iceland
one island. two lovers. sixteen days.
just the two of us
To us, marriage is a vow between two people and their creator and we felt there is no better expression of creation than nature. Our goal was to take a trip together where we would be with each other in one of the most naturally beautiful places in the world — enter Iceland!
We went around the island in sixteen days and we were never without a view.
From thundering waterfalls, hiking extinct volcanoes, relaxing in milky blue hot springs and exploring otherwordly ice caves, it was impossible to contemplate anything apart from how lucky we are. In the infinite enormity and complexity of the universe, somehow, our two little souls had found their way together to exist with one another on such a beautiful planet.
our favorite highlights
During our first full day in Iceland, we drove the Golden Circle to visit some of the island's top attractions. Unfortunately our luggage was delayed, so we didn't spend a lot of time on foot sans hiking boots and thermal underwear. We still made the best of our day and witnessed some beautiful sites before we got the call that our luggage was on the way to our hotel (yay!).
We stayed in a total of 7 cities around the island which meant we were on the road quite a bit. Luckily for us, we were never without a view - from snowstorms on the west coast to clear blue skies on the east. And best of all- only a single, post-mortem Prince CD to listen to on repeat.
Icelanders are very fond of their baths and spas as we came to learn, and after visiting Mývatn we definitely could see why. Milky blue water that was just the perfect level of hot, a bar that you could swim up to and crisp, cool air all came together to make for some much needed relaxation after a harrowing day of hiking an extinct volcano. Best of all, there was only a handful of people there besides us- one of the perks of visiting Iceland in the winter!
Akureyri is a cozy little town in the north of Iceland, situated along a fjord and nestled in between mountains. It was the perfect winter setting for Mia to experience the slopes for the first time. Not so perfect- the unanticipatedly strong effects of gravity.
As Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Iceland, melts as winter gives way to spring every year, chunks of the glacier break off and gather in a lake next to the glacier. From there, they make their way down a channel and out to the coast. By the time they make it to the beach, the chunks of ice have been worn down to crystalline chunks which sparkle and glisten just like the beach's namesake.
An absolute highlight of the trip. Under the same glacier where Matt Damon betrayed the entire human race in Interstellar, we were transported to another world as we explored an ice cave that put postcards to shame. Formed by melting ice carving channels under the glacier, the ice caves are constantly changing and are different every season. We were lucky enough to see the cave on one of the few clear and sunny days of the trip, which made the ice glow a stunning aqua blue.
Upon arriving in Akureyri, our kind hosts recommended Hlíðarfjall as a great place to ski. Travis showed Mia the basics before going on the big slope, where Mia tried and tried until one nasty fall resulted in frustration and she walked the rest of the way down. It's safe to say, this isn't her sport. Travis was still able to get a few rounds in before we went back to our tiny home, ate and crashed.
We saw quite a few impressive waterfalls during the trip, but Skógafoss claimed the title of most memorable due to its sheer size and how close we were able to get to it. With no handrails or fences to stand in our way, the only thing to stop us from getting as close as we could was the edge of the water itself. Luckily for us, the hotel was not far away, so we didn't have to shiver very long in soaked clothes.
Yep, that's exactly what you think it is. We learned a lot about penises here.
The main event. What we planned the whole trip around. A natural phenomenon that only appears between 9pm-3am on clear nights with significant solar activity. Perhaps next time we will choose something that isn't so elusive and also can be seen at a time of our choosing, not only at a time that you barely want to get out of bed after a long day to close the blinds, let alone get dressed again and go stand out in the cold.
We had travelled almost 4,000 miles for the chance to see them though, so we begrudgingly bundled back up every night that the forecast said the chances were good to spot them. We got to see them three times, and they were the perfect backdrop for us to share vows with each other.
If you saw Zac Efron's show on Netflix (Down to Earth with Zac Efron, worth a watch), you may remember seeing this. We got to see the process of baking bread in the ground using geothermal heat. The bread wasn't that great, but still quite tasty. Best part- your house doesn't burn down if you leave this oven on, you just end up with a very unappetizing chunk of flour and sugar.
We spent the last three days of our trip in Reykjavík. We probably encountered more people here than we did around the entire island, which was a huge shift for us, but we were still able to find some nice spots to enjoy.
Iceland has the freshest tomatoes we've ever tasted! At this restaurant inside of a greenhouse in which 6 tons of tomatoes are grown daily, we indulged in tomato beer, tomato ravioli and cheesecake with a green tomato jam, all of which made with tomatoes grown inches away from our table.
Side note: This is also where Mia realized her skin has not been itchy because of the cold weather, but because she has a slight nightshade allergy. Fun.
We spent the last three days of our trip in Reykjavík and probably encountered more people in this city more than we did around the entire island. This was a huge shift for us after basically being alone for 12 days, but we still found some cool spots to enjoy.
If you made it this far, wow! You must really like us. And you're in luck - these were just some of the highlights! If you still haven't gotten your fill of Mia and Travis, there's a lot more below. Enjoy and thanks for being you, whoever you are.
