Ice, Ice, Baby!
A little over a year ago, my husband and I were hit by a ten passenger van. By the grace of God, no one was injured (though poor Vinnie the Venza was smashed beyond repair). Insurance ended up giving us a sizable chunk of money, so naturally, we decided it was a sign to go on a fun adventure for our 2nd anniversary. We didn’t know where yet, but we were thinking of being semi-responsible and going to visit a country we’re thinking of moving to.
But SURPRISE! January rolls around and Josh comes home from work one day, plops down, and asks me if I want to go to Iceland, to which I squeal in reply. Visiting Iceland has been a dream of mine sense high school, and he’d been secretly monitoring ticket prices for months! We recruited some friends, bought better rain jackets, and before we knew it, the plane was taking off!
Day 1- Reykjavik, Hot Springs, and Midges
Our merry little troupe (myself, my husband Josh, and our friends Tim and Jahanna) landed outside of Reykjavik at 5am on a Thursday. After picking up our rental car, grabbing coffee at a local spot, and walking through the city church; we stopped by Costco for groceries and headed to some free hot springs (we aren’t fancy enough for Blue Lagoon). It was about a 3km hike up to the springs, and the day was surprisingly warm. We also discovered along the way that, while Iceland has no mosquitos, they do have midges (at first we thought they were gnats. I still don’t understand the difference). Nevertheless, we persisted. Our reward was a beautiful hot spring river, perfect for soaking our travel weary bodies. All too soon we were headed home (aka, our airbnb), and after a quick dinner, everyone passed out.
Day 2- Geysers, Falls, and Mushrooms
We decided to take the next day easy, and by easy, I mean doing a lot but not having to hike to it. First up, we visited Geysir. While we didn’t actually stay to see Geysir go off, we saw the smaller Strokker go several times. The fan favorite, however; was Litli Geysir, a small bubbling mud hole.
Next we made our way to Gulfoss, Iceland’s most famous waterfall. With its powerful waters rushing into a giant gorge, the surrounding green landscape, and the multiple perfect viewpoints, it’s easy to understand the hype. Immediately my brain transported me into a world of adventurers puzzling their way across the treacherous waters.
For a late lunch, we stopped by a local greenhouse specializing in mushrooms. We stuffed ourselves full of mushroom soup, mushroom and bell pepper tapenade, marinated mushrooms, and even mushroom butter on homemade sourdough bread. The whole thing was heavenly, made even better when we popped over to a local cow farm that makes their own ice cream. I consider myself a strawberry ice cream connoisseur, and I firmly believe the best of the best is made on that little Icelandic cow farm.
Josh risking it for the shot at Bruarfoss (he took most of the pictures in this blog post!)
Next we stopped by Bruarfoss, a smaller waterfall close to our airbnb. Honestly, it was one of my favorite sights of the whole trip. Far less crowded than Gulfoss, we were actually able to find a small perch underneath the observation bridge where we could sit and observe the fantastical blue waters. Bruarfoss actually inspired the painting I’ll talk about at the end of this post ;)
Day 3- Hikes, River Crossings, and Axel
We woke up bright and early to start our journey to Landmannalaugar, a beautiful set of mountains we were eager to hike. It’s only accessible in the summer months and to get there, you have to take the F-roads, which is basically off roading. It was a bumpy few hours of travel before we reached the parking area, and to get through, we had to cross 2 small rivers. After gearing up, we spent most of our day hiking through lava fields, on steep cliffs of gravel, through dried river basins, and around bubbling springs. Every twist and turn felt like a totally new planet, and I might have motivated myself on the steep parts by pretending to take a certain ring to a certain place. Several hours later we were back at the car, tired, happy, and a bit moist.
Oh yeah, it rained while we were on the mountain.
Suddenly, the rivers we needed to crossed didn’t seem so little anymore. Our car had some minor trouble getting through the bigger one, but after a scary few seconds, we assumed we were in the clear.
Wrong.
