By: Samie

Travel Date: May 29th, 2023

Total Honeymoon Travel Days: 1

Day 1

(Airport, Blue Lagoon, Airbnb, Reykjavik city)

Our plane was scheduled to touch down at 6:35 and because we departed Minneapolis on time, our arrival into Keflavik Airport was also very timely. We were walking off the plane by 6:40 am Iceland time. Now this was a whole five hours ahead of our time zone, so for us, it was almost 2:00 am. By the time we got through the long line at immigrations, grabbed Luke’s suitcase from baggage claim, snagged a sample pack of some Icelandic alcohol from the duty free store, it was pretty close to 8:00 am or 3:00 am our time. Since we had gotten very little sleep on the plane, exhaustion quickly settled in as we waited in the airport for the bus we were going to take to the Blue Lagoon to arrive. There was a small convenience store within the airport right next to the exit doors for the buses where we were waiting, so we did purchase some water and coffee in an attempt to keep our energy up.

The earliest bus we could catch to the Blue Lagoon was 8:45, so we had a decent amount of time waiting around. Our bus arrived, and we loaded up our suitcases and found two comfortable seats that suited our fancy and settled in for the 25 minute drive to the lagoon. As we began our drive, I immediately began to struggle to keep my eyes open and slipped in and out of consciousness the entire duration of the journey. Fortunately, Luke was on top of taking pictures of the incredible and interesting landscape we passed to share with me later, once I had regained control of my ability to fight fatigue.

Upon arrival at the Blue Lagoon, we fortunately remembered to collect our suitcases from under the bus and began to roll our way to the entrance. Right as you step onto the path that leads to the building where you check in for access to the lagoon, there is a small building where you pay a small fee to check in suitcases, anything larger than a backpack. We were very glad we wouldn’t have to leave all our belongings in the locker room or each try to squeeze a carry-on into a locker. Before handing our cases over to the employee checking in the bags, we grabbed anything we might need, like our suitcases and toiletries, and stuffed them into our backpacks. We then began the surprisingly scenic walk through the lava field to the main building.

Within the main building, we received bracelets that were chipped and allowed admittance by tapping the bracelet to a designated area and the gate swung open for us to enter. These same bracelets would be used to access lockers and pay for anything else we wanted to purchase after receiving the complimentary mud mask and drink per person within our package. After going through the entrance gate, Luke and I went separate ways to our designated showers and dressing rooms.

It is a requirement to shower before entering the lagoon completely naked. Nordic culture is much more relaxed and open and “privacy” isn’t really a common social expectation within the showers and locker area. This was definitely an internal struggle for me and not something I was as comfortable with since it isn’t as much of a social norm, especially in little, conservative South Dakota. I spent a decent amount of time fiddling with my locker and testing out the bracelet to open and close it just to fill time while I built up the strength to strip down and walk through the locker room all the way over to the showers. However, if you’re like me, there is no need to stress because everyone is naked and nobody cares, so just do what you’ve got to do! The shower will feel amazing, and the products they have available to use are wonderful.

Once my shower was complete and I once again donned body covering with my swimsuit on, I met back up with Luke in the area of the building that led directly out to the lagoon. We decided to dip our toes in and getting comfortable and calm from the initial shock of the shower situation before getting a few obligatory photos. The air temperature outside was a balmy 50 degrees, so even though it was a short walk from the warmth of the building to the warmth of the lagoon, the middle bit was definitely chilly. We walked very quickly.

Almost immediately as we waded into the warmth of the man-made geothermal pool, we felt the soothing effects of its mineral-rich water radiate throughout our exhausted bodies. We made our way further into the lagoon, swam around to a few different areas, and relaxed on a few of the built-in benches for a while as we enjoyed the pleasantly heated water. After a little while, we decided we better get a few good pictures before getting too comfortable and relaxed, so Luke made his way back to grab his phone from his locker. Many people had bags or special waterproof phone protection cases on lanyards around their necks, but we didn’t want to carry around the phone the whole time, so we planned to just take the pictures we wanted and then put it back in the locker.

We found a few nice and preferred locations for our pictures around the front area of the pool. There were a few employees stations around the perimeter of the lagoon, bundled up in large, puffy, full-length coats. On our way over to another photo op location, one of the employees asked if we would like him to take our picture with the whole lagoon and mountains in the background. Who would turn that down? We handed the phone over, and he was quite the professional! He got several angles and perspectives for us. We thanked him kindly and then decided it was time to use our complimentary mud mask.

