As hard as it may be for me to accept a surprise and go with the flow for a vacation, I did just that. My husband of 13 years surprised me for my 40th birthday with a trip to Iceland. And by surprised, I mean surprised! I opened the gift he gave me at my family birthday party and it included a jacket, sweater, two guidebooks to Iceland, and my passport. He said, “Get ready because we leave in 12 hours!” I was shocked. Nervous! Scared. I had work obligations (or so I thought). I didn’t really want to leave our two kids, but fortunately they were being left in the capable hands of my parents. He had covered it all. I had nothing to do but get ready and get excited. After a brief period of some anxiety and finishing up last minute work, I was ready to go! My hubby was amazing to plan such a wonderful gift, and I am very thankful to have him in my life. Check out the amazing things we did in Iceland! It’s a super easy trip from the East Coast.
Here are the Top 5 Things we loved doing in Iceland:
1. Visiting the Blue Lagoon (We got massages, waded in the warm thermal springs, and had a lovely meal. Even the awful gale force winds and pounding rain did not ruin our time. Yes, they are OPEN no matter the weather):
2. Taking the trek around the Golden Circle (We got to see the national park Þingvellir (where there is a continental divide between the tectonic plates), the waterfall named Gullfoss, and the geysers; Geysir and Strokkur. Again the weather was rainy, but we toughed it out):
3. Shopping in the town of Reykjavík (We loved all the little shops, restaurants, and things to see in this largest city of Iceland):
4. To live like the locals live (We even went to a grocery store, rented a car to drive around, and bought some local wool):
5. Restaurant hop and try new foods (We ate soup from bread bowls, tried smoked puffin, and my hubby also ate fermented shark and dried, salted fish):
BUT…….dessert was the BEST!
Of course there were many other things we loved about Iceland as well. It was only a five hour flight from Boston. Very easy! The people there were so friendly, it has a rich history, and it was also cool to see the coast area and lava fields where scenes from Game of Thrones was filmed. We didn’t visit the north side of the island though, but that is where the scenes for Castle Black and “The Wall” are filmed. That will have to be our next trip. And yes, we are big fans of Game of Thrones. See below how cool the lava fields are:
I definitely think this is a trip we would take again…with the kids next time. The only downside at all was the poor weather we had and the prices of some food and souvenirs. It was a little pricey there, but I guess traveling overseas can be pricey. Let me know below if you have any questions about Iceland and I will be sure to respond to your comments and answer them!
I am so jealous!! Wow. What an amazing trip!
What a once in a lifetime experience! I didn’t know much about Iceland before reading your post, but based on the Blue Lagoon – I need to visit!
This place looks beautiful and kudos to Hubby for an amazing surprise.
What an amazing trip! That is such a great surprise!
What an amazing trip, I would have loved to have visited there.. I love checking out supermarkets on my trips too.
Wow, now that is an awesome present… and such a gift that you shared it with us, too… Sounds like y’all had an amazing time and those photos are spectacular!
I was so jealous like seriously the entire time you were there! All your photos on Facebook. Goodness! It was amazing! I wish I could have been there too! It’s so beautiful!!
How awesome!! Your husband is pretty cool indeed. I’d love to go there one of these days….maybe go to Ireland, Londond, and Scotland from there. Yeah!
You can stop for a few day “layover” with no extra charge from the airline on the way to other places! You should check that out!
Iceland looks so beautiful. I’d love to visit there. I don’t know that I’d try fermented shark, but the soup bowl looked delicious.
Now that is one spectacular birthday present! Wish I could go on that kind of trip.
That is a majorly awesome birthday present! Maybe I can drop some hints to my hubby and get my own Iceland trip.
So I stalked your whole trip and LOVED every moment. I am SO glad that you were about to go on such a wonderful trip and that hubby surprised you with it, of course! Happy birthday, mama!!!! <3
P.S. I've reminded my hubby he has 10 years to save up for my 40th everyday since you announced this is what hubby got you! 🙂 He's raised the bar for all men!
What an awesome surprise and I followed your trip on Facebook, loved all the pictures.. sure sounded like an AWESOME trip… you have the best Hubby ever…:-)
That is one heck of a surprise! I don’t know why, but Iceland wasn’t on my travel bucket list. Until now that is!
This looks like the trip of a lifetime! Seriously! Iceland is on my list of places I need to visit!
Wow that would be so fun to get to go to Iceland, and it sounds like a wonderful trip!! WOW it is absolutely stunning!!!
Wow!! Iceland looks amazing! It’s not ever a place I’ve really thought about going to, but now I want to!!
Absolutely breathtaking. Such a gorgeous country.
That looks like an awesome trip! Blue Lagoon looks like it was especially amazing, but I bet trying the new food was neat too.
All I can say is wow, wow, WOW! Now that’s one sweet, loving, and thoughtful hubby to plan a trip like that down to the last detail. And from the looks of it you guys had a wonderful time 🙂
Iceland is one of my favorite places to visit!! What an amazing surprise from your husband I think I would be shocked if John did that. Glad you had a blast!
WOW! How amazing!!! I would love to visit there someday, but I have quite a few places on my list before it…. maybe I’ll send this to my husband so he can surprise me one day 😉 Happy Birthday!
I have always wanted to go to Iceland. This is definitely on our bucket list!!
Iceland seems so cool. You really showed the big world that a place like Iceland can offer. Great post!
That’s soo awesome! That’s a pretty amazing surprise! He IS wonderful!
What a beautiful place. I would love to go to Iceland one day!
Wow, this place looks great, but so do you!! Don’t you mean your 20th birthday by any chance!?
Ahhhh! THANK YOU! =) You made my day!
You have yourself an amazing husband! Sounds like a great trip, the pictures are stunning!
What a great birthday present! I love all of the nature pictures – especially the sunset over the city.