11 Things I Love About Iceland

Okay so I'm really missing Iceland ever since I received that postcard I sent to myself. So I decided to do this post about 10 things I love about that beautiful country! Although it's been more than a month since I got back but oh well here goes!

 1. Reykjavik

Okay I just love everything about Reykjavik. I think it's a beautiful city bustling with life. The beautiful murals, the people, the ambience, everything! I feel that Reykjavik is a big city that is small and a small city that is big. Like I mean I walked everyday around the city when I was there and I realised that this street is nearby this street and at the same time I realised how much of the city is left unexplored by me. Seeing new sights everyday, and finding shortcuts made me feel this way hah.

 2. Murals in the city

Reykjavik is filled with colourful houses and rooftops. And it is also filled with so many cool art murals around the city! I found out that some people actually hired artists to have a mural painted on their house's wall. And the one above is one of my favourite!

3. Landscape, landscape, landscape

Iceland definitely is the most beautiful country I've visited so far because its landscape is just too surreal and amazing. As I drove around the country (kind of), every few minutes of driving will welcome you to a new landscape. For example you'll pass by a moss field and then you'll pass by a volcanic field next. It's really something I've never seen before. The beautiful variety of the landscape truly made this country a uniquely beautiful one. So please go to Iceland :P

 4. Empty spaces

Well Iceland has a population of 300.000, with the island covering an area of 100.000 square kilometres. So there is a lot of big and empty spaces. Well I'm a person who enjoys emptiness, and enjoys being surrounded by it so yeah. Iceland is the place to go heh.

 5. Clean air and awesome tap water

I realised how crisp and fresh the air in Iceland is, even in the capital itself. Iceland is powered by geothermal energy so there is very little pollution! The air is refreshing and I was trying to breathe as much air as possible haha. Also during my 5 days there I didn't bother to buy mineral water as I was told that their tap water is good enough (or even better). And yes, the tap water there is really clean and has no smell! It's like free-flow glacial water or something heh.

 6. Land of fire and ice

They don't call Iceland the land of fire and ice for nothing! There's snow capped mountain, and then beside it there's a volcano, a drive south will land you in a glacial lagoon filled with icebergs. Truly the land of fire and ice! Thankfully I get to experience both, well not seeing the lava and magma etc but seeing Snaefellsjokull is good enough!

7. 12 Tonar

Best music shop in the world for me. Nuff said. I wish I can spend a longer time there though.

 8. Bæjarins beztu pylsur

Also best hotdog I've had, found in Reykjavik! I get random cravings at night for this beautiful, savoury, delicious hotdog. I miss their crispy onions.

9. Arnastapi

I must say that Arnastapi is my favourite place in Iceland. So thankful I got to spend 2 hours there to enjoy the serenity and beauty of that place. I always feel sad listening to Sigur Ros songs now because they remind me of the place a lot. Walking along the cliff listening to Vaka and Ara Batur was just so eargasmic and lifegasmic really.

10. Jokulsarlon

And of course Jokulsarlon is another favourite. Well it's simply because it's the first time in my life that I see icebergs! And also I've been wanting to go there too. Unlike Arnastapi, which I didn't know of heh. I want to camp at Jokulsarlon one day when I go back to Iceland! :P

 11. The people

Of course, I feel that the interacting with the people of the country is the most important aspect of traveling. I did manage to chat with a few locals, but the shy me don't have the guts to take their photos. Except for one! Unnur. She's the guide for the Snaefellsnes Peninsula tour and she's really friendly. I asked her to pose for a photo here at Arnastapi and she gladly did! Generally the people in Iceland are very friendly and welcoming. Well I didn't meet anyone that left me with a negative impression so yes, I love Icelanders haha.

Right so here are eleven things I love about Iceland. There is obviously more than eleven things I love about this beautiful country. But I'll just stop for now! :)

Adhi In Iceland - Day 5

This is the last day of my trip in Iceland and it's one of the saddest days of my life. Okay not that sad but well, couldn't bear to leave this wonderful city! I've decided to make my last day a pretty easy and chill one. No tours nothing. Just a walking tour in Reykjavik and just spending my day walking around it! You know what I was so sad about leaving this city that I was feeling rather moodless. Most of the photos taken in this day were taken using my phone as I kept my camera in my bag, and just walked aimlessly around Reykjavik. Well my trusty S4 takes good photos!

