the one with the trip to Iceland

I think of all the places I've been, Iceland has been my favorite.

While I was in Scotland, I got a text from a friend of mine - Megan Richards.

We had actually met at my church here in Germany, and we quickly bonded. I had her and her sister over for sleepovers when Isaac would be away for work, and we actually went on a trip to Prague together as well. Her family ended up moving to Alaska somewhat unexpectedly, which I was super sad about, but we promised to keep in touch.

Megan's text basically asked me if I wanted to come stay with her + her best friend Kathryn for a few days at the farm they were working at in Iceland.

Ummm, yes!

Of all the places I expected to see her again, Iceland was not one of them.

I was so excited to give her a big hug when my flight arrived at the airport, and I told myself (and her mama) that I would give her lots of hugs during this trip.

Upon my arrival, we briefly explored the city of Reykjavík, which is the capital city and where the airport is located. I picked up an ear warmer headband (forgot my hat), we grabbed some pastries + coffee (the best cinnamon roll I ever had), and basically bought time until our reservation at The Blue Lagoon.

I vaguely remember, at one point when The Blue Lagoon was trending on Facebook, briefly saying a prayer that God would maybe let me see that in person one day.

When we arrived, we were all very excited, so we quickly checked in, got our wristbands, and headed to the locker room to change.

There was a brief scare during checking in, when my ticket showed up as the previous day in their system, but God worked it out though.

This place was so unique and beautiful.

Iceland is bit cooler in temperature, which was a really nice break from the heat wave we were having in Germany. It was in the mid 50's while I was there, which was perfect for soaking in the lagoon for a few hours. We snapped some (and by some, I mean a ton) of pictures, and then put the phones away to just relax/catch up in the water.

Because the sun never sets in Iceland during the summer, it definitely didn't feel like it was as late as it was. It wasn't until around 10pm on the drive back to the farm (about a 2 hour drive), that we grabbed some dinner. We didn't end up getting to bed until 1am, which was 3am in Germany. I definitely slept like a rock.

This was the beautiful view from my room at 11pm.

The next morning, the girls had to be up early to work on the farm and the bed and breakfast the farmer runs out of his home.

I tried to sleep in some, but to no avail. Our rooms were in the basement of the farmhouse, so I ended up venturing upstairs to try to find some coffee. Katheryn was working on breakfast for the French guests staying there that week. She hooked me up with a cup of coffee and we chatted for a while. I just soaked in the moment. I mean, how crazy is it that I was on a farm, in the middle of Iceland, just casually having my morning coffee with some French people and an Icelandic farmer. Also, on a side note, the French guests thought nothing of being in their underwear in front of strangers.

Megan eventually found me upstairs and asked if I wanted a tour of the barn and to meet the animals.

I just thought the cows were so cute! And of course I had to have a hug from the sweetest little goat ever. She was very pleased with herself in the last photo.

My favorite part though, was feeding the baby cow. Oh my word, he was just the cutest thing.

The girls finished up with their morning duties, packed us some lunch, and we headed out for our busy day of adventuring.

The girls actually use a map to get around here since they don't have phone service, though we did bust out my google maps a couple times while I was there.

Thank you so much to Megan + Katheryn for planning the perfect few days for me. Typically I am the one planning trips, so it was so nice to just be able to sit back and enjoy. You guys were the b e s t hostesses.

Our first stop for the day was the famous Black Sand Beach.

Wow. Just wow.

This was such an unreal thing to see.

The black sand is formed because of volcanic eruptions, and it was absolutely beautiful.

Megan and Kathryn had been here before, so they led me over some rocks to the perfect quiet area to sit and just take in the ocean, the beach, the beauty.

We had been praising Jesus' name in the car, singing + talking about His goodness. I very quickly bonded with Kathryn (love you, sweet girl). Truly like sisters, with the same Heavenly Father.

This verse kept coming to mind while we were there - “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

After sitting there for quite some time, we stopped at a lava cafe for coffee, before heading to the lighthouse that overlooked the beach.

By the way, these coffees were so, so good.

The view of the beach from the lighthouse was breathtaking. I don't even know how to describe it, but it is just a really unique and wonderful view.

Next, we headed to a secret waterfall.

Along our road trip, there were some gorgeous views and these beautiful purple flowers called lupine.

We parked for the hike to the waterfall. All of us had to go to the bathroom after our coffee, so we had quite the time finding a place to pee outside.

The girls told me how many of the Icelandic people will leave step ladders on their property so you can easily walk onto their land to see all the pretty things.

It wasn't a long hike, but the second we crested the hill and I could see the waterfall, I was just in awe of God's creation.

That happened a lot on this trip.

Our next stop was another waterfall, this one a little more populated with tourists because it's more well known.

It was still an absolutely beautiful view. The walk up reminded me of the the Icelandic incline (those from CO will understand).

After all this hiking, it was time for our last stop of the day - bathing in a 100 year old geothermal pool tucked away in the mountains.

It was so nice to finish the day with relaxing. We hung out here for a while and talked about life. The perfect way to end the day.

I won't forget how slimy the bottom of the pool was. That's what you get for swimming in a 100 year old pool that's never been cleaned.

It was another super late night, so we grabbed some take-away pizza on the way home, and we all slept in my bed that night.

The girls again got their chores done around the house. I spent the morning drinking coffee, chatting with the farmer and his son, and hugging Megan.

After breakfast, the farmer's son Christian took Megan and I to hike another secret waterfall. This one was hidden in a canyon, and definitely one of the coolest hikes I've ever done.