Everyone dreams about travelling the world throughout their lives, but one traveller who managed to do just that has revealed the one country that still has her heart.
The world is beautiful, vast and a lot to be explored, but only a lucky few actually get the opportunity to do so. One traveller in particular has explored half of planet Earth already, but one European hotspot still holds a strong place in her heart.
Jamie Davis Smith from Business Insider has spent a huge chunk of her life backpacking, and has managed to visit a whopping 90 countries with plans to keep exploring. Throughout her adventures, she has always followed one rule, to only visit a place once—but she has broken this promise, not once but twice.
That particular destination is Iceland where she has holidayed three times and wants to return again. Jamie explained: “I’d always wanted to visit Iceland, but I never prioritised it until a close friend convinced me to take the plunge.”
She was incredibly excited to see all the country had to offer, including its soaring waterfalls, hot springs, glaciers, and of course the synonymous lava fields. After the five-hour flight, it was love at first sight for Jamie upon touchdown.
Her first stop was Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital city, and she immediately warmed to the old town and its huge rainbow road. “It brought me such joy,” she admitted.
On top of the plentiful museums and shops, as well as all the history and culture it boasts, Jamie took to the city’s personality right away. Evident in its odd and eccentric phallic museum, and the punk rock-themed one situated in an underground abandoned restroom. She also loved the Lava Show, complete with real sizzling-hot lava.
Jamie added: “I was astounded by how much there was to do in Reykjavík, especially since it’s a fairly small city with a population under 140,000.”
Similarly to a relationship with your soulmate, the more she was finding out about Iceland the deeper she felt about it. Whether it was soaking in the warm waters of the Sky Lagoon, visiting the black beach, hiking up its many glaciers, and even crossing a bridge between North American and European tectonic plates—it truly has everything.
On the food, she remarked: “Throughout the trip, I enjoyed the local cuisine. It’s hard not to love a country obsessed with hot dogs and ice cream, but I also loved the gourmet meals I had in Reykjavík. A lot of the local pastries were astonishingly good, better than any I had in Paris.”
The people she met along the way were also incredibly friendly, which comes to no surprise with the country often bestowed awards and honours including “world’s most peaceful country”. Recalling an experience with a local, Jamie said: “Once, while standing on the rooftop of a restaurant, someone asked my friend and me whether we were tourists.
“I stiffened and wondered what was coming next. But when we nodded, they just led us to a higher part of the roof, where the views were even more stunning.
“Unexpectedly, I felt at home in Iceland. I loved the adventure, the food, and the people. I didn’t want to leave.”
Jamie would go on to visit her new Icelandic home an additional two times, obsessed with bucket list goals like witnessing the northern lights and something a little more drastic – “next time, I want to see a volcanic eruption.”