The first day. Reykjavik and getting to know the car

I've always wanted to see Iceland by car. It seemed to me that this country was created for road travel in general.: you get behind the wheel, turn on the navigator, grab a coffee and drive to where waterfalls, black beaches, mountains, sheep and some completely alien landscapes appear outside the window. Everything looked so beautiful and calm in the photos that for some reason I decided that the main challenge would be related to the roads, and not to the weather, wind and my own desire to stop at every second turn.

As a result, I spent eight days in Iceland and traveled a fairly long route along the southern coast, saw famous waterfalls, glaciers, black beaches, small towns and several places that I did not know about before the trip. At the same time, almost every day something happened that was not in the original plan, but it is these moments that are now remembered best.

Cars for rent

Upon arrival, I picked up my rented car and just sat behind the wheel in the parking lot for a while, getting used to the idea that now this car will become my main partner for the next week. I looked at the route in advance, downloaded maps, and even checked several times exactly where to go, so I felt pretty confident. However, my confidence was slightly shaken when I saw the weather forecast and realized that the word "wind" in Iceland may mean something completely different from what I used to understand it.

Laugavegur, a street in the center of Reykjavik

I decided to spend the first day in Reykjavik, so as not to start the trip immediately with a long haul. The city turned out to be quite calm, compact, and not at all like the European capitals I was used to, and after a few hours of walking, I especially enjoyed just walking the streets without a specific purpose. I stopped at a cafe, strolled along the waterfront, looked at the local architecture, and gradually began to realize that Iceland would not look at all like the trip I had imagined in advance.

Then I went back to the hotel and did the most important thing of the trip – I put my things so that I wouldn't have to look for anything in the morning. Of course, in the morning it turned out that I had put exactly the right thing somewhere completely illogically, so the first ten minutes of the new day were spent not among waterfalls, but in the company of an open suitcase.