grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • My Thoughts on Publishing
  • SHOP!
  • Garden
  • Food
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter

Greetings from Iceland! (Days 1 & 2)

May 25, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner 5 Comments

Greetings from Iceland!

Greetings from Iceland! Inย two days we’veย already seen so much it’s difficult for me to get my thoughts down on paper (or onto my blog). We flew into Reykjavik (Dallas to Boston to Reykjavik) which made for a long day of travel. We checked into ourย hotel around two a.m. Sinceย it was still light outside, it didn’t feel so late. Plus, it was only nine p.m. according to our internal clocks.

Day One

Day One was spent exploring Reykjavik with no real plan. No plans are often the best plans. We were drawn to Hallgrimskirkjaโ€”the Church of Hallgrimur. Thisย stunning Evangelical-Lutheran churchย towers over the center of town. A trip to the top ofย the 73 meter high tower provided a bird’s eye view of the city with the sea all around. The whole thing was super easy, too. Walk inside, pay 800 ISK (which is about $8), and rideย the elevator up with zeroย wait. In other words, the exact opposite of the ordeal that is the Empire State building.

Leif Erikson

Reykjavik from the tower
Hallgrimskirkja Church

Another highlight from Day One was visiting the Settlement Museum. This museum provided great historical background on Reykjavik andย is built around an actual dig site which appealed to the wannabe geologist in me. Unfortunately I took no pictures.

Dinner at Messinn was a highlight, too. Arctic Char = delish.

Messinn

Day Two

Day Two was a day of diverse terrain. In the span of a few hours, weย saw ourย first glacier, soaked in a natural hot lagoon, and walked across lava fields.

My pictures in no way do the day justice.

Geysir Hot Springs

Geysir Hot Springs

Faxi Waterfall

Faxi Waterfall

รžingvellir

Oh, and we stood on the edge of the Eurasianย tectonic plate and looked at the North American tectonic plate.

My impressions of Iceland so far…

  • What aย clean, eco friendly place! The air is some of theย freshest in the world. Theย water, filtered through lava rocks, is pure with no treatment. The entire island is heated geo thermally from natural hotย springs. It doesn’t take long to figure out the whole country feels alive with hot steam escaping from cracks and crevices and cold water bubbling acrossย lava fields.
  • There’s a mystical, magical feeling to this landย steeped inย Viking history, old architecture, a sun that never quite sets (not this time of year anyway), birds that sing and thrill all night outside our balcony windows.
  • The seafood! Pulled straight from the ocean, it couldn’t be more fresh.
  • I love the bright, light, minimal Scandinavian-style decor everywhere. Colorful houses in Reykjavik remind me of those from a Monopoly game.
  • I’m fascinated by the bathrooms. So far, every bathroom I’ve visited (and I never pass up a bathroom) is straight out of Architectural Digest. And, there are two flush choicesโ€”regular and extra strong for those big jobs. LOL.
  • The flowers blooming in Iceland now are the same ones that bloomed in Fayetteville in February. Tulips and daffodils. And growing conditions must be ideal for dandelions because they are abundant, growing on long stems much like daffodils.
  • The weather changes every couple of hours.
  • No tipping is expected anywhere. When a restaurant runs your credit card, there’s no place to add aย tip. Instead of living off tips, employees are paid a real wage. What a concept.

Icelandic toilet

Icelandic dandelions

What can I say? I take pictures of toilets and weeds.

Off to enjoy Day Three now. Later!

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Faxi Waterfall

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Golden Triangle, Iceland, Reykjavรญk, travel

Wanna receive posts via email? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. HarryNancyWooten says

    May 25, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Felt like we were there with you! I love how you describe every place you visit- have fun- can’t wait until tomorrow!

    Reply
  2. creecy33Barbara Tate says

    May 25, 2017 at 10:18 am

    I am certainly enjoying “our” trip to Iceland.

    Reply
  3. Colene says

    May 26, 2017 at 8:34 am

    Very interesting! Looking forward to more pictures and updates.

    Reply
  4. Jack says

    May 3, 2019 at 10:56 am

    8000isk would be about 80 usd. I think you meant 800isk in your post. ๐Ÿ™‚ enjoyed reading your content!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      May 3, 2019 at 12:58 pm

      Thank you I corrected it! (I was never good at math LOL.)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Prior Posts

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta Monarch butterflies Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday

Books by Talya Boerner / Purchase in Grace Grits SHOP

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

What’s Trending?

  • Sunday Letter: 05.07.23
  • Sunday Letter: 04.23.23
  • Sunday Letter: 04.16.23
  • Sunday Letter: 04.09.23
  • Sunday Letter: 04.02.23

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 ยท Web Hosting By StrataByte