I can’t remember the exact moment I decided to travel alone, or why I suddenly wanted to. I just know that once the idea entered my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It wasn’t long until I had decided to save up to go to Iceland in early January 2018. Why Iceland? First and foremost, the crazy landscapes I would witness. Just seeing photos of the insane waterfalls, springs, mountains, and glaciers all over Iceland made my heart jump. I had always dreamt of visiting a place like Iceland, so, once I had saved up enough money for a plane ride, I made that dream a reality without a second thought.
I’m not a risk taker by heart though — before I booked that plane ticket I asked myself about a thousand times if this was really a good idea... I mean, I was going to travel to a foreign country completely alone at 22 years old!
To do that, I had to let go of any fear or doubt I had. Momentarily at least! I had to gain some courage to click ‘Purchase.’ Also, I have to admit that Hillary Duff's legendary “Why Not" helped out.
And so on January 8, 2018 I arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland! **Cue Seguir Ros **
As an architecture dork, my first destination in the city of Reykjavik was Harpa Music Hall which I found out was only about half a mile from the bus station. As I walked to Harpa, I had my first realization about the city — in comparison to Houston, Reykjavik is TINY! And let me tell you... I loved it. Driving in traffic every day truly gets old.
Speaking of driving — I did not rent a car in Iceland. Texas roads in winter are very different from those in Iceland! Anyways, I made my way around the South end of the country through tours and around Reykjavik through the local public transport Strætó .
My breath was quickly taken away when I visited þingvellir National Park and the rest of the famous Golden Circle. It was truly like being in another world... a very slippery world, but still, a very amazing world.
Notice the difference in colors? Yep, that´s Iceland for ya.
In winter, there wasn't much daylight... but when the sun did come out... WOW. It was basically a four hour sunset! Something I really enjoyed about traveling alone was that I could stare at this view for as long as I wanted to without having someone telling me what we should do next. I literately sat here for half an hour, eating a left over sandwich ( which are everywhere in Reykjavik, by the way ) and enjoyed every second of it.
I’m writing this pretty late, so I’m just gonna wrap up saying, I left Iceland wanting to come back. I was able to see much of the South wonders that the country offers, but I am excited to see much more of Iceland when I go back in the summer of 2018.