 Godan Daginn Reykjavik

Although I slept late the night before, I started my day early. Had breakfast at the hostel again, cause I bought some food-stuff previously from 10-11. Then I set off at 8 AM walking around Reykjavik. Alas, I realised not many shops were opened, and I was also waiting for the post office to open. So after exploring some unexplored parts of the city, I went to 10-11 again to get an orange juice and sat down by the window while reading the Reykjavik Grapevine newspaper which is basically news and happenings around Reykjavik (and Iceland). And watch people go by too.

 Favourite drink over there which is orange, lime and ginger!

After that I went to the post office which is located beside 10-11 to send my postcards. Thankfully it was a very easy process of just getting the stamps and then giving it to the post office people and voila. I did some shopping at 10-11 before this and then I went back to my hostel to put it down because it's kinda heavy. Imagine carrying bags of liquorice and chocolates around Reykjavik! Haha. After that I went to Hallgrimskirkja again to go for my I Heart Reykjavik (IHR) walking tour!

 Pretty red wall with flower pots

The lady behind IHR is actually Audur, an awesome Reykjavik-ian who is really passionate about her city and her country (check out her website here). So we met at Hallgrimskirkja, there were umm 10 of us in total I think. Audur began by sharing with us the history of the church and also a bit of Iceland history. She's very informative and she answers our questions about the country too. Then went to the Einar Jonsson sculpture park which is located near the church. It's a pretty serene park that has this inspiring vibe to it. The sculptures created by Einar Jonsson is pretty inspiring to look at too. And he also created several sculptures around Reykjavik!

 Favourite sculpture in the park

After that we went around a few neighborhoods in Reykjavik and Audur gave us a bit of information about life in Reykjavik. I'm so enthralled by the colours and paintings and murals of the city. I wish my hometown can be filled with such beautiful murals too, instead of random graffiti and words that don't even make sense hah. I definitely learned a lot about Iceland and Reykjavik in particular in her tour. And all of my answers about this city were answered in the tour. Like I wondered why I see baby trolleys left outside cafes with the babies still inside! Well apparently it's a norm to do that in Iceland, a pretty eye-opener for me because here we're super protective of babies.

 One of my favourite murals in the city!

The tour continues on down along Skolavordustigur and we arrived in Arnarholl hill for a stop, where Audur gave us a small Icelandic lesson. And the tour continued on to the old parts of Reykjavik where she gave us the history and how the city progresses. The tour ends at around 12:30 I think, it was a pretty awesome tour and the thing I love about it is that the tour is by a Reykjavik-ian and I get to know the life and culture of the city. Not just notes and facts about famous landmarks that the city has. So takk fyrir Audur for the awesome tour! I highly recommend IHR to everyone visiting Reykjavik. Gotta book to check for availability before your trip though! :)

And guess what I stupidly forgot to gave her an Indonesian postcard that I bought from here! And to take a photo with her arrgghhh. Oh well nevermind I guess.

After the walking tour my plan was to go to the famous Blue Lagoon! Since I had some spare time before the bus leaves, I went to get a sandwich before heading off. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal pool that has sulphur and silica contents in it! Took a dip and went to swim around it, definitely a once in a lifetime experience I suppose. I thought the water is going to be hot but well uhh it's warm. Some parts of the lagoon is hotter than the other though.

 The un-swimmable part of the Blue Lagoon haha

Although there's a debate I read on internet to whether the blue lagoon is a tourist trap or not. Hmm okay the entrance fee is not cheap I must say. In my opinion you go to the Blue Lagoon for the experience. Because well, when else can you swim around a geothermal pool right. Well maybe in Japan or New Zealand or something. Besides, the place is very beautiful too. But if you ask me if it's a must to go when visiting Iceland? I'm fifty-fifty about that.

