Iceland
Like another world...
It was the summer of 2021, the world was navigating the "new normal" era. Covid had pretty much stopped everyone in their tracks and halted most international travel but it was slowly starting to revitalize. I was pregnant with my youngest son when my friend (who conveniently lives next door to us) yelled across our fence and said "Holly! Flights to Iceland are so cheap! We should go!" That was it. We booked our flights and headed to Iceland that September.
Not only was this my first international trip since becoming a mother, it was the first time I've traveled while pregnant. I was fresh into my second trimester and truthfully, it was kicking my ass. My travel companion Emily, was in incredible physical shape and is naturally a very peppy person. I was a tired, moody, hormonal, pregnant woman who could no longer button her pants. I extended many preempted apologies to my sweet friend who patiently took on the harrowing task of traveling with her pregnant friend. I hated the thought of slowing her down but my body was merely a vessel at that point. All of my energy went into growing a tiny human. The first travel day was the roughest. The late flight from Minneapolis to Reykjavik was only 6 hours but I didn't sleep one second of it. At 6:30 AM we landed, got through customs at and onto a bus to Reykjavik. I was pretty sure I was dying and we still had a whole day to get through before we could check into out Airbnb.
Our Airbnb was perfectly located in the center of the city. Close to shopping and restaurants, and only a few blocks from where our guided tours were booked. We couldn't check in until 3:00 PM so we had time to burn but were running critically low on energy to burn. I pouted. I cried. I laughed. I regretted agreeing to the trip altogether until we stumbled upon a restaurant called Grái Kötturinn. We enjoyed a latte and a monstrous breakfast knowing we had a full day ahead before we could rest our heads at the Airbnb. My friend and I still talk about this breakfast and we don't know if it was actually that good or if we were just that exhausted. After breakfast my beautiful friend helped me shlep my luggage through the city of Reykjavik with the patience only a nurse possesses . We popped into a few different museums and in a jet-lagged haze I admired the city as a whole. Everything and everyone moved at a slower pace and it was unbelievably comforting to me. After checking into our Airbnb we napped for a few hours then went out in search for a warm and comforting dinner. We enjoyed arguably the best Ramen i've ever had in my life at Ramen Momo, a cozy restaurant where we sat quietly and watched the fishing boats come in for the night.
We opted for guided tours vs. renting a car because we read that the weather in Iceland can be hit or miss in September, so we didn't want to risk getting stranded or lost anywhere driving ourselves. It was so convenient to load onto a passenger van and enjoy being driven around. Guided tours aren't typically my favorite simply because I like to stop as I please to take pictures, but it was perfect for this trip. We filled our days with tours and enjoyed a day at the Blue Lagoon. Overall, we felt like it was a perfect time to be there. There were plenty of other tourists, but we never felt like we were smothered by crowds. We were there a total of 9 days and I will hopefully be going back to see a different part of the island at some point. In fact, I believe Iceland will be my kids first international trip in the future.