We made our way to the little hut set up inside the pool, and the person set up inside slathered our hands with a generous amount of the mask, which we then helped each other apply evenly to our faces. We found a relaxing spot to lounge while we allowed the masks to dry. The water of the Blue Lagoon has high levels of silica, and although it not technically harmful to your hair, wetting your hair with the silica water can cause it to become stiff and difficult to manage. It is suggested to condition hair before entering the pool, lather a layer of conditioner on ends to leave in during time in the lagoon, keep long hair up off the shoulders and not submerge it. That combined with the high temperature of the water made it not an ideal place to wash and scrub off a mud mask. Instead, there is a little spout of fresh water near the mask hut for rinsing. However, we were not prepared for how cold this water would be. It was quite a shock.
Upon arrival at the Blue Lagoon, we fortunately remembered to collect our suitcases from under the bus and began to roll our way to the entrance. Right as you step onto the path that leads to the building where you check in for access to the lagoon, there is a small building where you pay a small fee to check in suitcases, anything larger than a backpack. We were very glad we wouldn’t have to leave all our belongings in the locker room or each try to squeeze a carry-on into a locker. Before handing our cases over to the employee checking in the bags, we grabbed anything we might need, like our suitcases and toiletries, and stuffed them into our backpacks. We then began the surprisingly scenic walk through the lava field to the main building.

Within the main building, we received bracelets that were chipped and allowed admittance by tapping the bracelet to a designated area and the gate swung open for us to enter. These same bracelets would be used to access lockers and pay for anything else we wanted to purchase after receiving the complimentary mud mask and drink per person within our package. After going through the entrance gate, Luke and I went separate ways to our designated showers and dressing rooms.

It is a requirement to shower before entering the lagoon completely naked. Nordic culture is much more relaxed and open and “privacy” isn’t really a common social expectation within the showers and locker area. This was definitely an internal struggle for me and not something I was as comfortable with since it isn’t as much of a social norm, especially in little, conservative South Dakota. I spent a decent amount of time fiddling with my locker and testing out the bracelet to open and close it just to fill time while I built up the strength to strip down and walk through the locker room all the way over to the showers. However, if you’re like me, there is no need to stress because everyone is naked and nobody cares, so just do what you’ve got to do! The shower will feel amazing, and the products they have available to use are wonderful.

Once my shower was complete and I once again donned body covering with my swimsuit on, I met back up with Luke in the area of the building that led directly out to the lagoon. We decided to dip our toes in and getting comfortable and calm from the initial shock of the shower situation before getting a few obligatory photos. The air temperature outside was a balmy 50 degrees, so even though it was a short walk from the warmth of the building to the warmth of the lagoon, the middle bit was definitely chilly. We walked very quickly.

Almost immediately as we waded into the warmth of the man-made geothermal pool, we felt the soothing effects of its mineral-rich water radiate throughout our exhausted bodies. We made our way further into the lagoon, swam around to a few different areas, and relaxed on a few of the built-in benches for a while as we enjoyed the pleasantly heated water. After a little while, we decided we better get a few good pictures before getting too comfortable and relaxed, so Luke made his way back to grab his phone from his locker. Many people had bags or special waterproof phone protection cases on lanyards around their necks, but we didn’t want to carry around the phone the whole time, so we planned to just take the pictures we wanted and then put it back in the locker.

We found a few nice and preferred locations for our pictures around the front area of the pool. There were a few employees stations around the perimeter of the lagoon, bundled up in large, puffy, full-length coats. On our way over to another photo op location, one of the employees asked if we would like him to take our picture with the whole lagoon and mountains in the background. Who would turn that down? We handed the phone over, and he was quite the professional! He got several angles and perspectives for us. We thanked him kindly and then decided it was time to use our complimentary mud mask.

We made our way to the little hut set up inside the pool, and the person set up inside slathered our hands with a generous amount of the mask, which we then helped each other apply evenly to our faces. We found a relaxing spot to lounge while we allowed the masks to dry. The water of the Blue Lagoon has high levels of silica, and although it not technically harmful to your hair, wetting your hair with the silica water can cause it to become stiff and difficult to manage. It is suggested to condition hair before entering the pool, lather a layer of conditioner on ends to leave in during time in the lagoon, keep long hair up off the shoulders and not submerge it. That combined with the high temperature of the water made it not an ideal place to wash and scrub off a mud mask. Instead, there is a little spout of fresh water near the mask hut for rinsing. However, we were not prepared for how cold this water would be. It was quite a shock.

Then, we made our way over to the in-pool bar to utilize our complimentary beverage. I treated myself to a blue raspberry slushee, and Luke tried the Icelandic beer Gull. We waited until close to 11:00, so it was like having a beer with an early lunch in Iceland. However, for Luke, it was like having a beer for breakfast, so he said it felt very weird to be drinking a beer. Either way, we enjoyed sipping our refreshments in the comfort of the pool and taking in our glorious surroundings. After three long years of waiting, we were finally here, and it didn’t seem real.

After drinks, Luke returned his phone to his locker and we ventured further into the lagoon. We didn’t realize how large it really was as we were constantly coming across areas and sections we hadn’t been through yet. While wading through the water, we also came across different patches that varied in temperature, some warmer, some cooler. After a while, we made our way over to a spot deemed the “serenity area.” There were signs indicating this was a designated area of quiet and that phones were also discouraged in this area. It was pure bliss; so quiet and peaceful and serene. We went all the way to where the water met up with the surrounding landforms and shallowed out to the point where we could stretch out laying down and still have our heads above water. In this area, we fully surrendered to the comfort and relaxation of the lagoon. I wholly took a nap while lightly floating between the pool floor and surface of the water with my head cozily settled into my arms.