I went back to Reykjavik from the Blue Lagoon. It was 6 PM when I arrived back and I went haaaaaard of Reykjavik hah. I walked around Reykjavik again, visiting some places I went before and so on. I went to a shop called Fotografi which sells a lot of awesome photographs of Iceland and Reykjavik! I think most of the works (or all, not sure) are by a photographer called Ari Sigvaldason. I bought a photo of this guy in an astronaut suit in front of Hallgrimskirkja. I don't know why I was so attracted to it. Actually I saw it on the day when I arrived in Reykjavik but I was contemplating to get it or not but since I got some spare money I decided to get it! :P

 Awesome shop with awesome photographs

And in the shop there was a drawn-postcard of the same photo. I bought it as well, and when I was about to pay it, turned out it was the shop keeper, Julie, who drew that postcard! I was so amazed by it too because it looks awesome and almost similar to the photo (in an artistic way of course). Glad that she's happy that I bought it, she even took a photo of me with the postcard haha.

After that I walked along Laugavegur again, wandering to see what I'm going to have for dinner. While here, an old British lady stopped me and said hello. I was a bit shocked to know like omg someone knows me in this city haha. Turned out she was the same lady I shared a table with at the Sea Baron on Sunday! She remembered my face haha. She told me that she has retired and is exploring around Iceland. I'm so envious of her and at the same time admired her bravery. I told her I'm going home tomorrow, but gonna do the same as her when I retire heh. And she wished me safe travels and we parted ways. Man, she's like an inspiration to me!

 Skolavordustigur. And the best record shop in the world 12 Tonar

For dinner I decided to eat at Prikid which is the oldest cafe in Reykjavik. I over-did my dinner seriously. Ordered this huge burger, but I didn't expect it to be thaaaat huge. Couldn't finish the bun and fries, but I washed it all off with a pint of beer. Which somehow I got a bit tipsy after that while walking around Reykjavik hah. I ended my day at a cafe nearby called Kaffitar. Pretty awesome cafe with a nice ambience. I was just writing my journal again, and feeling really sad that I'm about to leave this city in hours! But well I felt happy too, it's a dream come true.

 Kaffitar

Months ago I was back at home watching the music video of Retro Stefson song "Glow", which is shot around Reykjavik. And I was wishing so bad to be there and to walk around the city listening to the song. Well to realised I was doing exactly that gave me a smile on my face really :') I went back to my hostel to pack my bags, bathe, and then with a lot of sadness I went to sleep. It was like 12 AM I think. And I had to wake up at 2:30 to catch my flight.

 To realise that you're doing what you always dreamed off is just... Priceless

And I woke up late! I woke up at 2:50 instead. So I rushed like mad and then went off to check out and this and that. But I ended up early. Suppose to catch the 4:00 bus but I was at the terminal at like 3:10 I think. So I was just sitting down, enjoying my time of solitude in this city before I left. It was a pretty sad morning. Totally moodless. Didn't listen to music, I was just staring outside the bus window in emptiness. But well, all good things must come to an end.

 My hostel dorm! Guess which one is my bed :P

Enjoying my last moments with the city in Solitude

So I went to the airport, checked one of my luggage and walked around the airport before I flew back to Helsinki and made my way home. That's the end of my adventure here!

I really love Reykjavik. I fell in love with it before I came here, and I fell in love with it more after. I just love everything about the city. The people, the culture, the colours and the architecture. Walking around Reykjavik was once a dream, but not it is no longer one. I feel extremely sad the day I left Reykjavik but I knew deep inside, how happy I was to know the dream you've been holding on to for years has now been realised by yourself.

Takk Fyrir Reykjavik and Iceland. Till we meet again :')

Adhi In Iceland - Day 3

Continuing with day 3, I went for the Golden Circle tour with Iceland Horizon this time! Golden Circle is like probably the most visited route/sights by tourists in Iceland. It consists of three places, Geysir, Gullfoss Waterfall and Thingvellir National Park. I've decided to try Iceland Horizon cause of the awesome reviews I read from Trip Advisors and well, they are really good! I'm sorry but I forgot my guide's name but I think it starts with W. Willy? He's a really great guide though, informative, fun, he has lots of Icelandic jokes too and he's always happy to answer your questions :)

So anyway I got picked up at the hostel at 8.30-ish. I went with a few people too, three Americans who were also in Reykjavik and then the other six were people from a cruise ship which was sailing from Norway, Faroe Islands and England! Damn I would love to cruise in that route one day. Seems like an awesome retirement plan. I didn't get the chance to know the names of the Americans but they were fun people and also the only people I talked with during the whole day hah.

