Iceland

Hallo,
Iceland is one of the most incredible, breathtakingly beautiful and naturally stunning places. Being a massive fan of all the countries I’ve been to above the Arctic Circle, Iceland is another example of how living and travelling in extreme elements can be so much fun! Spoiled with a Northern Lights sighting, Iceland will forever have an incredibly special place in my heart. Travelling solo on a very random trip to Greece and then Iceland on a two week ….. travel purge, it was everything I expected, needed and wanted in a country. The fascinating Viking culture, beautiful waterfalls and gigantic glacier, make it a must see on anyone’s bucket list. Adding the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights and swimming at the Blue Lagoon, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been to this place sooner! Now I wasn’t in Iceland very long, I only had 2 full days and two half days so I’ve got to admit there is lots that I could still discover about Iceland and travelling there gluten free. However saying that my brief dalliance with Iceland made me feel things and I definitely felt like this place is special!

Eating Gluten Free in Iceland

A very small country, I went with my bags packed full of rations and prepared for whatever Iceland threw at me. Travelling solo and just getting off a cruise in Greece where we ate and ate and ate some more. I knew I wanted my Iceland adventure to focus majorly on activities rather than places to eat. This may seem crazy and if you have read my other blog posts or know me at all you know I am borderline vacuum, consuming anything and everything in my path (gf of course!).  However when you’re only in Iceland for a few days, you want to see anything and everything! My days were jam packed full so this meant that I really didn’t have time to sit down at restaurants and bars too much and I took full advantage of easy treats that I had taken or that were at the local supermarket. This being said I did venture out to dinner one of the nights to a Japanese sushi restaurant called Sakebarinn. Whisked up a flight of stairs, this restaurant could be easily missed but with helpful and accommodating staff and the amazing food it shouldn’t be! The chef actually came out and clarified with me and altered one of the sauces to be gluten free (this is just one example of the amazing hospitality of the Icelandic folk).  I also went and had a glass of wine at a few bars down the strip and enjoyed people watching and reading in many of the gorgeous little bars in the main strip of Reykjavik.

Sooo many adventures to be had!

Iceland has so many things to do and see, with so little time, I jam packed my itinerary with as many tours and adventures I could possibly fit in.

Reykjavik City

 On my first day, I arrived about midday and decided this was the day to sightsee in Reykjavik. A small city it was easy enough to explore and do without needing a guide. With just a map in hand, I made my way to the amazing Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral a gorgeous architectural gem with beautiful clean lines, it really is breath taking standing next to and to walk around. I then headed down to the Sun Voyager, a sculpture synonymous with Reykjavik. The view from the sculpture is equally as beautiful as the gorgeous artwork itself. I could have stayed here forever and looked across the water; it is not referred to as a dreamboat for nothing. I then dawdled towards the Harpa, a spectacular concert hall with a multi coloured glass exterior located near the Reykjavik marina.  After seeing these sights I made my way through the streets via the marina and heading down the small streets and just letting myself get lost in this incredible city centre (I mean within reason cause I have a hard enough time getting from A to B when I know where I am going and have people with me).  

 Golden Circle Tour

Getting to see the geysers Geysir and Strokkur, Gullfoss Waterfall and Þingvellir National Park, this tour is a great way to see so much of Iceland if you have a limited amount of time. A three and a half day tour, it was important to take proper rations as the stops were places where there was not a lot of options, so plan ahead! I absolutely loved this tour as I really loved seeing so much of the landscapes.

Glacier Hiking & Ice Climbing Adventure on Solheimajokull Glacier

Glacier hiking and ice climbing was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This day trip was definitely worth the full day it takes. I had so much fun hiking on the glacier and seeing the ice formations. Although I was completely ungraceful when ice climbing I was so proud of myself and I really had so much fun.  An exhausting adventure, it was absolutely worth it and I did feel like… move aside Bear Grylls!

 Northern Lights Tour

A Northern Lights tour is essential when in Iceland as your best change of catching a glimpse of the lights is getting away from the bright lights of the city. Having been to Norway and Sweden for a long period of time on a past trip in search of the Northern Lights, I was not optimistic that I would see them on the one night I went on the tour in search for them. However, due to the knowledge and persistence of the guide we stayed and tried two different locations and as we were about to call it quits… a shriek alerted us to the start of a magic swirl in the sky! I have to be completely real with you, we did not get the full sky and swirls that I had hoped for and they are not as green as they are in pictures, but it was a nice taste of what I will venture to see again. Northern Lights tours are determined by nature so unfortunately you are not sure what you are going to get, if anything, but the anticipation and the joy of potentially ticking one off the bucket list is definitely worth it!

The Blue Lagoon

On my last day in Iceland, I packed up my belongings and headed to the Blue Lagoon. Located closely to the airport it was recommended to me to go either on the way to or from the airport. This worked fantastically as I had a late evening flight. A gorgeous geothermal spa, the warmth of the water compared to the crisp fresh air is amazingly relaxing. Travelling alone and being a spa full of couples, groups of friends and families was slightly awkward, but an absolute Iceland essential regardless! When you get over the fact that you don’t have your single safety nets (book, ipod, phone, etc.) you do get over yourself and get your free drink and chill out and remember you’re in bloody Iceland who cares if groups of strangers think you’re a creep! Which to be fair to these people didn’t really notice non care and were actually really lovely when you asked  them to take photos of you… so as Nike say .. ‘Just Do It!’ Now you need to prebook and make sure you get there at your allocated time because I had people ahead of me, who were not as anal and obsessive over rules and they were having difficulty with the people on the desk. The last piece of advice would be make sure that you go during the day so you can see the beauty of the gorgeous blue pools! 

Iceland is an incredible country and a fantastic place to travel solo as there is so much you could do and see and I would love to go back so if you have any travel ideas or titbits comment in the box below!

Happy and safe travels.

Georgia

The Coeliac Adventurer