The earliest bus that takes visitors from the Blue Lagoon into Reykjavik wasn’t until 1:15 pm. This meant that we would have to spend about 4 hours at the lagoon. When we were first planning our trip, we thought this might be too much time and that we would spend a lot of time just sitting around or trying to fill or waste time. However, 4 hours ended up being the absolute perfect amount of time for us. We probably could have even been convinced to spend more time there, but we were also excited to get to our Airbnb in the city. We made out way out of the pool, showered in our birthday suits again, changed into our clothes, grabbed our items from our lockers, walked down to collect our suitcases, and hopped on the 1:15 bus.

It was about a 45 minute drive to Reykjavik. When we had checked in for our bus ride back at the airport, they asked where we would want to be dropped off when we were ready to arrive in the city. We didn’t know much about what the bus stop numbers meant, so they asked us where our Airbnb was, and we showed the address we had been provided. They said it was near the Hallgrimskirkja Church and gave us a drop off ticket with our designated drop-off bus stop written on it to hand to our driver taking us from the lagoon.

Our bus stop was pretty much right next to Hallgrimskirkja. Once off the bus, we still needed to figure out how to find our Airbnb. A very kind local noticed us attempting to gain our bearings and offered her assistance. We showed her where we were trying to get to, and she pointed us down a road. We dragged our suitcases loudly as we made our way in that direction. It turned out the directions she had given us took us the long way. If we had just gone straight down the street from the church, it would have been a much shorter route. Nonetheless, we found our Airbnb and were able to get the key via a contactless lockbox. Despite us staying directly under the owner’s personal home, we never did bump into our hosts. We could tell they were kind and considerate people, though, because upon arrival, they had gifted us a bottle of champagne and some local chocolate to congratulate us on our wedding since we had mentioned we were visiting Iceland for our honeymoon.

Shortly after getting settled in, I completely crashed on the coach. It was probably the fastest I have ever fallen asleep. Luke decided to lay down, making himself comfortable on the bed instead, shortly after I did. We both enjoyed a glorious two hour nap after a very full first 24 hours.

After waking up from our much-needed rest, it was almost 5:00 pm, so we decided to venture out into the city for some supper and a little exploration before calling it a night. While wandering, we passed a place called Reykjavik Fish, and we knew some classic fish and chips was something we for sure wanted to try because if anyone was going to do it right, it would be Iceland. We made our way inside, and the tantalizing smells infected our nostrils. We each got our own order of fish and chips, but looking back, we could have easily shared. The serving size was surprisingly large, but boy was it also easy to see why someone could scarf this meal down entirely on their own. I’m not a big fish person, but this fried cod is something I would happily order and devour again. The fish was crisp and flaky on the outside and soft and well-cooked on the inside. The chips were also amazing, but I figured going into it I would enjoy those.

We began to make our way back to the church since it is such a recognizable landmark of Reykjavik, and we didn’t know how much time we would have to visit it again with a few busy upcoming days. A pleasant surprise for me is that Reykjavik is a populated cat city. Cats are able to safely roam the streets until they are ready to return home and be fed by their loving owners. I gleefully greeted every new furry friend we came across. At the church, we attempted to get a few pictures with the church, the Iceland flag, and the statue of Leif Erikson, but the wind was not cooperating. At least we got some candid and authentic shots! The doors to the church were open, so we were able to go inside, and as far as churches go, it is an absolute stunner inside and out. It is surprising how far back it goes considering its facade, and it has a huge, beautiful organ. The outside of the church was made to resemble a specific rock structure of Iceland. Although it didn’t yet mean much to us, we would be able to make this connection after our next day’s adventure.

On our way to a nearby grocery store, we passed an ice cream shop and couldn’t say no to a delectable dessert. I got a scoop of a peanut butter cup ice cream, and Luke chose a waffle cone filled with a tiramisu ice cream. We finished our journey to the grocery store where we picked up some provisions for our next day’s excursion. It was going to be a full day bus tour, so we bought some supplies to make sandwiches. We also couldn’t help loading ourselves up with two more flavors of the Omnom chocolate to add to the one our Airbnb host gifted us. They had given us the classic Lakkris (licorice) Sea Salt flavor. Apparently licorice is a very popular candy ingredient in Iceland. We added Caramel and Sea Salted Toffee to our chocolate bar flavor collection.

We ended our first day in Iceland sipping on a popular Iceland orange drink called Applesin, trying our first bar of Omnom chocolate (we decided to try the licorice one from our hosts first), and watching a stand-up special of one our favorite comedians before calling it an early night to catch up on some sleep and in preparation for another full day the next morning.

It was the perfect first day of our honeymoon, and it was easy to tell we were going to be quickly falling in love with this magnificent place and everything it had to offer during our time there!