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August 19, 2014

Hiking Around Landmannalaugar, Iceland

You know those beautiful photos you see in travel brochures that you spend your working hours daydreaming about? Those pictures that show beaches with stunning blue water and mountains with colors dancing all over them. You can hardly wait to see these places for yourself, but when you finally arrive your left disappointed when the view is not as stunning as the pictures promised.

Well Landmannalaugar is not one of those places! Pictures can not do this place justice, it is beyond beautiful!

As you drive the bumpy gravel road an hour back in between the beautiful mountains you see a range of rich vibrant colors that looked as if they had been painted. When you arrive in the valley you are greeted with dozens of tents set up, people relaxing in the hot spring after a long day of hiking, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you have just wandered into a small happy community complete with a small shop inside an old school bus.

There are several different hiking trails that you can choice from in the area. We arrived late in the day after our change in plans so we opted to do a quick walk up what is called the Blue Peak.

Do you see the turquoise and blue colors in the mountain? The further up you climb the wider the range of colors you see, from browns to pink, green to black, the colors are stunning. I seriously could not get over the different colors in Landmannalaugar!

Stunning right? Sadly we never made it to the top of this path as the weather began to have other things in mind (like a rain/wind storm), but just in our short climb we were able to see some amazing views. If you only have a short time to spend in the area I recommend choosing this path as it gives you a great view of the whole area.

An added bonus to the beautiful landscape is the adorable furry friends you will find wandering around.

The Icelandic horses are always my favorite, they are so cute and friendly. If you are a horse lover you can even rent horses at Landmannalaugar and go riding on certain trails around the area. H had to drag me away from these guys, I just wanted to take them home with me they were so adorable.

Next time I go to Landmannalaugar I will be pitching my tent in the middle of the camp area and spending my days hiking and my nights soaking in the hot spring!

If you are a hiking enthusiast visit Iceland right now and check out Landmannalaugar!

Question of the Day?
Have you ever been disappointed with a place after seeing pictures? Are you a fan of hiking?

Linking up with Bonnie Rose for Travel Tuesday

posted by Kiki 64 Comments
Filed Under: Healthy Lifestyle, Iceland, Link-Up, Travel, Travel Tuesday Tagged: hiking in Iceland, Iceland, travel, Travel Tuesday

August 18, 2014

Lopapeysas, Bacon and Blueberries

When I was growing up we would often go around the dinner table at night and share how our day was. Usually the response my parents got from us girls was something along the lines of, “ya school was good”… So to get us talking more my parents would ask us our high and low from the day. It is such a great way to share your day and H and I often recap our days sharing our highs and lows.

With that in mind I thought it would be a great way to recap my weekend by sharing my highs and lows from weekend. So let’s get to it shall we!

High

First work party of the new school year

Icelanders know how to mix work and play! We often have a party at least once a month and they all have a theme. This event was a lopapeysa theme (the traditional Icelandic sweater) and I was so happy to have one of my own to keep me warm all night. And sparkly bunny eyes just make the outfit complete:)

Low

Saying goodbye to one of my co-workers

The one in the middle of this fuzzy picture had her last day sitting next to me on Friday and I am sad to see her go. She has been so supportive and helpful to me with my Icelandic and learning the ropes of the new job. Hopefully the one to fill her spot will be just as wonderful.

High and a Low

The Reykjavik Bacon festival

All week I have been looking forward to attending the Reykjavik Bacon festival because, I mean really a festival all about bacon, it has to be amazing. I was so disappointed though with all the booths, their dishes did not do bacon justice. This event gets a high as well though because it was a beautiful sunny day out and I love walking this street with views of the church in the background.

High

My favorite salad made an appearance

This salad was the highlight of my Saturday night, it was a wild night. Fresh strawberries, avocado and spinach, a recipe for deliciousness! If only the strawberries weren’t ridiculously expensive, I would be having this salad all the time.

High

Exploring Heiðmörk

Sunday was such a beautiful day so we decided to try are luck at picking blueberries. It is a bit early for blueberries but we were hoping we would get lucky so off we headed off to Heiðmörk, a nature conservation area about 20 minutes away from downtown Reykjavik.

Low

We found no blueberries!

This little berries were about all that we found that were ripe enough to be picked. Looks like another trip to Heiðmörk will need to be happening in a few weeks.

High

Spending Sunday afternoon relaxing in the sunshine

Sitting outside, enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon is just what I needed to refresh before the start of yet another busy week.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Question of the Day?
Tell me your weekend high and lows?

posted by Kiki 32 Comments
Filed Under: Family, Friends, Iceland, Travel, Weekend Tagged: highs and lows, Iceland, travel, weekend

August 12, 2014

A Hidden Gem in Iceland

A few weekends ago H and I headed off early one Sunday morning with H’s mom for a day trip in the South of Iceland. H’s mom is a certified guide here in Iceland so we had our own personal tour guide to show us around for the day.

Our plan was to head towards Landmannalaugar and spend the day hiking. After stopping at a tourist information center along the way and being told of a few new to all of us places we made some changes to our plans, pulled out the map and headed off on a mission to find these recommend stops.

