Goodbye Iceland, Hello Norway

Day 7: 

First thing in the morning we set off for Kirkjufell to see it in the daytime. We were pleasantly surprised to have a sunny day with blue skies. We were able to see the mountain and its waterfalls in their daytime glory. After Kirkjufell we headed north east to Stykkisholmur, a small town on the coast of the Snaefellsness Peninsula. Here we stopped at Bakery Nesbraud to get Icelandic donuts called Kleinas and a coffee to wake me up. We walked around the town, hiked up to the top of Sugandisey Cliff to see the view of the ocean, and took many pictures of the cute harbor town that gained fame after The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was filmed there. We quickly visited a beautiful church, but didn't go inside because a bridal party was arriving for a wedding as we showed up. Before leaving the town we stopped at the Bonus store, the most common grocery store in Iceland with the iconic piggy logo. We got a few snacks and hit the road once again. From Stykkisholmur we made our way to Skardsvik white sand beach where the ocean waves were a dark blue and the sand was speckled with black, tan and white grains. After Skardsvik, we journeyed south on the peninsula to Londrangar, the remains of a volcanic crater. Here we watched the sunset behind the lava rock cliffs and gazed upon the beauty of the moon rising behind the lighthouse. On our way to our campsite for the night, we made a quick stop in Budir to see the black church just before nightfall. Since he time we started planning our trip to Iceland, I knew I wanted to see this church. It intrigued me because of how different it is from the much more common white colored churches. It was beautiful to see at dusk. 

We settled into our campsite and called it a night. 

Day 8: 

For our last full day in Iceland, we mostly just had one thing planned, the Blue Lagoon. We packed up in the morning and started off toward Grindavik, where the Blue Lagoon is located. We of course stopped for a few detours along the way to see more waterfalls and take pictures of more horses and sheep. The Blue Lagoon was an experience unlike any other. You see pictures from people visiting it, and you may think "that looks pretty cool but I bet it's not THAT incredible to spend so much money on it". If you think that, you'll be shocked by how much better it is than any picture could show. The natural hot spring temperature is the perfect warmth, especially when the air is so cold outside. When you visit the lagoon you are able to float around for hours, go to the in-water bar for a drink, or stop by the in-water facial mask area for a silica mask or algae mask. It was the perfect relaxing way to end the trip to Iceland. We spent a few hours floating around enjoying the steamy water in all its blue glory. Eventually we rinsed off the sulfur water, lathered our hair in conditioner, and dried off. We took the scenic route to the parking lot and got to see more beautiful blue water between the lava rocks and moss. We found our last campsite for the trip, which was located on the coast near Keflavik. We spent the last night in our home on wheels next to an iconic red and white lighthouse. 

Day 9: Keflavik Iceland --> Bergen Oslo

In the morning we packed up our belongings for the last time, and made our way to the airport. We dropped off our kuku campers van and shuttled to the departure gate. We said goodbye to iceland as we took off into the air. Next stop: Bergen Norway 

We arrived at the airport in Bergen and took a flybus into town. From there we walked to our Airbnb which is located near the university. We freshened up then set off to find dinner and walk around the city. We walked around in the rain getting a feel for the town. Instantly we fell in love. The architecture here is incredible and the whole town feels cozy. We found a place called Pingvenin, which translates to Penguin, and sat down for a delicious dinner of Tomato soup, flatbread, lamb and beer. After warming up and filling our tummies we headed back to our cozy room that will be home for our two nights here in Bergen. God natt!