After our visit to Iceland last spring, we had often wondered if the experience was a fluke. I mean, Iceland is beautiful, no doubt. But we found that conversations about travel tended to return to our time there, trying and failing to adequately describe random, epic waterfalls and the surreal majesty of the northern lights.
So, when a return to Iceland became part of this trip around the world, we questioned whether or not a second visit would live up to the high expectations established by the first.
We need not have worried. Iceland delivers. In ways at once both grand and sublime.
We rented a car, once again opting for the freedom of a self-driving tour over the structure and expense of the popular bus tours in the country. And, instead of heading south as we did on our first visit, we based ourselves in Borgarnes and explored the Snæfellsnes peninsula instead.
Our Airbnb just outside of Borgarnes was perfect. A remote, prairie-style house that was literally shipped from Norway in the 1880s. Cozy and rustic, the space transported us back to a simpler time, but with super-fast wifi.
Ben’s rendering of our prairie Airbnb
Not another house in sight
The Airbnb even provided authentic Icelandic wool sweaters for us to use!
We did a few driving loops around the peninsula, taking in the sites of small fishing villages, unmarked waterfalls, and the impossible structure of Mt. Kirkjufell. But, like those stories about our first visit to Iceland, anything I tried to describe here about this second visit would also fall short.
The story of Iceland is best told in images. And even those don’t do it justice. So, I will leave you with these attempts and simply encourage you to go see for yourself. Even though I have now been twice, Iceland is still high on my list of future places to visit — again.
Have you been to Iceland? If so, how many times, and what should we see the next time we return?