After saying all of our goodbyes, we finally left for our dream trip around the world on July 6th! First pit stop was Chicago where we were able to have some farewell tour drinks with some close friends prior to heading to O’hare. Jacke set the tone early on what to expect for the remainder of the trip within minutes…. as we are on our way to the airport I get a call from Marcus, “who left their backpack?” Jacke didn’t leave an earring or hair tie, but an entire backpack was left 🙂 So we had to turn around and head back to the airport prior to leaving for real this time. Plane ride went smoothly. Jacke slept the entire time, while I tried (never works).

Now that we are jumping in joy and freaking out that the day has finally come…. We didn’t really have much planned out for our arrival. We made our way to our Airbnb and departed for downtown Reykjavik. It was a very quaint capital, but had a lot to offer in terms of things to do, places to see, places to drink, anddd more places to drink. We began walking aimlessly throughout the streets getting lost and loving life. Headed to the famous church Hallgrimskirkja (don’t ask us how to pronounce anything here) and went up top (a must if you are visiting), then went for some drinks. I don’t know why, but the most appealing place to grab an overpriced drink was at a place by the church with a grass roof. Being the “undercover” tourists we are… “do you have to mow your roof? haha” “actually we do!”. We later saw a 12 year old clipping the grass with sheers while making a pitstop.

Next we ventured home to get ready for the Blue Lagoon! We went at night based off recommendations as it gets extremely crowded with tourists during the morning and day (best to be the first or last people there). Although this is a must, it isn’t cheap if you are traveling on a budget as it came in at about $175 for the two of us. The experience was worth it as we left looking like 10 year old raisins walking out of the lagoon after 3 hours. After the algae masks… I walked out looking like Brad Pitt in his prime and Jacke left looking like Heidi Klum, but our bodies likened the look of 80 year olds. Our bodies later recovered to their normal form and the booze wore off… back to reality *sigh*.

Day 2 was even more eventful as we were heading up north to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula day trip! We were guessing that we may spend around 6-7 hours here, but that quickly turned to 12. Our jaws dropped at every turn or hill we went over. By the end of the day, we had to force ourselves to quit pulling over so we could finally make it home. We saw everything ranging from mountains, waterfalls (felt like 100s), lava fields, volcanos, little churches/chapels, ocean views, beaches, a glacier, sheep (probably more sheep than people here), and wild horses. Needless to say, Iceland may have become our new favorite destination, and we’ve only seen a fraction of what this place has to offer. We went to specifically see two spots; the Glymur Waterfall (rained nonstop and didn’t make it back) and the Kirkjufell (underwhelming walking up, but mind blowing when you turn around), but ended up driving around the rest of the peninsula and seeing much, much more!! We cant wait for the other day trips we have planned as this was supposed to be a “decent” drive.

Takeaways from the first couple of days:

Iceland is crazy expensive – expect to spend double what you plan on with the standard $25 cocktail, $15 beer, $50 for the cheapest boxed wine (I guess we wont be drinking much while we are here), $8/gal in gas, and meals starting out around $25 plus, $175 for the Blue lagoon for 2, etc. That being said, it’s worth every penny.

Iceland is beautiful – We are literally going to force all of our Nature lover friends to visit here (Sebastian may never leave).

Learning more about my girlfriend already – Jacke likes to sleep more than I thought. If the car doesn’t stop every 15 minutes, expect her to be passed out. Naps for days. Oh and she brings a new meaning to the term “dogs” when people reference there feet. I thought I might pass out on the car ride home.