A little tip to anyone traveling in this area, just follow along the river Þjórsá and you will be able to find these beautiful places!

Þjórsá, Iceland’s longest river

Our first stop on our newly updated agenda was the waterfall Hjálparfoss. Look carefully for the sign to this waterfall or you might drive by it and miss it as the waterfall is not visible from the road. When we turned down the bumpy gravel road I was sure we were lost but after the first turn you find yourself right in front of this beautiful view.

Hjálparfoss, Iceland

As soon as the car was parked I was off and running around snapping pictures and giggling like a little girl. Something about waterfalls and stunning landscapes brings out my inner child.

After I wore myself out climbing up rocks to get the perfect picture and having H take a dozen pictures of me jumping in front of the waterfall our stomachs told us it was time to have lunch. And what better place to have a picnic than in front of a waterfall with a beautiful river and mountains around you?

Once our bellies where full (and the wind started to pick up) we packed our bags, took a few more photos and said goodbye to the charming Hjálparfoss.

Our next stop was described to us as “the most beautiful place in Iceland” by the man working at the tourist information center. That statement set the bar quite high and I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when we set out on a short hike in search of Gjáin.

The hike takes you along a small river with tasty blueberries and beautiful vegetation along the way. I recommend stopping to snack on the blueberries if they are in season, you need to keep your energy up!

After walking for 15 minutes with nothing in sight but the river next to us my hopes for this amazing place were starting to dwindle. When we saw some waterfalls in the distance I put a little pep in my step to reach the end of the path and see what awaited us.

Not too impressive from a distance but after walking for another 10 minutes and climbing one last small hill we finally arrived at Gjáin. And now I am going to be totally cliche and say my breath was taken away by the view that greeted us.

Does this not look like a place that belongs in a fairytale? This picture doesn’t do Gjáin justice, I fully agree with the tourist information man when I say this is the most beautiful place I have seen in Iceland so far! I am already planning my next trip back to this hidden gem so I can do more exploring of this area.

If you are interested in visiting Gjáin follow the directions to get to the historical Icelandic farm Stöng. From there you walk for about 30 minutes and then you will arrive in your own fairytale!

Question of the Day?
Have you found any hidden gems in your area or while traveling?

Linking up with Travel Tuesday

posted by Kiki 78 Comments
Filed Under: Iceland, Travel, Travel Tuesday Tagged: Iceland, South of Iceland, travel

August 5, 2014

Finding Grk in Croatia

Korcula was the first island H and I visited in Croatia and by far my favorite place we stayed in Croatia. Along with gorgeous beaches and stunning views Korcula is also known for its white wine, Grk. Grk is produced from a white grape called, Grk, and is mainly found on the island of Korcula. As a wine lover that has tasted wine in several different countries I knew my time in Korcula would need to include sampling some (okay a lot) of the local wine.

We had set aside a day to head off for wine tasting at the local vineyards on Korcula, many of which can be found about 7 km away in a small town called Lumbarda. We rented bikes, packed our bags, and headed off nice and early since I couldn’t wait any longer to get the day started!

It is about a 40 minute bike ride to get to Lumbarda but the views along the way make the time fly by.

Stunning right?

Since my eagerness had us arriving a few hours before many of the tasting rooms at the wineries opened we decided to check out one of the local beaches in Lumbarda while we waited. To get to the beach from town we rode our bikes about 2 km into the countryside, and with fields of vineyards along the way I felt like I was in a movie riding my bike through the beautiful fields in Tuscany!

When we arrived at the beach we were hot and sweaty and ready to take a dip in the beautiful blue water. I recommend arriving early, the beaches fill up fast but since we were quite early (we arrived before 10 am) we were able to enjoy a mostly empty beach before it filled up when we left around noon.

And then it was finally time to pack up and head off for some wine tasting! As I was getting on my bike to take off H delivered some terrible news. His bike tire had gone flat! Okay so not that terrible but since his bike tire was flat we needed to get back into town to find a pump meaning my wine tasting plan was off the schedule for the afternoon. I am not going to lie, as we walked our bikes back into town I thought about ducking into a few wineries on my own along the way but I didn’t want to ditch H (okay I couldn’t remember the way back home) so back to Korcula we went.

Fast forward to that evening and H and I had just finished another delicious meal and were wandering the small streets in Korcula before heading in for the night. I was still quite bummed about not being able to go wine tasting but was more than happy wandering the charming streets of Korcula when H and I heard some music coming from the end of a dark small street.

Curiosity got the best of us after we saw a couple walk up this street carrying wine glasses, of course we had to see where they had gotten these wine glasses! Pure joy is the best way to describe how I felt when we rounded the corner at the end of the long street and stumbled upon a local wine festival!

In a small square we found almost 20 wineries offering samples of their best wines. A live band serenaded us while we sipped our wine. Locals greeted their neighbors with loud conversations and hugs, girls dressed in elaborate outfits handing out the most delicious bread, and there was enough wine to keep my happy for a lifetime. You never would have guessed this was a Sunday!

Stumbling on this festival and sipping local wine with those who live on the island was an experience I will never forget. You never know what traveling will bring your way but no matter what things always seem to work out for the best.