christmas in iceland…by the numbers

I have lots to share from our trip to Iceland that we took over Thanksgiving. But per usual, December is proving to be the busiest month of year for me. Realistically, I won't have a chance to sit down and edit photos plus write blogs posts until this hectic semester of dental school is over once and for all. 

But I'm bursting with excitement over this experience and have to share even if it's just a little for now. So here's a glimpse of our Christmas trip to Iceland…by the numbers. 

6 flights to get to Iceland and back home again with 27 hours spent traveling door to door. And yes that sounds like so much, but it wasn't too bad, especially when you consider that we were traveling during the busiest travel season of the year

3 swiss mokkas and 4 espressos enjoyed. And honestly wishing that I had more because Europeans do coffee so well and we were super jet-lagged

8 falls because I'm the world's clumsiest person with no balance, especially when you throw ice and snow and cave hiking into the mix 

6 skyr yogurts that have ruined me for life because Icelandic yogurt is even better than they say and I can't go back to the regular stuff

petting and playing with 12 icelandic ponies and 1 very precocious farm dog

countless hours spent chasing the northern lights & yes we found them

8.4 - the average pH of the water in Iceland. This country is fueled by its water from its geothermal hot springs powering the country to the freshest drinking water that you can taste right out of the streams there. 

1 blizzard, 2 avalanches, and 7 closed roads forcing us to change our plans

9 very jet-lagged hours spent road tripping the golden circle because we hopped right off the plane (1AM our time) and into a car for an Icelandic winter road trip 

17 christmas trees spotted around town making me so happy because not a single one was fake 

3 algae masks and 2 silicon face masks enjoyed while spending 4 hours soaking in the blue lagoon geothermal pool

traveling around Iceland via 1 rental car, 2 buses, 3 taxis, 4 shuttles, 3 horses, and 1 supped up off-roading jeep 

This tradition of gifting each other an experience instead of material gifts for Christmas is seriously the best idea we've ever had. We know that every year probably won't be as adventurous as road tripping through Mexico last year was or as incredible as chasing the northern lights in Iceland was this year, but for now we are so grateful that this is the gift we can share with each other.