Welcomed to Iceland with a snowstorm

Iceland has been one of those countries Dan and I have been wanting to travel to for a long time.

When we realised we both wanted to visit this Scandinavian bucket-list item, it quickly became our next adventure to plan.

We fell into a burrow of internet searches, guidebooks and travel blogs, finding out all the information we could to plan the trip of our dreams (Well, one of them, at least).

And so, pretty soon we were off to the Land of Ice for a much-anticipated jaunt among the waterfalls and snow.

Whilst we’d found flights from Bristol to Reykjavik for a cheap price, but that joy was short-lived when we realised how expensive it would be once we actually GOT to Iceland – If you don’t know, now you’ve been warned: Living costs are quite exxy in Iceland because the Icelandic have a higher living wage than most other countries.

So we prepared ourselves for the shock and made some plans to keep our costs as low as possible.

The first move we made was one that made our time in Iceland not only cheaper but also so much more comfortable and enjoyable: We rented an AirBnB to stay in, where we could not only sleep and shower, but cook our own meals, prepare our lunches and hang out at night, playing card games and listening to music.

Our little flat was graciously rented to us by a lovely lady named Helga – who, in addition to accommodating us, also sent us a lot of tips and information about Reykjavik and the surrounding areas.

It was such a wonderful abode that by the end of the week we almost didn’t want to leave!

I think the part Dan liked most was that we had separate duvets – so he could no longer complain that I was hogging the covers by night (Which I totally do NOT do…!)

One of the most photographed sights within the city of Reykjavik is the Sun Voyager, a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason, located right on the waterfront.

The Sun Voyager is described as a dreamboat, or an ode to the sun.

During the day it is near impossible to snap a photo of the sculpture without also capturing a variety of tourists within the frame.

But, by night – and especially in the middle of a heavy snowfall, as we found out – there are a lot more opportunities to capture the Sun Voyager in all its (uninterrupted) glory.

Try checking out the statue during both the day and the night in order to capture the beautiful sight in both lights.

Our first night in Iceland happened to fall on the first evening of the Winter Lights Festival, a yearly multi-day event in Reykjavik, so of course we just HAD to check out the opening event.

A light and sound show was held down on the docks, projected onto the watertowers, which was pretty interesting viewing.

You can see snippets of the light show in my vlog from Day 1 above or here.