TAYLOR ON EARTH

IF YOU WANT TO VIEW MY VIDEO OF ICELAND, SCROLL TO THE END.

The morning dew settled around our campsite and the summer sun was shrouded by overcast. We woke up a little later than our camping neighbors for most of those around us were already gone or packing their gear. As soon as we packed our stuff up, brushed our teeth, and dressed warm for the day. It was time to see Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss (as seen in the header). We passed this great sight on our way to Stykkishólmur but deemed to return the next day to allow ourselves adequate time to spend there.

Kirkjufell is known as “Church Mountain” in Icelandic due to its resemblance to a church steeple. This area is one of the most photographed places in Iceland, the mountain jutting straight out of the ground and surrounded by coastline is incredibly picturesque. We did not get the opportunity, however you can hike along Kirkjufell and if you’re an experienced mountain climber or like guided and challenging adventures, you can actually climb to the peak of the mountain.

Across the road from the mountain is Kirkjufellsfoss, there is a small parking area nearby so that people can take photos and enjoy the scenery. To avoid the crowds and also get the best photos, I’d recommend visiting here at dawn or dusk. This lesson I’ve learned applies to almost all popular attractions in Iceland. Plus if you’re visiting in the summer like we did, you may be fortunate enough for clear skies and the Midnight Sun.

Remember when I mentioned that all the waterfalls flow from ancient glaciers containing pure and fresh water? Kirkjufellsfoss is an excellent opportunity to taste the water, we did! While we were here I also took the opportunity to fly my drone around the area and capture some amazing clips that can be seen in the video. Once we had our fill of the gorgeous mountain and its accompanying waterfall, it was time to finally head back to Reykjavík for a couple of nights before going home.

Since the road outlined the shape of Snæfellsnes Peninsula, we got to see a different kind of landscape than when we entered on the southern end. We drove many miles through ancient lava fields and saw more moss and lichen that has not been touched by human hands for millennia. We also had the drone track the car so that looked unreal.

It took us around 2.5 hours to get back to Reykjavík from the peninsula, going on a slightly different path back, then returning onto the Ring Road and back through the Hvalfjörður Tunnel and into the city. We passed a ton of sheep as per usual while driving through Icelandic countryside. By early afternoon we were in town. We went straight to our Airbnb only to learn that there was paid parking in front of it so we ended up parking our vehicle in the church parking lot of Hallgrímskirkja, shamelessly. (I consider this a pro tip.) It was only about a 5 minute walk back to the Airbnb. Our hosts were awesome and told us about some of the local bars and clubs to check out while we were out at night.

Before the sun set, we made sure to manage our time to adequately explore the city. We walked down Laugavegur Street, which is central to a ton of shops and restaurants. Each of us purchased some authentic Icelandic wool clothing to bring back home with us and wear for warmth. We stopped by some familiar spots for me and new to my girlfriend like the Harpa Concert Hall, Sólfar (The Sun Voyager), Hallgrímskirkja of course, and my favorite cafe Mokka Kaffi. Below are some photos from outside and inside the famous church, Hallgrímskirkja, the iconic Lutheran church centered in bustling Reykjavík. You can take a lift to the top and get amazing cityscape shots for only a few hundred krónur which basically serves as a donation to the church.

After we had dinner at one of the popular restaurants on Laugavegur, we returned to the Airbnb to get ready to go out for a few hours. Downtown Reykjavík is not as wild on a Thursday night as it is on a Friday night or weekend night so we didn’t get to meet too many locals but we had a great time nonetheless. Our host recommended Kaffibarinn, a nightlife staple in Reykjavík that he occasionally deejays at. Dillon Whiskey Bar is also a popular spot with live music and a wide selection of whiskeys and beer.

Our final day, dubbed Day 6, was all about going back to places in Reykjavík that we loved, wanted to get more pictures at, or wanted to shop at. It also concerned us returning our vehicle to the rental agency. Long story short, the agency was about 4km away from center city (which I miscalculated its distance) so we had an hour-long walk along the coastline of the city which was actually pleasant. For our last night we planned to go to the world-renowned Blue Lagoon. Since we had already turned in our vehicle, we had opted to catch one of the buses to Blue Lagoon, we missed it. Another pro tip, when you’re catching a bus to Blue Lagoon, the online receipt will say that the bus may arrive to the stop closest to you within a span of 30 minutes. We arrived at our stop apparently only a couple of minutes after the bus had left. BUT, we caught the very last bus that took us there and we arrived well after dusk but still had a wonderful time and stayed out there until about 1am the following morning. Truthfully, I brought my GoPro Hero 3+ and it couldn’t handle the shakiness and water so all the photos from Blue Lagoon at night are rough, but there’s some good clips in the video!

The morning of our departure we walked to the BSI Bus Terminal from our Airbnb and paid our bus fare to head back to the airport. Riding the bus is a whole lot cheaper than catching a taxi. The first time I visited Iceland, I made that mistake and was out around $100 USD from the get-go.

Thank you all for reading through these posts about Iceland! It is my favorite country to date and I encourage all readers, friends, and family to visit the old Norse land. Here is a rough layout of the journey on Google Maps from each farthest point.

I still plan to make at least one more return trip to visit the northern half of the country and the illustrious Westfjords, and of course when I do I will keep you all in the know about my journey. Here is the final video of the great adventure!