Iceland, the land of fire and ice

We found ourselves looking for a fun festive place to celebrate Christmas away with our sons ages 16, 14 and 11. We chose Iceland and booked 3 nights at the Hotel Borg. The hotel came recommended and did not disappoint. One of the wonderful things about Iceland is that it is just under 4 hours flying time from London but seems a world away in landscape, traditions and culture. We arrived at Keflavik and had just a 45 minutes transfer to our hotel, The Hotel Borg https://www.keahotels.is/en/hotels/hotel-borg Oh, it was cold! But what extremely polite people, they really could not do enough for us. We had a couple of suites at the top of the hotel, large rooms with large very comfy beds and big radiators pumping out heat. The hotel is centrally located just round the corner from Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in the country and a stunning building to admire. The country is heated by hot water piped from nearby hot springs. You will be struck by the smell of rotten eggs from the water system, but amazingly you get used to it! It is worth noting that food and drink is relatively pricey here, but the food is good. The food and drink tour of Reykjavik is recommended, where you can discover local food away from any tourist trail. We were collected in a Super Car with huge wheels. This was a highlight for the boys, and I think my husband secretly loved it to! We were hoping to drive out of the city to see the Northern Lights, sadly it was snowing heavily, and we were unable to see them. However, we did see breath taking geysers and to the excitement of the boys our huge vehicle got stuck in the snow. Our driver had to reduce the air in the tyres and we got going, (to my huge relief!). We had a quick trip to the Ice Bar where you have to wear a fetching silver thermal cape to keep you warm. We had shots of something lovely, vodka I think, from glasses made of ice, at an ice table, on ice stools in an ice cave, (the boys had juice!) it was really fun. Christmas eve and the excitement is tangible. Today is a trip to the Blue Lagoon https://www.bluelagoon.com/ This amazing New Wonder of the World is a short drive from Reykjavik. Packing your swimming gear whilst its snowing outside is uncomfortable but this county can do that to you! Well swimming in hot water with snow falling around you is great! There are caves to swim into, saunas to relax in and waterfalls to massage your back, it’s a whole fantastic experience, we all loved it and drove away with a warm sleepy glow about us. Christmas day and after a gift giving we ventured out in the snow and enjoyed snow mobiling. We rode out to find artic foxes. Two on each snow mobile it was really exhilarating. We didn’t see the foxes but we saw their prints, it was a very exciting trip that we all really enjoyed. There are many excursions to enjoy in this otherworldly country from volcanos, whale and puffin watching, horse riding and the Golden Circle Tour taking in blowholes, geothermal valleys and breath-taking scenery and much much more. If your phone does not have a good camera I really recommend getting a good camera to capture this amazing place. Iceland is a wonderful place to go for either a short break or longer, it will take your breath away.