 View from on top of the hill at Geysir

Our first stop was Geysir which is a geothermal area. The area consists of hot springs and a few geysers. Some are still sprouting hot water but there are also a few which no longer do. There is also a hill where we can climb up to see a great view of the area. It reminds me of Tangkuban Perahu back here! I kinda realise how Iceland and Indonesia are quite similar heh.

Bubbling hot, you can like feel the heat nearby!

There's the famous Strokkur Geyser which sprouts water at like 20 metres high. And it sprouts every 3-10 minutes-ish. I counted like it sprouted at the 3rd minute and then the 10th minute after the previous explosion. This makes it difficult for us to record/take photos of it sprouting hahaha. I was holding my phone on my left hand and my DSLR on my right. Whenever it sprouted I was trying to record on my phone and shoot on my camera. I failed at taking a proper video of it sprouting but I managed to take a few continuous shots of it sprouting so... Win win!

 Strokkur!

After Geysir was Gullfoss waterfall. I would say it's the 2nd grandest and most beautiful waterfall after Niagara! Although Niagara is big, there's something about Gulfoss that makes me feel really awed by its power and structure. There are actually two water-falls in Gulfoss (you can see it in the photo later). In the past there was a foreign investor who wanted to use it as an electricity generator but thankfully they failed to do so. Such natural beauty! I'm so glad it is protected now.

 Don't mess with Gullfoss

You can walk pretty near the waterfall. Almost froze my ass off there cause it was freaking cold due to the spraying water. And I was only wearing like 2 layers heh. You can also take a walk up from the waterfall area to have a higher point of view of the waterfall. It was a pretty windy day and it was quite cold but I enjoyed walking and admiring Gullfoss :)

 Froze my ass off taking this photo. Super cold!

After Gullfoss was our last stop which is Thingvellir national park. When I arrived there I knew that some scenes of Game of Thrones were shot there! It looks pretty similar indeed. Thingvellir was the site of the world's oldest parliament, when the first settlers to Iceland from Norway came in the late 800 AD. It is a truly scenic place and a lovely area to take a walk and enjoy nature's beauty.

A walk at Thingvellir :)

Thingvellir to me is an amazing place too cause it's a place where you can walk along tectonic rifts! Before we arrived there we were driving along the Eurasian tectonic rift. And then when you arrive there you'll be walking near the American tectonic rift. And these rifts grow apart 2cm per year! As I walk along the rifts and touch them with my hands... I feel so amazed by earth really. Such wonder happening right in front of my eyes. Our world is so beautiful!

 Walking along these was just amazing

After Thingvellir we made our way back to Reykjavik. Thankfully we can choose where we wanna be dropped off. So since it was still like 4.30 PM I decided to explore more parts of Reykjavik and I got dropped off at the Harpa concert hall. So thankful to our wonderful guide, and the lovely 3 Americans I met for the lovely day! I highly recommend Iceland Horizon to those who are visiting Iceland. They also offer other tours, not just Golden Circle :)

Harpa Concert Hall

Harpa Concert Hall is located at Reykjavik Harbour and it's one of the most beautiful concert halls I've seen. The design is really unique and the interior design is just wow! Modern and artistic. Sadly I didn't get the chance to see the hall itself, just walking around the inside of the building. Pretty shutter happy inside there. Lots of people were taking photographs as well.

 Inside Harpa

About an 8 minute walk from Harpa, along the coastline, there's the famous Solfar or The Sun Voyageur sculpture facing the sea. It is created by Jon Gunnar Arnason and I really love how it is located near the sea, in fact facing it. I don't knoww why but the sculpture reminds me of Of Monsters and Men song "Little Talks" where the lyric goes like "Cause though the truths may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to short". Pretty nice place to sit by and watch the sea. However it was a pretty windy day that Sunday and I just want to get out of the harbour for a nice hot drink haha.

