Member Postcards

Family-Friendly Iceland: Member Postcard

Indagare member Jeremy Hitzig and his family of six recently returned from a trip to Iceland and reflect on their journey below.Contact Indagare for assistance arranging a family-friendly itinerary to Iceland.

Thank you again for organizing such a wonderful, fun, interesting and cool trip to Iceland.

We are just now en route home after a whirlwind five days. I'll start with a massive acknowledgement of our guide and what an important role he played in our enjoyment of Iceland. His knowledge, kindness, flexibility, accommodation and overall good humor were unfailing. Yesterday he stood in the pouring rain slow-roasting the most incredible and tender lamb chops while the rest of us took shelter in a cabin.

And on the return trip, he honored my sons’ request to drive our monster truck through the same giant puddle several times. Ok, actually, that was my request so that we could capture the giant splash on video!

Related: Just Back From...Iceland

The first day was relaxing but fun as we toured Reykjavik and visited the main museum (Suðurgata 41) to learn about the history of Iceland. Dinner at Messinn (Lækjargata 6b) was very good.

Related: Iceland's Five-Star Stunner: Deplar Farm

Thingvellir, where Europe and North America's tectonic plates meet.

Thingvellir, where Europe and North America's tectonic plates meet.

We loved the walk through the area where the North American and European tectonic plates meet and the site of the first "congress" of sorts dating back to 930AD. Lunch at the greenhouse (Bláskógabyggð) was a cool and novel experience, enhanced by the brief tour and really tasty and creative tomato based meal. While the weather worsened, it didn't bother us in the least as we saddled up for our horseback ride. My son, Liam, in particular, loves animals, and was absolutely in heaven (he enjoyed the owner’s cute dogs too!). They also made perhaps the best meal we had on the trip (although those lamb chops were truly special).

The third day took us to the black sand beach and glacier walk. We learned a ton about the geology and physics of glaciers, volcanoes and so forth. It was cool for all of us, but mostly for my son, Rhys, as it dovetailed with things he had been learning in school in recent years. Our guide also helped Rhys work on some words in Icelandic and I have to say I was impressed with his ability to get some of the sounds right (at least to my ears!).

Related: Otherworldly Iceland

Ice-walking on a glacier.

Ice-walking on a glacier.

I hadn't realized that our hotel room had an outdoor hot tub which we all piled into that evening and were even able to see the Northern Lights, which was an unexpected and special sight.

 On our last day we were out in the monster truck, fording rivers and bumping and bouncing along rocky roads. And while the rain was incessant, it really didn't matter. We visited another glacier, explored several waterfalls including the one we could walk behind and another one where we clambered through a river and cave to get up close (and wet!). Our day ended with a great dinner at the Seafood Grill (Skólavörðustígur 1). The boys even insisted we order grilled puffin and Minke whale (they ate horse a couple of times on previous evenings too!).

Related: Expeditions in Iceland

As you probably know, the weather conspired against us for the helicopter trip and it ended up being cancelled. But that gave us a little more of a relaxing morning before heading to the Blue Lagoon. I'm so glad that we were able to make the massages work for everyone as it was awfully cute to see Ridley and Griffin floating blissfully on their massage mats. Despite the crowds, the Blue Lagoon is definitely a very special place, serene and with tasteful architecture. It was a great way to relax before our flight home.

We were all quite smitten by the country but then again, I wouldn't have imagined anything less from a trip you organized for us.

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