Snowy Sidewalks and Steamy Lagoons - Day 1 in Iceland

Gođan dagin! That means good day in Icelandic!

So after a very covid Christmas, Mama Beebe and I took off for an arctic blast vacation. My goal was lagoon by day, northern lights by night. Reykjavik is only 5 hours from Boston, so I couldn’t resist a “quick, easy, low season” trip, though it was none of those things between Christmas and New Years! Interestingly enough, the weather in Iceland looked like it was similar to the last week in  Our flight left in the evening of 12/27, so we were ready for a red eye experience. We landed a little before 5am and thanks to motherly recommendation on seat selection, were a few of the first through passport control and customs. We were greeted by Jost, our driver, and whisked away to a hotel right by the airport where we were given a few hours to sleep. That was a great little perk I might add. We were able to sleep until 11am, get dressed, and head into central Reykjavik where we were staying. Our drive went past the new lava fields that were still steaming, after the 9 eruptions that happened this year. 

Once we headed out, the sun was out… well, not exactly out, but it was light out. It’s light out here between about 10am and 4pm, but we didn’t exactly see the sun on the first day… I think because we’re so high in altitude (66° N- I know this because there is a popular store here with that name) that the actual sunrise/sunset is somewhat irrelevant.   

Once we checked in to our real hotel we went for a walk around Reykjavik. Hotel Exeter is right next to the waterfront, so it was an easy walk to Harpa, the concert hall and concert venue. Designed by Henning Larsen and Batteríiđ (don’t ask me to pronounce that) with a facade by Olafur Eliasson, the building was super cool and looks like it was inspired by the northern lights and the basalt columns that happen with lava flow. Pretty epic space I hadn’t seen before.







From there we walked along the water to a sculpture that is a homage to the sun called Sun Voyager. It looks a little like a Viking ship but supposedly is more about the sun than about sailing or history.  We headed into the city and up to Hallgrimskirkja, the main cathedral at the top of the little hill in the center of the City. It’s so simple and elegant, super majestic looking over the city. We finished our walk with a cinnamon bun at this great bakery, we got the last one in the shop!







After taking some time to unpack in the room, we headed to the Sky lagoon. This was a late addition the trip but because I liked it so much last time, I was happy to go again. This place is like a true spa, and we again were able to do the seven step ritual- main pool, cold plunge, dry sauna, cold mist, body scrub, wet sauna, shower, and we finished with this lovely wellness shot of cranberry tea (a new addition since April). We then hung out in the spa for a little while with a glass of rose; at this point it was pitch black at 5:30 pm so it was quite mystical in the lagoon.
 








Our dinner reservation was at Sumac, selected by my mom. This was a delicious Mediterranean restaurant on the main shopping street, actually super close to the hotel Sara and I stayed at in April. We did the tasting menu (which was $100 per person!) and it was so delicious… except by the time we were done with the tapas we were full! It was a great way to end our first day in Reykjavik!









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