Iceland, a Nordic island nation, is defined by its dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. Massive glaciers are protected in Vatnajökull and Snæfellsjökull national parks. Most of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavik, which runs on geothermal power and is home to the National and Saga museums, tracing Iceland’s Viking history.
We visited Iceland twice, in October 2015 and returned in March 2017. We stayed at the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica both times. We explored Reykjavik on the City Sightseeing hop-on-hop-off bus, including Hallgrimskirkja Church, Harpa Concert Hall/Old Harbor and the Sun Voyager sculpture. The “Golden Circle” took us to Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Hot Springs and the Strokkur Geyser, as well as Gullfoss Waterfall. We chased the northern lights, rode snow mobiles up a glacier, explored a lava cave and visited the famed Blue Lagoon.