When in Iceland....Don't Pee in the Pool

The first thing I noticed coming out of the airport in Reykjavik was the purple lupines. They were seemingly following the road as they were only lined up against the pavement. In a vast space of green hills and cloudy skies were the lupines. In all honesty, that’s the reason I wanted to go to Iceland in the first place. I know there's mountains and glaciers and beautiful waterfalls, but I really just wanted to see those flowers.

The first day was slow. Jetlagged and tired, it was mostly a day of museums and sightseeing. While I will always rebel against museums and tours, I didn’t have a problem with the first day’s itinerary. We went to the Phallic Museum (the penis museum obviously) but it was a bit underwhelming. No! That’s not what I was talking about. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. It was one floor of different animals’ penises preserved in glass jars. It was honestly quite weird. But of course, the bathrooms were a staple piece.

There was also Hallgrimskirkja (yes, I looked that up) which is one of the tallest buildings in Iceland. We went to the top of the tower to see a 360 degree view of Iceland, and of course, hear the bells (they were loud as fuck). But what I loved the most was the statue outside.

There were multiple statues of two people facing each other. One person in armor, the other without armor. In theory, the person without armor is the same person in the same stance as the one in the armor. I could sit here all day looking at the symbolism of this, I can’t give you a direct answer. I hate tours because I am the worst, so I have no idea why they actually stand for. But I would like to believe it’s a commentary on dualism and how the same person can be divided by such a small detail. But again, who knows, I probably would’ve learned that on the tour.

Other than the rainbow road, insane paintings, and potentially a cat playground, the first day was fairly chill - oh except I accidentally got super drunk at a gin tasting. In my defense, I was jet lagged and I don’t drink gin. And we were late!

I was playing catch up taking the samplings like shots to keep up with everyone else. These were the only pictures I got, with the lupines obviously.

Needless to say gin sucks and I won't be drinking it again. The night ended with a favorite quote of mine from the trip:

“Why can’t you guys just act normal when you drink,” - Mom.

​Oops, sorry.

​The next two days were insane. We toured almost every place imaginable.

We went to the other side of a waterfall. It was surreal. There was water spraying all over you. It was absolutely freezing but worth it.

We met horses along the way. This brown horse refused to let anyone else pet him except me. The trick was to pretend you didn't want to pet it then slowly dive in. It was weirdly fitting and I felt like we connected on a deeper level.

We hiked a glacier. The glacier was part black from volcanic ash, but I was still allowed to drink the water stream. It was said to be over 200 years old and some of the cleanest water on Earth. I drank the water like the classy lady I am.

And of course, we saw lupines.

We went to the black sand beach where a scene in Game of Thrones took place. The water was calm, but we were told it is some of the deadliest water. The tide has a tendency to lull then flash forward 20 feet in a moment's notice. The sand under your feet goes towards the water and many tourists have been dragged under. The sea takes sand, rocks, and everything else with it.

The week before we went to the beach one man had died. He was with his wife and they were in the water, his wife was saved but he wasn't. A year before that it took an entire family.

Our guide told us that being ankle deep in the water is taking a 50/50 chance with your life. Being knee deep, you’re already dead. Yet we saw families taking pictures in the water. People were ankle deep.

I wondered how something so calm and beautiful could be so deadly.

It sent chills through my bones thinking about the ocean and how I could be standing so close to life and death.

Our final days were spent in the lagoons. We went to the famous Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon. Blue Lagoon is another reason why I wanted to see Iceland. I wanted to swim in hot springs.

While Blue Lagoon is quite touristy, I still recommend checking it out. The water is unique. It’s blue, but you can’t see anything underwater. It’s cloudy, but I can guarantee you it’s clean. In Iceland it’s common to shower before you go into a community pool. It’s to be respectful to the other people in the pool. I had to pee so badly in the warm water BUT I restrained because I was scared they would find out. And because I was respectful…

One thing I didn’t like is that it was recommended not to go underwater. We were told that the water would make our hair super dry, so pretty much everyone had dry hair.

They have a swim in swim out bar and a facial station. The best part is that you don’t have to pay until you get out of the water. While there are a lot of people there, it’s only crowded at the bar. Definitely worth going but I probably wouldn't go back to the Blue Lagoon.

We also went to Sky Lagoon, which is super close to the city so I’m assuming it’s popular but there was hardly anyone here. The lagoon was an infinity pool that overlooked the ocean. There was a bar, a waterfall, and the best part, an entire spa ritual.

There were seven steps, one starting with jumping into the cold pool. Which was not clear, at least to me. I went into the pool thinking it was a hot tub because I saw people sitting relaxed in the pool. Once I dipped my toe I immediately yelled and retreated to the warmth. That was the first step. I skipped it.

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But in my defense, what kind of psychopaths sit calmly in a cold pool? I’m sure it’s good for you but it’s also in Iceland where the summer feels like winter.

The next step was a sauna. The sauna was wooden with a window that spanned across the wall overlooking the ocean. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve said there was no window at all. It was so clean I didn’t even notice it was there.

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After the sauna, we went to the second step which was a mist room. It was partially outdoors and there was consistent cold mist raining down on you. While it was an amazing, freeing experience, it was cold so I wasn’t there for long.

After the mist they gave you a scrub to put on your body before stepping into the other mist room.

This room was warm and completely fogged, you could barely see your hand in front of you. The scrub dissolved on your skin.

After showering off the scrub, the last step was the cold pool again. I skipped that again because Iceland is fucking cold.

And were able to dunk your head underwater in Sky Lagoon. An added bonus. Highly recommend it.

For our final night, I went out with my brother and a friend that lives in Iceland. The bars were insane. And hot. Clearly….

I ended up leaving around 3am, which was early seeing as the bar had no intentions of closing. As I walked home, everyone was still drinking. There were lines outside of bars and crowds in the street. Best part, it was still light out. I walked home, drunk, alone, and surprisingly unafraid. It was such a nice way to end the night I almost hopped in another line for a bar.

But Copenhagen was waiting, and it was the first time I was traveling through Europe alone. I couldn’t miss my next flight.