As I stood above the thundering waters, I wished I could fly. My mom was at the railing next to me, staring into the mist as the rain splattered upon our heads. The waving green grasses churned about us as my dad clicked pictures, and I wished with all my might to see the secrets hidden behind the grey clouds and curtains of mist. I imagined soaring high above the water and diving down below to meet the trolls and elves we had heard so much about. At last it was time to go, and as we turned to head back down the muddy path, I glimpsed a flash of something through the sparkling mist.
It took one week for my parents and me to travel around the Ring Road in Iceland, and during that week with Saga Travel I found one word best described the adventure: mythical. Surrounded by tales of elves, trolls, and Vikings as well as close up encounters with geysers and glaciers, this place felt like I was living inside a story book.
I pushed open the heavy wooden door in the grassy wall of the house of the famous Viking, Erik the Red, to find a gaping maw of darkness waiting before me. I felt my way inside and noticed a doorway on my left. I followed voices through the doorway and into a room where a smoky fire burned in a pit on the floor. As I joined a group of people seated around the only light source, my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. I scooted over on the itchy straw platform to make room for my parents. The hole in the roof to allow the smoke to escape was covered with skylight made from a dried horse placenta, the beds were short because everyone slept sitting up, and the cows lived inside the house during the frosty winters. I desperately wished for a TARDIS to travel back in time and visit these amazing people who traveled for hundreds of miles in the 9th century on the open sea to reach the land of fire and ice. Known abroad for their speedy attacks using frightening, fast, strong ships equipped with a removable mast and a short draught that allowed them to beach on shore, the Vikings were a fearsome bunch when they ventured out aviking to raid other countries but peaceful farmers at home with one of the first democracies in the world.
Looking eagerly out the backseat window I scanned the landscape in search of trolls turned to stone by the glare of the sun. I spotted facial features that appeared etched in the stone of a mountain ahead of us. The troll’s eyes seemed to follow us as we rolled past. My gaze slid from his face as my dad spotted one standing in the water off shore. This troll was massive, and I could almost see the hand that he would be using to drag a ship inland to crash upon the rocky shore.
A black foal wobbled towards us through the dewy grass. He came closer and closer until he reached my dad. Curiously he nuzzled the camera lens and then slowly checked each of us out. I was in awe of his fearlessness. All of the Icelandic horses we saw were extremely friendly and loved to be admired.
Iceland was a magical trip through mystical lands of massive glaciers and spurting geysers. We came unbelievably close to an uncountable number of natural wonders and creatures. I will never forget it.
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2 Replies to “Iceland: Living in a Fairytale”
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Great advise and said in very simple language in order for a range of readers to process. I must add that the symptoms and solutions are equally as important in adults who suffer from abdominal illness.
the family market is indeed very important and very lucrative. Focosing on the Family market is what Wal-Mart made big.
Thank you for posting this comparison. I've been looking for something like this but so far I've found only comparisons of individual plans not family ones. This will help me a lot while I'm budgeting for next year's gap holidays.
This place is awesome. We have delivered baby equipment rentals there a couple times and love it. It seems to work great for families traveling with young kids because the age range is usually between 2-8 years old when we deliver. Great beach and location. Thumbs up!
I am planning for a visit of Columbia …. Lets see When i wills be able to visit the same scene..
Orlando, is a perfect place for the kids to explore about Disneyland. A good feature post.
Love your brother in law! Would love to drive cross country with him and his brood!
Another great travel search engine is http://www.travelmarket.com/ it gives you a list of the cheapest flights and hotels. Try it and see what you think.
Good tips all – they sure beat my brother-in-laws advice for dealing with kids on long haul drives, which was, "Tie em to the roof!"
I too would be interested in viewing a list of apartments for the budget traveler.
Great article. I always, and still believe, if you feed a cold you will starve the fever.
I through my own experience, would advise against air travel with any ear, throat or nose infections. It is difficult to move through the change of air pressure, without adding a cold to it.
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It's a shame more airports don't take steps to make travel for families more convenient and fun. I'm sure they are focused on the core income stream of business travelers, which makes sense. Still, why not try and appeal to both?
really a great info which much more useful to lot of them
I would like to visit every day, thanks for your sharing.
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really a great info which much more useful to lot of them
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That place totally awesome. A perfect place for family vacation. That waterfall really make me jealous. It shall be refreshing to soak up under that waterfall. The beach also really charming, I wonder how much it cost to go there?
I want to go their. Really that is a great place.
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I like the way of your writing.!
You are so right Banfos, thanks for the heads up. Mystic CT is quite remarkable and has much to see besides the aquarium. We have made the change.
Thank you for such a fantastic blog. Where else could anyone get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I have a presentation that I am presently working on, and I have been on the look out for such information.
Mystic Seaport is a world-renowned maritime history museum. It is not an aquarium as stated in your article.
Jennifer:
There are enough fun activities for the whole family to spend either as a day trip or overnight.
I wish I could have went to the play lab – sounds like Fisher Price is really doing a great job of keeping up with today's trends – and of course smart kids! Great update!
Wow…cannot wait to have a visit there!
Well, I think kids can enjoy some special joys there….
hey this is a great source for my cousin…..
How long would you allow for this excursion? It sounds like a fun side trip while visiting San Diego.
thanks for the <a href="http://ecoblublog.com/2011/02/10/ecotourism-green-vacations">eco vacation</a> ideas. don't know if i'll be able to afford overseas yet but always good to know the options 🙂
Gosh, I’ve been looking about this specific topic for about an hour, glad i found it in your website!
It is bound to be more scenic than the A1,
Nice post,
Well, I love your post. Thanks to create this article.
Really? That idea sounds pretty amazing….
Wow..I really cannot wait to make a trip to Italy…sounds very great!
hey thanx for the top 10 resorts…I will Surely look forward during my last visit.
When you mentioned "flashes" that people were starting to see, I first thought that you were gonna say that you were experiencing the northern lights! But what amazing "flashes" you did see! The whales are one of my favorite parts of Alaska.
Nice points but my baby is too much stubborn.
You gave great points here. I found nearly all people agree with your blog.
Just wanted to drop a comment and say I am new to your blog and really like what I am reading. Thanks for the great content. Look forward to coming back for more.
Holidays are managed mostly for kids. They get know new places with different weather and cultural attractions. It is good.
wow, this would be a great journey..
I liked the whole post and bookmarked the blog. Hopefully, I will get more helpful information from this blog. Thanks.
That's interesting. I just got it very informative..
It is admirable that this hotel employs locals and also promoting the local culture. This is something that is lacking in many big name hotels today.
Sounds very romantic. I was thinking about a trip with family for a long time but when I landed here my problem is solved.