In the Middle of Nowhere?!: Iceland

I've never actually thought much of Iceland and when Mr. Special first mentioned we should go there I was a bit dubious, what's there to do? Especially during winter.... COLD! I'm not really a fan of cold, not to mention I haven't owned decent pair of boots or winter coat for years... And now we're going to officially the coldest capital in the world...

Also the oddest thing happened, one evening there was a proper snowstorm, you couldn't really see anything in front of you, but the next morning ALL the snow was gone, literally everything melted overnight! I've never seen anything like it. There's always a pile of snow somewhere that takes ages to melt etc but no not in Iceland! So weather wise we got kind of both proper winter and a glimpse of what the landscape looks like in the summer.

Reykjavik has a really nice small town feel to it and you can walk everywhere within the city limits :) We accidentally stumbled upon the Harpa building and spontaneously decided to check the inside of the building out as well and I'm so glad we did because we happened to be there just for the start of a free concert from the Oxford University's choir. (they were performing in the Hallgrimskirkja the next evening for a fee).

Harpa building inside

There are tons of souvenir shops all around, basically every other shop is selling souvenirs. Also you'll see loads of excursion minibuses driving around because nearly every tour you book comes and picks you up from your hotel! Super stressfree and comfortable (unless they forget about you). But beware of the prices! Everything is freaking expensive! A 1000krona is about £8 and hardly anything is under a thousand krona... meals 2 to 3 to 4 thousand per course!

Foooooooood

The cutest postcard ever!

There were a few setbacks like the horse riding being cancelled last minute :( ; driving around for a total 5 hours to chase the northern lights but ended up only seeing a very very faint green strip in the sky (LOADS of stars though). And yes whenever you're never any water, especially in the shower it STINKS like rotten eggs!

This is what the horrible smell looks like (Geysir)

Long story short I freaking LOVED it! Would even class it as one of the best trips I've ever taken and here's why:

The BLUE LAGOON

Yes, everyone goes there. And yes it is magical. More so probably in winter when there's minus degrees and snow on the ground/mountains surrounding the lagoon. The seconds you have to spend in the freezing cold in bikinis just make the hot water even more incredible, plus the steam on the water. And yes the water Is milky blue :) And the lagoon is HUGE. At first I was a bit gutted when the only time available was at noon, that's the busiest time and reading some reviews about it I was expecting crowds and near impossible to move in the water etc. We did have to wait in the queue to get in for about 15mins but the lagoon itself is so big that everyone kind of disappeared in it, especially if you went a little bit further from the immediate entrance.

I took the photos with my new phone, no special waterproof case or anything... Mr. Special FREAKED OUT :D He was so tense "What if you drop it blah blah blah". But the thing is I'm not generally clumsy, and why all of a sudden I would start dropping my phone in there? Yes I know stakes are higher since it is in water but it was all good :)

Outside the building where the water is freezing

And another memorable moment has to be Mr. Special voluntarily paying about £20 for a panini at the café :D I told him it was hella expensive, especially at the Blue Lagoon café, but he only realised just HOW expensive it was a little later :D And he won't shut up about it and tells everyone who dares ask about our trip.

Ok loads of more pics to finish this post