Hiking |

August 11, 2014

One Hectic Summer

Things around Unlocking Kiki have been a bit slow lately. By a bit slow I mean non-existent. Lately I have been lucky to have enough spare time to scan my Instagram feed let alone write a blog post. I have a feeling the rest of August is going be quite hectic, I am already looking forward to September when things calm down a bit!

And with that little explanation out of the way (because I know you all where so very concerned as to where I have been) here is a little update on what has been going on here in Iceland the past few weeks.

Everyday I wake up wishing I could be back in Croatia! Sigh. Moving on to what is actually happening.

…Last week I started back at work after having five weeks off. You would think I felt nice and refreshed and ready to get back to the grind. Well I think the last word I would use to describe how I felt last week was refreshed. Basically back to reality hit me hard in the face and I barely made it into bed before falling asleep. Hopefully this week will a bit easier and I will start getting back into the swing of things.

…Of course right when H and I have to get back to work is when the summer sun decides to make its debut. We have been taking full advantage of the sunshine though with evening bike rides, trips to the swimming pool, and drinks in the backyard while I dominate in the backyard game Kubbur. H and his brother like to claim it is beginners luck, after a week though I think it is time for them to recognize pure talent.

My favorite pool in Reykjavik, Vesturbæjarlaug. If you are here visiting I recommend spending a few hours at this pool, you may even see Björk lounging in the hot pools next you, I have a few times!

It is always happy hour in our backyard

Is that not the face of a winner right there! I don’t mess around when it comes to backyard games.

….The time has finally came for me to start looking into tickets to fly home for Christmas. This is the first time I will be going back home since I moved to Iceland in October. I am beyond excited to see my ~~family and friends~~ Azora again and have been searching the internet this past week looking for the best deal. Christmas can’t come soon enough!

…After hearing about the awesome Gay Pride Day celebration that Reykjavik has every summer I finally got to experience it for myself. I have never seen so many people in the downtown Reykjavik area, the day was 10 times bigger than Iceland’s Independence Day in June! My favorite part of the celebration was the parade full of colorful floats, fun music, and of course amazing costumes! I really love the equal rights for all Iceland stands for, it is a great place to live. And any parade that has floats shooting purple confetti is amazing in my book!

…As if I don’t have enough going on this month already I have signed myself up to run a women’s club with a friend of mine. I will now be responsible for planning events for the Girls Gone International Reykjavik, Iceland group and I can’t wait to get started and meet some new ladies. If you have never heard of Girls Gone International look them up to see if there is a group in your area! It is an excellent way to meet ladies from all over the world living in your area. Now any ideas for some fun events I should plan?

… H and I are determined to make the most out of the rest of the “summer” we have left. We have hiking trips, blueberry picking, half marathons and outdoor festivals filling up our calendar for the next month, I am not ready for winter to come! Last weekend our plans took us on a 12 hour adventure around the Landmannalaugar area, one of the most beautiful areas I have visited in Iceland. I have lots of wonderful photos to share from that day, including tips to find Iceland’s hidden gem, but for now here is a teaser photo from our hike at Landmannalaugar.

Follow Unlocking Kiki on Instagramfor more beautiful photos of hiking trails in Iceland!

Once I get my feet back under me I have so many wonderful posts lined up to share with you all! And more of the beautiful Croatia is coming your way soon! Stay tuned.

Question of the Day?
Has your summer been crazy busy or nice and relaxing? What are your favorite summertime activities?

posted by Kiki 30 Comments
Filed Under: Blogging, Iceland, Loving Lately, My Thoughts, Travel Tagged: hiking, Iceland, Summer

June 16, 2014

I Was a Cheerleader For a Night

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today is a Monday/Friday for me since tomorrow is Iceland’s Independence Day. I am really looking forward to joining seeing all the celebrations happening around the city, it sounds like quite the fun day!

First though let’s back up and talk about what an amazing weekend I had!

Friday evening we headed to H’s office summer party for an eventful night. I have met his co-workers a few times but anytime I am going into a group setting with lots of Icelandic being spoken I get really nervous. It was a good thing I had a bubble to stay safe.

Has anyone else played bubble ball before? It was so difficult standing up in those things after you got knocked over, which for me was every few seconds! This game was a blast though and is definitely one way to break the ice when getting to know new people.

After an eventful game of bubble ball I was recruited to teach everyone how to play beer pong. Apparently if your from America it automatically means your a pro beer pong player. Good thing I am!

H and I take our beer pong games very seriously, we have to keep our undefeated streak going!

Another thing others automatically assume if your a blonde from America, your a cheerleader and should have no problem climbing on top of the pyramid that all the drunk ladies think is an amazing idea.

This is what happens when H let’s me loose at his work parties:)

Saturday was a big day in our house, it was H’s birthday and I wanted to make the day extra special after he spoiled me on my birthday!

Birthday pancakes, an amazing birthday gift basket (I am quite proud of my creative skills for this gift;), and a nice dinner out, I would say my handsome guy had a great day.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to head out for a hike at Esjan.

This hike was extra special to me. Every year on Father’s Day ( a very happy Father’s Day to my amazing Dad) my family goes on a hike at my Dad’s favorite spot. This is the first year I was going to have to miss the hike with my family but I wanted to keep the tradition alive so I brought the hike to my Dad with lots of photos.

I hope one day I can take my Dad on this hike, Esjan is so beautiful. A big shout out to my amazing Dad, he is the best Dad a girl could ask for and I am so blessed to call him my Dad. Without his love and support I don’t think I would have been brave enough to make the move to Iceland, run a marathon, heck I probably would still have my training wheels on if it weren’t for him. I hope you had a wonderful day Dad, I love you!

