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Filtering by Category: Europe
For the second half of our honeymoon, we hopped on the Eurostar from London to Brussels, then took a train out to Bruges!
My number one favorite part of Belgium, from the second we arrived, was that it was so old. Coming from America, even our oldest landmarks are nowhere near as old as many of the homes and buildings in Europe. As soon as I arrived in Bruges, I felt like I was in a storybook.
Read MoreSo it occurred to me that I never shared anything about our honeymoon trip to Europe.
Then, while going through the photographs from our trip, I realized why… because we barely took any photos over more than a week of being over there! We really spent our time living in the moment and didn’t document or share a whole lot of it.
Looking back I’m excited to share the snippets I did grab a shot of, though.
Read More
That's me! In front of Gullfoss.
If you’ve made it all the way to Iceland, I would strongly encourage you to acknowledge TLC’s advice, and then ignore it completely. Do not stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to, you’re in Iceland! Let me tell you, these waterfalls are 100% worth the day trip.
Gullfoss in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland
Speaking of which: we generally prefer renting a car and rocking out our own road trip, but there are plenty of excursion programs and buses to get you to several of these falls!
Gullfoss in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland
Gullfoss in the canyon of the Hvítá river
The first waterfall is an obvious one: Gullfoss. If you’re booking a trip to Iceland, I know you’ve heard of this massive behemoth of a fall! It’s one of the largest to be seen, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. There are three points that you can view the fall from; the very tippy top, right up close and personal with the falls, and a view from a cliff across from the falls. My personal favorite is to take the damp hike down to get right up next to the falls… the rainbows from the mists are truly magical. We drove to see this waterfall on the same trip as the geysers and Þingvellir National Park, which has its own waterfall to see!
`Öxarárfoss at Þingvellir National Park
Öxarárfoss at Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir's waterfall, Öxarárfoss, is kind of the perfect warm-up to get you really jazzed about all of the waterfalls you’ll be chasing! It’s quite easy to get to, as it’s at the first parking area of the park, and it’s a short (beautiful!) walk from the parking area! If you pack a lunch, it’s the perfect place to sit and relax for a bite - just make sure you take your rubbish back out with you. A visit to this park is about $5 (USD) to park, so you might as well check out a bit more of the park… maybe plan a hike!
The other few waterfalls we hit up on our way down to the black sand beaches at Vík. If you plan on taking part of the ring road down towards the south shores, these will be super easy to hit up! All of them are absolutely beautiful places to stop and relax for a bit, have a bite to eat, do some yoga, take a nap; I mean you do you boo.
Seljalandsfoss
Gljúfrafoss
Gljúfrafoss
Gljúfrafoss
The first couple falls are Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi or Gljúfrafoss. They’re in the same vicinity located in the south region of Iceland, right off of route 1 (Ring Road), which leads to Þórsmörk; They’re a short walk from the same parking area. The first of the two, Seljalandsfoss, you can actually get behind! You’re definitely going to get wet and a bit muddy, so I recommend wearing a rain coat and maybe some water resistant boots. The whole experience is a little bit surreal and truly unique, but one of my favorite falls all-in-all was Gljúfrafoss. This is where that rain coat and those water resistant boots (I wore winter-weather Sperry boots) are going to get one heck of a workout. There’s going to be a bit of a balancing act from rock to rock through a small stream, but the experience of being inside of the cavern at a base of a waterfall is so unbelievably special. You honestly couldn’t have wiped that grin off of my face.
Selfoss
Selfoss
The final falls we visited: Selfoss. This waterfall is massive, very tall. It empties into a gorgeous shallow river. It’s a perfect place to just wade around; the water only rose up to about ankle-to-calf-height. Super relaxing, and right around the corner from the falls at Seljalandsfoss. There’s a restaurant there if you’re hungry and didn’t pack a meal, and if you’re planing to drive all the way to Vík after this stop, you’ll want to get out and stretch your legs for a bit.
Let me know if you hit up any of these falls this summer, I'd love to see more pictures. It really is straight up magic; mother nature at work.
It took me less than a day in Reykjavik to truly take notice of the incredible artistic details throughout the city. Some are small - a little note carved into a brick, for example. So many are big, beautiful, and in your face.
This, for example, stopped me in my tracks. The sculpture against the incredible backdrop of still water and massive, snowy mountains was positively breathtaking. Sun Voyager is a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason, an ode to the sun, symbolic of hope, progress, and freedom. The message really speaks to me, and I found it extra ironic that the statue was unveiled and opened to the public the summer of 1990, when I happened to be born!
Examples of the creative and artistic population could be seen everywhere you turned around. I saw the most beautiful and intricate graffiti around every corner. Rather than deter their artists from leaving their mark on the city, it seems to be wholeheartedly encouraged.
Despite the chilly weather throughout most of the year, I noticed plenty of creative gardens and patios throughout the city as well.
As someone who generally finds time spent outdoors to be especially recharging and inspiring, I had a real appreciation for the details - big and small - within these local gardens.
Speaking of big...
Hallgrímskirkja was quite the site to see. It is a Lutheran church in Reykjavik and, wow, it's massive. Before arriving I had read a bit about it, but I couldn't have prepared myself for the immense size and gorgeous architecture; it's grand, and sooo impressive.
It was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. After walking into the church and taking in the incredibly tall ceilings and windows, you turn around to see what was easily the largest pipe organ I have ever encountered. I think that I literally gasped in complete and total awe when I saw it.
In front of the church is a statue featuring Leif Erikson, founder of Iceland. The folklore behind Erik the Red, Leif Erikson, and Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Leif's sister), is a story that is very near and dear to my heart. Coming from a Scandinavian father, with our family name being Ericson, my mother used to call me Frida (shortened from Freydís) and my brother has been widely known throughout his life under the nickname of Leif.
After exploring the lower level, you can take an elevator to the top of the church. It's 73 meters - or 244 feet - high, making it one of the tallest buildings in Reykjavik, providing one of the best views ever.
his was the first view I had, and I was completely and totally speechless. I think after about thirty seconds I managed a "wow", and excitedly rushed from window to window to see the full view of Reykjavik and beyond.
We enjoyed wandering through the art exhibits and galleries throughout downtown Reykjavik as well. We wound up bringing back a very strong painting of an explosive volcanic landscape for a friend. I'm personally a really big fan of pottery wherever I go... upon learning about the ceramic artist Bjarni Sigurdsson's Ash Cloud pottery, I was in love. I came back with one of my favorite pieces thus far, and I hope to collect more in the future.
The awe-inspiring art installations, the stunning scenery, the gorgeous graffiti... it's easy to become inspired in such an interesting and creative city!
I have so much more to share from my trip to Iceland coming up soon... stay tuned!
