Waterfalls and Glaciers

On our second day in Iceland, we were headed south! We started our day at 9am. You’ll notice in our pictures that it’s still very dark outside, which did nothing to help our jet lag.

Once the snow was dusted off the car, we drove a few blocks down the street to Dunkin’ Donuts. We could’ve easily walked, but it was cold and windy so we opted not to. While on vacation, we try very hard to only eat food that we can’t get at home. However, every once and a while you need something familiar and comforting. Dunkin’ was perfect!

Taylor did all the driving during the trip. From what he’s said, driving in Iceland isn’t as intimidating as it looks. With all the geothermal heating underground, the snow very rarely sticks and freezes to the roads.

While we were driving to our first destination, we stopped at a small church because we noticed that all of their gravestones were lit up with crosses!

Every Christmas, family members will visit their loved one’s graves and decorate it with lights or candles. This is their way of showing those that have passed that they’re missed.

We made it to Seljalandsfoss about an hour later! This is a breathtaking waterfall that is commonly visited by tourists who visit Iceland. Mostly because it’s so close to Reykjavik and you can walk behind it. No matter where you’re standing, it’s an amazing view!

We suggest wearing waterproof attire, because when you’re behind the falls you’ll feel the mist. You can tell from the photos that it’s very wet.

This is a great place to start when visiting Iceland! It’s easy to get to and won’t disappoint! Legend has it, that rainbows commonly form over the falls as well. I’m sure that would be incredible to see!

Afterwards, we drove an hour to the small town of Vik. This small town is known for it’s black sand beaches. We were excited to see the beach, but we were starving and wanted to eat lunch first. Taylor found a small, cozy restaurant in town.

We could go on and on about how adorable this restaurant was!

While we were waiting for our food, a mini snow stormed passed through! Throughout our trip, these snowstorms would come randomly, but they would only last about 15 minutes.

Taylor discovered this restaurant on Trip Advisor and we’re so thankful that he did! The service was wonderful and the food was even better.

If you ever find yourself here one day, you MUST try the endless tomato soup and homemade bread. It was phenomenal and I really regret not ordering it myself. Taylor and I each got BBQ burgers and Waite ordered the lamb sandwich, both delicious as well.

Once the stormed passed, we took a short drive to the beach.

This was a very interesting experience for us. Everything started out fine and dandy, until…

the wind came. Each time the wind would pick up, it would whip the sand into our faces and it stung SO BAD.

Thankfully, we were able to snap some pictures during the moments when the wind wasn’t throwing sand in our faces. The black volcanic sand makes the coast of Vik one of the most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world.

Seriously, the views were amazing!

We were tired of the wind, so we drove up to the town’s church to get a better view of the beach and the town.

Vik was so small and unique! You have to check it out if you’re in the area!

Also within Vik, there is a natural arch on the other side of the mountain that we wanted to see.

The sun was beginning to set and it made all the surrounding mountains looks beautiful.

In order to see the arch, we parked the car and hiked up a small hill to the overlook area.

We were literally on the other side of the mountain we were just on. You’ll notice the same stone stacks off in the distance.

Once again, everything started out fine, until…

the wind started up again. This time, we were standing at a higher elevation, so the wind was even stronger than before. Thankfully, there was no sand to be thrown around. However, the wind was so strong that we could hardly walk straight.

At one point, the sky became very dark and we were all being blown around the cliff. It was almost impossible to stand! Grandma grounded herself with a rope, while Taylor literally tackled me to the ground because the wind kept picking me up. This is a story you don’t tell your mother… sorry mom! 🙂

These pictures make us laugh because obviously you can’t see wind, so we just look ridiculous being blown around!

Once the wind died down, we got to witness the natural arch we came to see!

We ran back to our car before the wind could pick up again. As soon as we made it inside, a huge blizzard came through. Just to give you a reference at how strong the wind was, the signs outside were ripping out of the ground and our car was shaking with four bodies inside! A very neat experience, but we were thankful to get off that mountain.

On our way back to Reykjavik, we stopped to see a glacier before the sun set.

There are tons of glaciers all over Iceland, so pick one and go look at it! If you’re looking for more adventure, you can sign up for tours that let you climb and enter the glacier.

Afterwards, we drove back to the city to get dinner! We found a great restaurant called Vitabar, which we were able to walk to from our apartment. Unfortunately, we didn’t have our camera on us, so we couldn’t take any pictures. It was a very small bar/burger place. The cheeseburgers and fries were delicious. Once we were done eating, we walked back the apartment and prepared for the next day.