 Solfar // The Sun Voyageur

Walking along the Harbour I went to find a nice restaurant as recommended by my Lonely Planet Iceland Guidebook called the Sea Baron, famous for their lobster stew. After walking along the harbour I found it! The restaurant was full when I entered but thankfully as I placed my order, a few customers left. I shared a table with a lovely British lady. The restaurant is super cosy and you eat with other people on long tables so I love the communal feel to it. And yes, please try their lobster soup cause it's super awesome especially after walking in the cold weather! :P

Saegreifinn AKA Sea Baron

It was 6 PM when I finished eating so I spent the rest of the evening walking along Reykjavik once again. I just love that city and exploring its nook and crannies make me happy. I walked along Laugavegur which is like one of the two main shopping streets in Reykjavik. Reykjavik on Sunday was rather empty. Quite a lot of shops closed at like 6 or 7 PM. There were not as many people as the day before or when I arrived (Saturday and Friday). Still loved the walk though!

Laugavegur! Love the colourful ground 

(Not all of the street ground is painted though heh)

I ended my day at Cafe Babalu, also mentioned in my LP Guidebook. Love the inside of this cafe which makes you feel at home. And oh gosh they serve the best carrot cake I've had so far. So good that I da-baoed it back to the hostel for breakfast the next day. And also I wrote my postcards at the cafe. I wish I could stay longer there but I felt guilty for hogging the place for too long. Although to be honest you won't wanna leave that awesome cafe heh.

 Cafe Babalu. Must try their carrot cake!

My third day in Iceland was such an earth-mazing day. Seen so many wonders that our planet has and the places I went to were breathtaking. Also, walking along Reykjavik was just sweet and lovely. To be honest this third day wasn't much planned (except for Golden Circle). So without any plans, I just let my feet take me anywhere after dropping off at Harpa. Well I always feel that sometimes having no plans is the best plan of your trip! :)

Alright see you on the 4th day! 

Adhi In Iceland - Day 1.5

Right so I will begin to blog about my trip to Iceland! And I'm going to do it day by day. Now let me give a brief introduction to my trip first, since I didn't "announce" this trip prior to it. So I left Indonesia for Reykjavik on the 31st of July, flying to Singapore > Helsinki > Iceland. I reached Helsinki and Iceland on the 1st of August. And then I left Iceland on the 6th taking the same route (on the opposite direction of course), and reaching Indonesia back on 7th of August.

In Iceland, I took day-tours using Reykjavik Excursions (RE), which is like I would say the top tour company in Iceland, and also Iceland Horizon for one of my trip. I would love to travel in Iceland by my own (there is such programme called Iceland On Your Own by RE) but since I only have less than a week, I decided to get the most out of Iceland and go ahead with the day tours. Besides, I think it's a great way of traveling in a short time.

What I love about RE is that first, they have awesome and informative guides. Secondly, the day tour is not like those "typical" tour where you'll go to a spot for a few minutes, which the guide will talk for a long time to explain about the place and yeah. Sure you do have a limited time but I think (for me) it's enough time. And also the guide does all the explanations inside the bus before we arrived at the area so it was great. Plenty of time to take photos, absorb the surroundings and so on, provided you're smart with your time of course heh.

If I were to spend 2 weeks in Iceland I'll definitely go and explore it with a rental car though.

 Was on cloud 9 being here, seeing this sight :')

Anyway on the 1st of August, I arrived at Keflavik airpor at 4 PM, took a bus to Reykjavik and arrived at 5 PM ish. Checked into my hostel, which is Loft Hostel. Everything was smooth and easy. Went to my room and put down my bags etc and went ahead to explore Reykjavik. So happy to finally be in Reykjavik, this city which I've been dreaming of visiting for years! I went to the famous Hallgrimskirkja church first to take a bird's eye view of the city, then to Cafe Loki in front of it for dinner.

 Smoked salmon, sheep head jelly, mashed fish pie

I had the Icelandic plate number 2 which consists of smoked salmon, mashed fish pie and SHEEP HEAD JELLY, all on rye bread. The sheep head jelly taste like lamb which gamey-ness is increased by 89.7%. I love the mashed fish pie though, and the rye bread is divine. Pity I didn't get the chance to eat there again. After dinner I went to 12 Tonar which is a famous record store in Reykjavik. It is like the best music store ever. You can pick the CDs you're interested to listen to, the store keeper may make you coffee if you want, and you can chill and listen to your CDs. Bought all my favourite Icelandic artists albums, and also discovered a new band called Low Roar which is awesome too.

