I ended up in Iceland on a whim. I was purchasing my tickets to go for a 7-day training with a client in Manchester, UK (England) in November 2016. The best fare ended up to be Icelandair and during the booking processes on their website there was a pop up that basically said, “Wait, if you want to go to Iceland for up to 7 days we’ll drop you off in Iceland for free before, during or after your trip.” Well who WOULDN’T want to go to Iceland, right? And the world isn’t going to end if I extend my trip for a day. So I take the plunge, then book a $50 rental car and a $150 VRBO hostel, and I’m ready to go.

After an intense but SPECTACULAR week of work in the UK (and our client arranging a fun, touristy trip to the Manchester Christmas Market and High Tea the final afternoon) it was time for my adventure.

It was Remembrance Day in the UK (also Veterans Day US) and at the Manchester airport they announce two minutes of silence at 11:00 AM. Not one sound, no cell phones, no dish noises, nothing. Very moving and memorable!

I arrive in Iceland at 3:00 and at the airport I take half an hour to sort out some work e-mails and make some Skype calls while I have free wifi, download an offline roadmap app, trade in some cash for Icelandic coin, get some snacks for the road, pick up the rental car and then I’m off with my cute little manual transmission at 4: 30.

Unfortunately, it is now dark and intermittently pouring (and I am a teensy bit disappointed as I had been envisioning a lingering road trip with northern lights en route). I’m on a road with narrow shoulders and sharp edges I am pretty sure can suck a tire into hardened lava-land and I have declined the extra insurance on the advice of my attorney; as a result it is a LONG 2+hour drive to Heradsskolinn Hostel in Laugarvatn. (I should add that in the daytime/no rain/not exhausted this road is perfectly FINE and in retrospect I would definitely recommend renting a car.)

I arrive safely, find the VRBO, then drive a block and find what looks to be a restaurant with a sign that says “open” Icelandic and bop in. The Linden Restaurant turns out to be a quaint and peaceful oasis, with a lovely wine and a fish special (Blue Ling) that to die for. I enjoy just sitting a bit, listening to the laughing/singing/foreign languages at one large table that came in after I arrived.

I check in at the hostel at 8:30 (a beautiful converted schoolhouse with a small stark white room all to myself, which is a bit of a surprise for a hostel) then I realize that I’ve almost forgotten the REASON I booked this particular VRBO was because it was next door to Fontana geothermal baths. I whip on my swimsuit, run next door, find I don’t have enough money, run back, and then I’m in 100+ degree water outside in 40 degrees, wind and rain, and it’s spectacular. I stay until 10 and it’s hopping; the contents of a tour bus have invaded and I hear at least three languages in addition to English. I especially enjoy the geothermal steam bath (my Finnish grandmother is nodding here in silent approval); a steamy 118 degrees, the sound of the hot springs gurgling underneath the wood below my feet, steam everywhere and the smell of sulfer from the bowels of the earth.

I set the alarm on Saturday morning for 7:30 (if you know me you know I’m not a morning person, but I have a plane to catch at 4 PM and the rental to return so I have to keep on schedule.) My plan is to go to see the Geyser (Geysir Geothermal Field Haukadalur) another 30 minutes travel away from the airport. I happily find I am the very first one there (in the dark), although two other people park their car before me because I was busy getting cash (for the second time, incidentals are expensive, a cup of plain coffee was $4.25 USD). I step in a big muddy muck because it is freezing out and I expect the mud to be frozen, but it isn’t because of the hot springs. The entire area is AMAZING, plumes of steam everywhere and the geyser intermittently erupting; I carry my coffee and stroll as morning catches up with me. As I leave I’m so glad it worked out this way; all the traffic and busses are coming my way from Reykjavik, and I’m happy to see them whiz by in the opposite direction.

By now it is light and, with all the stress and dark the night before, it is like I have been magically transported somewhere new and majestic, snowy mountains surround me. I drive slowly (I can, because everyone is going the other direction) just taking it all in, stop to chat with some Icelandic horses, pulling off to the side of the road whenever I fancy, enjoying the fact that it is snowing and I am secure in my winter driving skills, while taking a million pictures that will never do it all justice. I then drive through Pingvellir National Park where I walk between two continents (the North American and Eursian plates) at Stekkjargja, take a short hike to see the majestic blue Oxararfoss (waterfall), it is all just stunning.

Then that’s it, I’ve got to get going. I make myself NOT stop and take pictures a million other places, enjoy the fact that I am good at two lane traffic circles because there are many, have a little trouble getting gas (don’t ask), trouble finding the rental car return, but I make it and as I write this I’m sitting in the plane, chasing sunset home. Because of the time change I’ll land at almost the same time as I took off, which is amazing.

If at any point you can go to Iceland, do it. It is insane that I got up this morning sipping coffee warming my hands in Strokur steam, and tonight I’ll sleep in my own bed.

D