An hour later, the car started beeping and flashing and telling us “STOP!” We consulted manuals and translated as best we could, but we eventually gave up and called the rental car company. Thankfully, they were on top of things in a flash (thank you premium insurance!) and after another hour and a half of waiting, our savior arrived in a Ford F-150. Our tow truck driver, Axel, got us situated and on the bumpy road once more, and we all laughed about what silly American tourists we had become. Axel had grown up in Reykjavik but moved to the country for the expansive landscape. He was an honest-to-God-redneck, and we listened to his playlist of American country while he talked to us about the four-wheelers he and his friends built and the western-themed party he went to with his wife last year. Everyone had ordered their accessories from the Boot Barn, and we got to give him the good news that Boot Barn stores actually existed offline too. He told us about the best local spots to check out and we told him to look us up if he ever came to the states. What initially felt scary turned into quite the memorable experience and Axel was the most helpful and kind!
Day 4- Puffins, Beaches, and Glaciers
This was the day we finally saw Puffins, and OH MY GOSH! I’m not a huge bird person but when I tell you these guys are the cutest… I could have stayed and watched them all day. We drove to the coast of Vik I Myrdal, where a large puffin colony makes their home in the summertime. They are so friendly and unbothered by people, a few even flew super close to us and I swear I saw them showing off for my husband’s camera. From there we drove down to the black sand beaches, famous for their deadly sneaker waves and, well, the sand. We stayed away from the waters and cautious as we relaxed in the pebbly sand and made rock towers. Honestly, balancing rocks with Josh was one of the sweetest moments of the trip for me.
After that we took a pit stop to grab coffee at a little shop run out of an old school bus, then went on a short walk that led us to a glacier observation point. It was a very glorious and terrible thing to behold, seeing all that beauty but also confronted with the reality that the glacier was shrinking due to climate change.
Day 5- Divides, Seals, and Fermented Shark
We started our fifth day in Iceland by stopping for an early morning ice cream adventure (more glorious strawberry!) then made our way to Thingvellir National Park to see the tectonic plate divide! The lagoon between the two plates was so magical and peaceful, it felt like such a contrast between the power of the earth and the beauty of it. After munching some sammies, we drove down to the coast of Selfoss. We stopped at a random lighthouse, which led us down to the beach. The whole of the land around the beach was ancient lava rocks, and there were several large tide pools to walk around. Since it was low tide, we picked our way out to the furthest point and enjoyed a moment of peace on the otherwise abandoned landscape. Just as we were about to make our way back, a seal popped out of the water! We climbed closer and closer, watching it play with ducks and doing our best seal impressions to lure it closer. Eventually we had to give up, a good decision since the tide was starting to come in and had already blocked off the path we’d taken to get so far out. At the sacrifice of cold feet, we landed on shore safe and sound. For dinner we went to a viking-style long-house, which was definitely for tourists but also delightfully fun and incredibly yummy! Josh and Tim tried hakral, a traditional Icelandic food. Hakral is fermented and dried greenland shark, eaten then followed by a shot of Brennivan, an Icelandic liquor. I did not partake, feeling quite content with my dish of cod and roe.
Day 6- Springs, storms, and poor clothing choices
Our last day in the Icelandic countryside started with a relaxing dip in a local hot spring, which might have lured us into a false sense of security. The day was warm and sunny, so when we made our way to our big hike of the day, I was ill prepared. Halfway up the mountain, a large gray cloud began moving towards us at an alarming speed, and the wind starting picking up. Still, we pressed on, actually having to cross some snow for part of the hike. By the time we got to the observation point, the beauty of all the bubbling hot springs was tainted by arriving storm. We took some pictures and made a speedy exit back down the mountains, pushed on by the whipping winds and freezing rains. My shorts were classic tourist mistake from yours truly. That evening, we all decided that Iceland’s hikes are rated by Icelandic sheep, not by actual people, because their definition of easy is not the same as that in the states.
Day 7- Art, ink, and whales
We spent our last full day in Reykjavik, bidding farewell to our little country airbnb and heading straight to Iceland’s national gallery of art. They had some really interesting exhibits, ranging from delicately hung shards of glass, to watercolor paintings as tall as me to paintings on paintings of the sea. At the end of the museum was a place to make your own art and hang up on the walls. Was it meant for children? Yes. Did I do it anyways? Also yes.