Searched for a phone SIM card at 10-11 (the Iceland version of 7-11) and got myself some snacks and drinks, then headed back to my hostel at 9 PM cause I was damn tired. And I had to wake up early the next day for my day trip to Snæfellsnes peninsula. Which... I couldn't sleep any longer at 5 in the morning probably thanks to jet lag. I had Kleina (Icelandic twisted doughnut, which I bought last night) for breakfast at the hostel dining area with a fellow Korean backpacker from my dorm too. She's leaving for Vik though, and then to Akureryri for trekking.

 The view on the way to Snæfellsnes peninsula

Snæfellsnes peninsula is located on the western part of Iceland. It takes about an hour to travel there. Our first town stop was Stykkisholmur, which is a harbour town that is so beautiful! There is a cliff near the harbour where you can climb to get a beautiful view of the town, and the sea across it. We spent about 1.5 hours here and I was just enjoying myself taking photos and sitting on top of the cliff enjoying the view and the silence. It's so beautiful over there, really.

 Stykkisholmur harbour

Next we stopped by Kirkjufell mountain along the way to Olafsvik. I love that mountain a lot, looks very beautiful, and also... It's in the cover of Sigur Ros Heima DVD HAHAHA. But it's pretty though! Just look at the photo haha. Didn't make a full stop at Olafsvik, it was just for toilet break. But I was so happy to see that venue which Sigur Ros played at during their Heima Tour. It was the opening concert for Heima DVD too. So excited to see it heh.

Kirkjufell mountain!

After Olafsvik we went to Djupalon which is a beach that is covered in black basalt stones! It's a pretty serene beach. And before the beach there's a mossy lava field that's quite breathtaking to see as well. The beach is located with the Snæffelsjokull volcano behind it. It's the famous volcano from Jules Verne's Journey To The Centre of The Earth. Sadly there were clouds covering the volcano but seeing its grandeur and majesty feels quite emotional too.

 Djupalon beach

After Djupalon was Hellnar, which is a small fishing village lined with summer houses. There are still some residents there while other houses are summer houses for vacations owned by people. There's a big cave near the beach where lots of birds can be found. Probably an awesome place for these birds to make love and ensure its continuation. I love Hellnar. It's pretty quaint and serene but the birds made the place alive and kicking! There was a cafe there as well, should be run by locals.

 Hellnar, see the cave?

Then comes my favourite place in this peninsula - Arnastapi. It is located a few minutes drive away from Hellnar. It is like the most beautiful place I've ever been to! Beaches, cliffs and blue skies. It was such a wonderful day to be in Arnastapi. We were given ample time to walk along the coastline (along the cliffs!). Spent a great amount of time sitting down writing on my journal while listening to Sigur Ros. There was a moment where I was listening to Ara Batur and I almost cried. Because everything around me (and in my ears) are so beautiful. They just touch your heart.

 Arnastapi

Our last stop for the day was Ytri Tunga. It's a place where we can see seals! And... Well we were "lucky" to find one although it is like 20 metres away from us haha. I was just enjoying the serenity of the beach which is filled with huge rocks. The sky was blue, the sea breeze blowing. Perfect way to end this trip at the peninsula. The weather was very kind because it was raining in Reykjavik before I left. But at the peninsula it was blue sky all day every day! :P

 Ytri Tunga. The seal was on the other side in front! Heh

And then we made our way back to Reykjavik and that's all for day 2.

Snæfellsnes peninsula is my favourite place in Iceland so far. It is beautiful, and it combines the things I love in this life - beaches, blue skies and empty spaces. It is definitely a place you want to visit if you love seeing landscapes and nature. A great place for a walk too, to forget about life. I would love to visit it again by myself in the future, probably in a camper van where I can enjoy all these great sights of nature fully, and to my fill. Missing Snæfellsnes peninsula so much now.

Alright continuing to day three in the next post! :) Hope you enjoyed reading this day 1.5!