Notes for a blog post about visiting Iceland
1. There are a lot of electric cars
So I am not a fan of electric cars, not sure why hybrid is better, but clearly they are what's next and Iceland has a lot of them.
2. It's going to be expensive
You could try to save money by how you eat but the food is fantastic and part of the experience.
3. Fantastic coffee
Only one weak coffee. At home I drink almond milk lattes. Lattes are not on every menu but cappuccinos are. Unless you have some sort lactose intolerance I would suggest just getting whole milk.
This one especially for @BillBergeman
4. Get the hot-spot device from the car rental company
This was cheaper for us than the Verizon plan. Look into it.
5. It rains a lot
We got very lucky with the weather, only one day was truly impacted by rain.
6. 3/4 of the Ring Road looks like a national park
The Ring Road pretty much drives around the island. The scenery is stunning. The roads are often empty enough to just stop and quickly take some pictures. There are not a lot of spots to pull over and no real shoulder on the roads either.
7. You're not going to see everything
It's OK. What you will see will be epic.
8. Let drivers pass you
The roads are empty enough that you can just drive the speed limit and anyone wanting to pass you will not have to wait very long to do so safely.
9. Parking app
When you go to various sites you will have to pay for parking. Often there is a kiosk but not always. Kiosk or not, there are apps for every site. We used the Parka app for multiple spots. One thing though is the apps aren't great. You don't necessarily get a validation that you paid. At a National Park, I asked the information guy and he helped me figure out that I somehow didn't complete the process for one spot.
10. Balancing diet discipline
Traveling is taxing on the body. At home I do intermittent fasting. On our trip, I ate my first food of the day when I felt hungry. There's a difference between empty stomach, not being hungry and empty stomach and being hungry. I ate more carbs than normal but did not go crazy. There is less processed food there which is part of the American carb problem. For as problematic eating too many carbs is, some carb consumption can help with recovery from doing a lot physically. Listen to what your body is telling you. If you feel the need for salt, eat something salty and so on. Eating a lot of protein versus the number of carbs you consume is a valid way to eat low carb too. Their yogurt fits this bill. Tons of protein, few carbs and it is very filling.
11. The vast majority of people we met were friendly
I am not sure that American humor resonates though. I have no stories of awkwardness to relay but would avoid negative sarcasm like eating a big plate of food and joking that you didn't like it
12. There is cell signal everywhere
Iceland seems far ahead of us in terms of infrastructure. It's more like we haven't kept up.
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