We trooped around the city for the rest of the day. I ate a massive chocolate croissant, made friends with a local cat, and lost my phone in bar (many thanks to the bartenders who picked it up for me so that it wouldn’t get stolen). We also went in search of a traditional Icelandic lopapeysa, aka the iconic wool sweaters that make me want to move to the countryside and herd sheep. We checked out several thrift stores (because we can’t quite afford to spend $300+ on a sweater) but didn’t have any luck, though I did end up getting some local wool that my friend Jahanna is going to crochet into a hat for me— thanks Jahanna!
Finally it was time for our tattoo appointment! We went to Valkyrie Studio and had a fabulous experience. The shop was cozy and our artist was so kind. We all got puffins in different poses. I’m biased because it’s on my body, but I do think mine is the cutest. I mean, just look at that little waddle!
Afterwards, we dragged our starving selves to wait in line for some authentic Icelandic dishes at a highly recommended restaurant. It was crowded with locals and tourists alike, and the food was delicious. Icelanders have hunted whale in a sustainable way for a long time, so of course my husband had to try some when he saw it on the menu. According to him, it tasted like steak. I’ll take his word for it.
Day 8- Homeward bound!
On our last morning in Iceland, we circled back to the coffee shop we originally found on our first day and went hunting for an Icelandic cookbook. Souvenirs in hand, we made our way back to the airport, dropped off our rental car, got through security with 3 of our party of 4 searched for drugs (not me though. I guess I just don’t look like an American party tourist trying to sneak contraband onto a plane 😇), and boarded our flight home. Peaches and Lucy (my cats) were deeply offended by our absence (Peaches gave Josh the silent treatment for at least 15 minutes), but got over it by the time it was lights out.
The Painting
With our adventure concluded, I set to work on my latest large-scale painting. Bruarfoss was definitely the inspiration. I love the contrast of the bright blue waters surrounded by dark lava rocks. While certainly a marvel, Bruarfoss also felt secluded enough to inspire me to paint a few discoverers in the scene :)
Landscapes aren’t my forte— I prefer characters. A person feels easier to stylize, yet still retain the core of a face or a body. Painting a person in my style is intuitive to my brain and my hand. With landscapes, it feels difficult to find the balance of style and readability. I’m never aiming for realism, but I still want people to look at a piece and know what it’s supposed to be. I will say, this piece really helped my confidence in my landscape abilities. I don’t have any complaints right now (check back in a few months), and I’m honestly really proud of how it turned out!
What really helped was changing my initial sketch process. With characters, I spend lots of time scribbling and line-working to figure things out. It’s been my approach to landscapes until now, and has never quite worked how I want. For some reason, I decided to try something different this time around. I was color testing on some scrap paper and thought I might as well paint a tiny version of the Bruarfoss painting in my head, just to get it onto a piece of paper. Guys. LIFE CHANGING! I’m sure a million other artists do this but I’d never thought to do a mini painting “sketch” for a landscape! It helped me navigate the general layout, colors, and lighting! By the time I sat down to do the big painting, I felt so much more confident!
The final result! I love it. I love LOVE the water especially— it felt very risky when I was in the middle of doing all the little lines but boy did it pay off!
Above is a picture I took, and the scan is below. The scan is definitely a higher quality image, but I think the photo captures the true colors of the piece so much better— let me know what you think!
I’ll finish off by including some of my sketchbook pages from our trip! My favorites are the sheep and the seal! If you made it this far, thanks for reading! It was a loooooong one but I am one for details ;) If you liked the pictures in this blog, my husband made a little photo book of our trip for us, but he put it up on Amazon if you’re interested in a cool coffee table book full of Icelandic beauty!
So long for now! I have an exciting project announcement coming up, so I’ll leave us on a little cliffhanger :) Enjoy these last dog days of summer and I’ll see you when the leaves change!