An amazing weekend indeed. Now I have a case of the Monday blues after looking at all my pictures from this past weekend! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend and a Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

Question of the Day?
Have you ever played bubble ball? Does your family have any traditions they do on Father’s Day?

posted by Kiki 36 Comments
Filed Under: Iceland, Weekend Tagged: Birthday, hiking, Iceland, weekend

April 1, 2014

Hiking in Iceland - Mt. Esjan

Just 10 km from Reykjavik is Mt. Esjan, a volcanic mountain range that was made from lava flow over a million years ago.

You can see beautiful views of Mt. Esjan all over the city. The combination of mountain and ocean views is one of my favorite things about living in Iceland.

Esjan hiding behind the fog on a spring day in Reykjavik

Esjan is a popular hiking spot and on my first trip to Iceland H took me off for my own Esjan hiking experience.
Pre-hike smiles

When you start off the hike your greeted with a mostly flat path into the bright green fields that are speckled with beautiful purple flowers.

As you start to climb up the mountain side the terrain looks a little less green and becomes more steep and rocky.

We were headed to the highest point on Mt. Esjan, the summit called Habunga. Is is about an hour climb to this summit and is quite steep in certain spots. I hike a lot in Oregon but on this hike I had to take several breaks to catch my breath.

Trying to drag out the break as long as possible by staring off into the distance “taking in the scenery”
After feeling like we were getting no where closer to the top we finally made it to the first summit Steinn where many hikers stop to turn around.

Most of the pathways on this hike are really well cleared and even have signs showing you the difficulty ranging from levels 1 boot (easy) to 3 boots (challenging). Once you pass Steinn though its a whole other ballgame and before I knew it I was holding on to a rope for dear life while I walked around a tiny pathway to the top.

This was terrifying for someone who has a fear of heights, but when you reach the summit Habunga the views are just amazing.

Once you have caught your breath and taken a ton of photos of the beautiful views be sure to sign your name in the book you find on top of the rock in the middle of the summit. I was not going to miss the chance to have my name in a book on top of a mountain in Iceland!

Celebratory photos are important as well, you want proof that you went all the way to the top!

Heading back down was not my favorite part of the hike. I have no issue going up but when it comes to climbing back down my fear of heights really kicks in. This was the view as you start going down, way to steep for me to not panic a little, okay a lot, but really it just looks like your going straight down!

I was a bit slow coming down so H waited for me by taking pictures of my terrified face. Always the helpful man. Luckily the path isn’t this steep the entire way down, after about 10 minutes it evens out and becomes much more manageable to walk down without the concern of rolling down the mountain side.

One of my favorite things about this hike is the amazing views you have the entire way down. This is the view when your more than halfway down the mountain, still breathtaking.

I have gone on this hike several times since my first trip and I can’t wait for the snow to melt so we can do our first Esjan hike of the year. If you are looking for an easy hike close to Reykjavik I highly recommend heading over to Esjan!

Question of the Day?
Do you have a favorite hike?

posted by Kiki 52 Comments
Filed Under: Iceland, Travel Tagged: hiking, Iceland, Travel Tuesday

February 4, 2014

Hveragerði, Iceland

Hvergerði is a small town about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik that is known for its hiking trails, hot springs and for being a hub for Icelandic horticulture. Last spring H and I set out to find some of these beautiful hot springs we had heard so much about,the search was definitely an adventure.

Mission: Find this hot spring

We were told it was a short hike back to reach the hot spring called Rekjadalur. Well that short walk turned into over an hour of hiking back into the mountains and me thinking we were definitely lost, I may have panicked a little. I am a joy to travel with sometimes.

My hope in surviving the hike was restored though when we started seeing some steam in the air and knew we were close. Just a tip, these smaller extremely hot pools you come to first are not what your looking for. Keep walking a bit further and you will find the hot spring Rekjadalur, I promise at some point you will finally find it and will get to enjoy the nice warm water.

Rekjadalur is a beautiful hot spring where you can easily spend the afternoon relaxing in. I have visited quite a few hot pools here in Iceland but this experience was so unique and amazing, just being out there in the middle of nature soaking in a hot spring, I felt so Icelandic;)

Apparently I wasn’t in to the whole taking pictures of things at this point in time so this is all I have to share from that day in Hveragerði, blogger fail I know!

A few weeks ago I headed back to this beautiful area to do some winter hiking and was sure to take lots of photos this time around.

As I mentioned, Hvergerði is a hub for Icelandic horticulture. The greenhouses like in the photo above are seen all over the city and are heated by the hot water from the volcanic hot springs. In one of the greenhouses I walked into you could find many different types of plants and flowers, and even a banana tree, in case you need one for your garden.

Imagine my surprise when I found a banana tree inside the greenhouse. Who knew Iceland grew there own bananas! It is an urban myth that Iceland is Europe’s largest producer/exporter of bananas, not so sure what I think about this but I am glad that the cost of bananas here isn’t ridiculous like most other things.

In addition to the greenhouses in Hvergerði you can also find a geothermal park that is open in the summer. At the park you can enjoy a natural clay foot bath or soak in the hot springs. Since it is winter though I had to take a picture through fence and dream about how nice a clay foot bath would feel on my frozen toes.

Clearly Hvergerði is not in short supply of hot springs, as I was walking around the town I found several places where hot steam was just coming up from the ground. I don’t think covering this extremely hot steam with coal make it very safe but at least it adds a bit of an eerie beauty to the town.

With streams and waterfalls everywhere you look, hot springs to relax in, and fresh produce to enjoy I can’t wait to get back to Hveragerði. If you are ever in Iceland I highly recommend spending a day hiking around and relaxing in the hot springs in Hveragerði, its a perfect addition to any Iceland trip.