be the day before Culture Day, a massive celebration in the city. Instead, we took the day and drove out as far as Vatnajökull Glacier & National Park.

The South + West Coasts

Our hostel reservations were booked on the wrong night however, so we ended up staying at a home that can only be rented via landline – which is the most remote night/morning I’ve ever experienced (above). We spent the next day starting at Diamond Beach, taking the scenic route to Black Sand Beach (where yes, we did get to see Puffins, as everyone asks), and ultimately another night in the vast remote-ness (below).

water bottle near glacier in background — I filled up a water bottle of actual glacier water! Not as clear as they say, but not bad.

me with pickaxe on glacier — No joke...we found a pickaxe sitting alone far back on a quick glacier hike. We didn't take it, assuming it's cursed.

The last day we went back to Reykjavík to get touristy items, and sweat through the previous days of protein bars, gin, and aquavit. We did treat ourselves to puffin, reindeer, lamb, and all of the things we felt we earned. We ended the night also doused in gin, watching stand-up comedy in a strange local bar, and wandered home along the coast.

The cost of food and alcohol was pretty shocking, but we made do. The names of most things we saw were unpronounceable to an english-only tongue, but you have to see them anyway:

Þingvellir National Park
The original Geysir
Gullfoss falls
Kerið volcanic crater lake (where I ran into someone I shared a beer with in the Detroit Int’l Airport)
Secret Lagoon Hot Spring in Flúðir
Hjörleifshöfði Cave
Skógafoss waterfall
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Skeiðarárjökull Glacier

Cities: Reykjavík, Höfn, Vík And that’s just what we wrote down. The amount of ‘falls and hikes…who knows what all we saw in Iceland.