Category: International Travel
This is specifically for our international travels
Blue Lagoon (Photos Only)
Seljalandsfoss (Photos Only)
Geysir to Reykjavik (Photos Only)
Secret Lagoon – Buubble Hotel (Photos Only)
Geysir (Photos Only)
Cruising Around Iceland (Photos Only)
Iceland – September 2016
If you’re in the US and are near an Icelandair Gateway city, I highly suggest visiting mainland Europe first and then Iceland part of Icelandair’s Stopover program. It’s essentially two vacations in one. Also, if you’re flying from the US, even though it’s weird, flying on September 11th is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than other days. My wife and I have traveled on that day numerous times and you can save a fair amount of money.. I felt horrible when I realized why, but I cannot personally do anything to change the connotation of that day for Americans.
Renting a vehicle in Iceland is cheaper than doing tours, but more stressful since you’re driving around a foreign country. If you opt for a vehicle, get a GPS with your rental! However, it might not be synced with the current roads. My wife and I got a GPS and used offline Google maps on our phones, and there were several times our GPS system didn’t recognize the road we were on because it was from 2010. I found a reasonable priced SUV a week before our trip and can provide the company to you if you want.
Grindavik was our first stop in Iceland and we loved it. We were in Germany and Switzerland before Iceland and found hotels/hostels last minute based on where we thought we wanted to go. Grindavik is a sleepy town, but Papa’s Pizza is AWESOME. We went twice in two days FROM Reykjavik.
We started our journey via the southern route since we were staying at the Bubble Hotel and it’s in a kind of hidden area with cryptic directions or GPS coordinates sent to you the day before your check in.. On the way to Seljaland Waterfall, we stumbled upon a free campground with bathroom. They had signs point to various cities around the world and your distance to them. Seljaland Waterfall is incredible and you can walk behind it in a little cavern.
The Bubble hotel was a bit disappointing because it was raining and overcast most of the night, but I got a glimpse of starry glory for about ten minutes and it was incredible. The Secret Lagoon was our first hot springs and it was enjoyable. It’s not at tourist as the Blue Lagoon and it’s relaxing and chill. It’s WAY more remote since you’re a few hours away from the city.
Gullfoss is north of the Secret Lagoon and it’s picturesque. If you don’t take the right at the top off the hill to the falls, there’s bathrooms and a Visitors Center. I would advise not hiking the trail from the VC, since it’s a trek and if it’s raining you’ll be miserable. We spent the night in a Horse Farm/Hostel in between Gullfoss and Geysir. Nothing really to write home about, but it was an interesting stop.
Geysir, is on the way to Gullfoss, but we stopped by it afterward since it was on the way back and we stayed in a horse camp hostel nearby. Even though the country seems small we didn’t make it that far north. Maybe next time..
In Reykjavik, Lebowski Bar is awesome. My wife wanted to see the Penis Museum as well. It’s interesting… I’m not going divulge too many details because if you’ve made it to Reykjavik you should stop by. Also, fun fact: Reykjavik is the Northern most Capital City in the world. If you’re into electronic music, Vinyl is cool as well and it’s Vegan only food if you’re into that. If you’re American and are feeling homesick, there’s a place called American Bar that is full of Americana stuff to transport you back to the home of the red, white and blue. Reykjavik has several themed Bars which is kind of quirky; we did not stop in all of them, but the Chuck Norris themed bar has some funny quotes etched on their windows. El Santo had a good happy hour and decent margarita. The margarita was WAY BETTER than the ones we had an Ecuador. Different story: my wife and I honeymooned in Ecuador/Galapagos. Jennell wanted to stop at The Icelandic Phallological Museum. It was fascinating to see the varying sizes of penises for various Earth creatures. I think it’s worth a stop-in if you’ve made it to Reykjavik.
Hallgrimskirja was more beautiful than I imagined. It can be a quick stop, unless you want to go up to the top. The wait for the elevator when we were there last September was about forty-five minutes. I wanted to see the harbor and Viking ship display on our way out, but the roads were being blocked off for a race of some kind. The Viking museum on the way back to the airport is cool as well.
Blue Lagoon is pricey, but I had fun. I psyched myself up to go there for five years, so I had to see it in real life. We went from Reykjavik and it we about a forty-five to sixty minute drive from our hotel. The swim up bar was rad and I enjoyed seeing the landscape from the springs.
We made random stops throughout the southwestern side, but I cannot remember ever place we ate and stopped at. Jennell might chime in on things I forgot, but I think this is a good overview of Iceland.
Train to Montreux (photos only)
Montreux, 9/1
We went to Montreux without a real plan, and actually planning on going onto Bern later in the day. We put our luggage in the train station lockers and started heading down toward the waterfront. We had seen pictures of the castle Cheteau de Chillon , and this is why we chose this city.
We also heard that there was an iconic Freddie Mercury statue there, which we wanted to check out. We walked along the waterfront and saw a lot of art, and of course the statue of Freddie Mercury. He owned a studio in this city, which is one of the reason that many of the residents in the city love him. We got some photos with the statue, then continued on toward the castle.
We could see it on the other side of the lake, but didn’t realize how far away it was until after we were about halfway there (it was 4 kilometers away). When we finally got to the castle, we paid the admission and decided to do a self-guided tour (with the brochure they provided). This castle was overwhelming and really I don’t know what to say about it, so I say check out the pictures and if you ever get a chance check it out. After the castle, we decided to to take the bus back to the area of the train station and figure out the next steps. We got ice cream (which was WONDERFUL) and looked up places in Bern. By this time, it was about 5pm, so we ended up deciding to stay in Montreux that night. I decided that I wanted to try fondue, so we found a hotel near the train station and near the train station and near a fondue place that I found on yelp (Caveau des Vignerons Montreux). When we checked into the hotel, we saw that guests have the access to the pool at the casino across the street. However, it had closed a couple days before (August 31st) even though it was still hot outside. We decided to go down to the lake (lake Geneva) and swim there. The casino pool was open and there was a brief discussion on which one we should do, but, really, how many times can we say we swam in Lake Geneva? I’m glad that is what we chose to do, as the water was great. There were “no swimming” signs everywhere, but there were sections that looked like it was made for people to swim. There were even lounge chairs set up in the area. After the swim, we headed toward the fondue place. It was wonderful. Also, I didn’t realize that there was a difference between meat and cheese fondue (I was envisioning meat that you dip in cheese). I’m glad the server spoke English and explained the difference! We also got the creme brulee, which was delicious as well. After dinner, we decided to stop at the Hotel bar and ended up talking with a doctor who was there for a medical conference.
Where we stayed: Hotel Helvetie
