Up Close and Personal in Iceland

Bon lundi!

I've said it and I am going to say it again...and then a few more times. Iceland is an incredible country to visit! And I have LOTS more to share from my stopover trip earlier this month, so I hope you are just as excited as I am to explore the country together.

I really did not know much about Iceland before my first visit last May. Until then, the memory that popped into my mind at the thought of “Iceland” was nervously watching the news in 2010 to track the volcano eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull. Solely for selfish reasons - my European vacation was at stake with all of the airline disruptions. Who knows what would have happened if my flight was canceled? It was my first trip to Paris, which kind of started something…

But aside from becoming acutely aware of a bit of the geothermal activity going on in Iceland, I still did not know much more than that. Icelandair helped fill me in on some of the gaps with the fun facts they feature while flying. You know, things like 80% of Icelanders believe in elves and everyone is on a first-name basis, even the president. 

And here is one of my own fun facts from experience in Iceland: You can pretty much walk up to just about any waterfall in Iceland. No fences or barriers restrict access - no, you can go right up to the falls, as close as you dare. This was about as close as I wanted to get to Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe! 

What comes to mind when you think of Iceland?