It’s been almost three years since we last visited Iceland on a whim over Thanksgiving break in November of 2012.  And after that first visit, we knew we wanted to return sooner rather than later, falling deep in love with the country and the people and walking away from that first trip overwhelmed by the emotions the country brought out of us in the best possible way.  And now, after just returning from our second trip to the enchanting land that is Iceland, I can honestly say this trip was even better than our last.

Iceland is one of those countries that just sticks with you, a place that makes you feel incredibly insignificant in the scope of the world and yet completely connected to the world all at once.  It’s a place where you can stand on top of a waterfall in the middle of a countryside, without another human for miles and be completely connected to the land in an almost spiritual way, where you can pull off the side of one of the most picturesque roads you’ve ever seen and play with Icelandic horses.  It’s a land of seemingly millions of waterfalls coming down the sides of cliffs from the snow melting, a land of snow and rain and sun all at once, a land of landscapes that seem to change before your very eyes.  Iceland is unique in so many ways and has so many standout qualities that everyone needs to experience it, but for me, the most incredible thing about the country is how it makes me stop in the moment, taking in a beautiful scene in front of me and connect to the Earth in a way I’ve never felt anywhere else in the world.

On this second return trip to Iceland, we rented a car and drove 1500 km around the island.  We drove through mountain pass gravel roads marked as highways, out 30 minutes on a muddy road to see an orange lighthouse at the second farthest Western tip of the island.  We stopped on the side of the road and played with Icelandic horses, we drove along fjords and took in mountains covered in snow.  We drove North and encountered snowy mountain passes and rainstorms that seemingly flooded the roads, we took in waterfalls at sunrise and drove farther North on the globe than we ever have been before.  It was a trip through Iceland that we had been dreaming of since our first visit, and it did not disappoint.

I felt all those emotions I remember from our first trip and experienced even more this time around.  It’s a funny thing how much I love the country, since I tend to be drawn more toward cities in my normal life, but there is something about Iceland and its incredible countrysides that draw me in.  Never have I felt so attached to the Earth as I do in Iceland, or so in awe of the world’s beauty.  It’s an overwhelming feeling of beauty, an overwhelming sense of awe in everything within this country.  Iceland makes you stop and think and dream and wonder all at once, it makes you live in the moment and take in all that our planet has to offer.  It is an enchanted place, and not just because you’ll hear stories of elves and trolls wherever you go, but because the country holds something not many other places in the world still have: a natural, raw and incredibly unique beauty, an inner peace, and landscapes that allow you to really connect with this planet we call home.

I know this won’t be our last time in Iceland.  In fact, we already know which areas we want to visit next.  It’s a country that will always be special to us, a place that will always stick with me, a place that will enchant you if you let it.  I can’t wait to start sharing all our about trip and the amazing places we saw in the days and weeks to come… so stay tuned to be enchanted by Iceland!

Traveling to Iceland?

See all of my posts on the country!