Last November I celebrated my birthday and, as you can probably guess, I’m probably one of the easier people to find a present for. Whether it’s something right around the corner or a thousand miles away, my family and friends all know that I love the gift of some form of travel experience.

This birthday, my husband went all out and took me on a trip to Iceland with the hope of accomplishing the top goal on my bucket list: viewing the Northern Lights.

Even before we left, our trip evoked so many wow responses from our fellow travelers that it seemed as if we were flying to some far off, mythical land.  And, after visiting this small country located half way between New York City and the Arctic Circle with its fiery volcanoes,icy glaciers, and mountains as well as its unique language derived from the Vikings, I learned that the responses were completely on the mark. This was one of the most unusual trips I’ve experienced. What made it even more amazing though, was the fact that it only took about four hours and fifty minutes to arrive there from JFK!

Beyond the date of my birthday celebration, November also seemed to be a good time of year to go for viewing the Northern Lights. We needed clear dark skies to view this phenomenon, but we didn’t want to travel so deep into winter that we would face almost total darkness and intense cold.

As usual, I searched for a good bargain and found it on Travelzoo (yes, I take my own advice). Icelandair was offering a great deal complete with air, hotel and a Northern Lights tour.

Our flight left JFK in the night, and we arrived at around 6:00 am on my birthday into Kevflavik Airport which is  located about 45 minutes from our destination and the most northern capitol in the world, Reykjavik.   Reykjavik Excursions (https://www.re.is)  invited us to to take their Flybus into the city and, as one reviewer had noted, this company acted like a well organized machine that moved us quickly along still darken roads lined with unique lava fields to our hotel, the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica  (http://www.hiltonreykjavik.com/).

Travel Gal Tip:, For this and any tours provided by this company you should print out a copy of your voucher as they will want to collect it. A few passengers didn’t have their papers and needed to go to the intermediate bus terminal for verification. There was not much of a delay but this eliminates another step.

Once we arrived at our hotel, we checked in and took advantage of the Hilton’s  extensive breakfast buffet that included the usual eggs and bacon but also different regional dishes including various forms of herring, smoked salmon, and a thinner version of our yogurt. This hotel was considered to be one of the most luxurious in the city, and we were told that Yoko Ono stayed there during her visits.  The service was very accommodating,  and our pretty room had a wonderful view of the Icelandic scenery.

Travel Gal Tip: You’ll need an adapter for your plugins such as curlers or smart phone chargers. Otherwise, I was warned, there would be a good chance that we would fry them.

The hotel was located about a mile or so from the center of town. I love to walk, but I was initially concerned that the potentially cold temperature might make the relatively short trek a hassle. I was told by the locals, though, that the distance was a good thing if you liked sleeping regular hours. The inhabitants of this town liked to party until well into the morning, and we would be away from the sometime noisy celebrations. The hotel was also close to a pharmacy, restaurants, and a mini grocery store all within a couple of blocks away.

A little rested, we took two free bus passes supplied by the hotel, and we traveled like locals to the main section of Reykjavik where we saw various craft shops and restaurants.

 

Having traveled quite a bit and living so relatively close to New York City, I’m a little jaded when it comes viewing local crafts . So I was happy to see something unique – salmon skin leather products as well as the traditional Icelandic woolen sweaters.

 

 

Great way to spend my birthday, but the best was yet to come when we were invited to dine at Dill Restaurant. Considered to be one of the best creative restaurants in the city, we loved the hip, cozy atmosphere, and our multi-course dinner was very memorable.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to end this wonderful celebration, we hired a taxi driver to take us around later that night to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. We were scheduled for a Northern Lights tour the next night, but the skies were now clear, and we didn’t want to miss an opportunity. Our driver called her colleagues to find out if there had been any sightings, and we rode away from the city lights toward the direction it was most likely we could see them. And yes, we saw this amazing phenomenon unfurl towards us from the mountains. The colors were muted by the light of that night’s full moon, and we were told that much of the intense colors that we see in pictures are obtained through time lapse photography, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Great a birthday and it was just our first day in this country!

Next: More adventures in Iceland.