Maple Alps

iceland

The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland

TravelAmanda Walter | Maple Alps6 Comments

I'm having some serious Iceland withdrawal and I haven't shared the rest of our trip yet! Today is the day! Our third day in Iceland called for a short tour, so we settled on the Golden Circle and then a bit of sightseeing in Reykjavik. We topped it off with a visit to the Blue Lagoon!

The Golden Circle & a Bit of Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

Everything was so breathtaking and like out of a dream. Maybe it was a dream because we were crazy tired. It was so worth pushing through!

The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
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The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
The Golden Circle & Reykjavik // Iceland | www.maplalps.com

We can't wait to get back and explore some more!

North West of the Island // Iceland

TravelAmanda Walter | Maple Alps2 Comments

Normally, I wouldn't be all about traveling all night, flying and landing at 6am local time and then setting out to explore as much as possible right away, but with only three days in Iceland, we had to make every minute count. 

North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

It was seriously surreal. We were so overtired and everything felt like a dream. Thinking back on it even now makes it seem like a dream. The nature was like nothing we had ever seen before and it was, or is rather, so beautiful in such a unique way. 

North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

I spent a lot of time trying to get a photo of the sheep. I never did get my dream shot, but I caught some nevertheless. They just really added to the experience. 

North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

Unfortunately, we had to get most of Iceland from inside of our rental car. It was nice when we did get out to stretch every once in a while though. Chilly, but nice. We also ended up getting so tired that we pulled into some hotel parking lot and slept for half an hour. It was a needed reboot. 

North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

The sun did come out briefly, but it was truly moody the whole time. It rained and was cloudy, but it all added to the effect. The towns were so perfectly European and I felt right at home.

North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
North West of the Island // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

We're already counting down the days till we can go back!

16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland

TravelAmanda Walter | Maple Alps6 Comments

If you follow along on Instagram, you definitely know that we hit up a few countries over the summer. We decided to take an extended and belated honeymoon and go to Europe. Seeing family and friends was amazing, but we also wanted to explore some new places on our bucket lists. Naturally, Iceland was on that list and though this particular day started out gloomy and cold, it did not disappoint. I decided to share some photos from the trip. We took hundreds, but don't worry, I'll only share a few ;-) 

We set out in our little rental car to explore the land:

South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

We only had three days total in the beautiful country, and we used pretty much every hour to see only the surface of the amazing things it has to offer. We will definitely be revisiting Iceland in the future!

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South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com

The waterfalls were plentiful and beautiful. 

South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com

Unfortunately, pretty soon after taking this picture, I decided to walk into a very innocent-looking field. It turned out to be extremely wet, and both of my feet became soaked. It was a mushy walk back to the car, and trying to dry out my shoes and socks was quite entertaining. Luckily, I had a pair of flats in the car - not an ideal walking shoe, but they did the trick. Especially because we had a long walk ahead of us...

South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

After seeing images of this plane crash for years, my husband insisted we go see it. It ended up being quite the journey to get there (almost an hour each way!!), but it was so cool to see.

South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours | Iceland | www.maplealps.com

These purple/blue flowers were all over the island! I loved them :) The churches and different buildings were also really interesting to see.

South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

Just going through these pictures is making me want to go back! We definitely will be planning a second trip some time in the future.

16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
South Coast in 16 Hours // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

The blue at the glaciers was unreal. By this point we were getting pretty hungry, so we sat and stayed a while and snacked on some....crackers (Did I mention that everything in Iceland is really expensive? We found a grocery store and stocked our car with snacks).

By the time we finished at the glaciers, we realized that we'd best be heading back if we were to be in bed by midnight. The sun is decieving! 

16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com

We HAD to hit another waterfall before completing our journey. Also, can I just mention now that my husband is a CHAMP who drove the ENTIRE time?! He's amazing.

16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com
16 Hours along the South Coast // Iceland | www.maplealps.com