Our Iceland journey began in Reykjavík, a colorful, compact city that was easy to wander and a great place to settle in before heading out into the much wilder landscapes Iceland is known for. We explored the city, walked along the waterfront, wandered through the streets, found a few favorite places to eat, and got our first introduction to Icelandic prices—which were definitely an experience of their own.

Reykjavík also gave me a souvenir that was a little more permanent than the usual magnet or postcard. While we were there, I decided to get a mountain-range tattoo from a traveling Russian tattoo artist who happened to be working in Reykjavík at the time. There was something about getting a mountain tattoo while traveling through Iceland that just felt right, especially with the mountains, glaciers, and dramatic landscapes we were about to see.

After Reykjavík, we rented a car and headed out to drive the southern portion of Iceland’s Ring Road. If there is one thing we would highly recommend when visiting Iceland, it is this: rent a car and drive.

The road trip itself became one of our favorite parts of the experience. Iceland’s scenery changes so quickly that getting from one place to another never felt like wasted travel time. Mountains appeared in the distance, waterfalls seemed to come out of nowhere, black volcanic landscapes replaced green fields, and long stretches of road disappeared toward the horizon. We only had enough time to explore the southern portion of the Ring Road, but we would have loved to have driven the entire thing. Iceland is definitely one of those places where we left wishing we had given ourselves more days just to keep going.

One of our first major stops was Seljalandsfoss, one of those waterfalls that looks impressive in photographs but feels completely different when you are actually standing beside it. Water dropped from the cliffs above while mist filled the air around us, and it was our first real taste of just how dramatic Iceland’s landscapes could be.

From there, we continued toward Cape Dyrhólaey, where Iceland decided to teach us a very important lesson about wind. Iceland was windy throughout our trip, but Dyrhólaey was on another level. Sarah parked the car, and when I tried to open my door, the wind was so strong that I could barely push it open. The rain was coming down, the wind was whipping around us, and a ranger came over to tell Sarah that she needed to turn the car around and park facing the opposite direction.

Apparently, the direction you park in Iceland can actually matter. The wind can be so powerful that if it catches an open car door the wrong way, it can seriously damage it or even potentially rip it from the car. Until that moment, warnings about holding onto your car door in Iceland sounded a little dramatic. After Dyrhólaey, they made perfect sense.

We continued east along the Ring Road until we reached Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach, two places that felt completely different from everything we had already seen. At Jökulsárlón, chunks of glacier floated quietly across the lagoon in shades of white and blue. After miles of waterfalls, green landscapes, and black volcanic ground, suddenly we were surrounded by ice.

Just across the road, pieces of that ice had washed ashore onto Diamond Beach, scattered across the black sand like enormous pieces of glass. It was one of those combinations that feels almost impossible until you see it yourself—crystal-clear ice resting on jet-black volcanic sand while waves rolled in behind it.

We stayed overnight in the Jökulsárlón area, which gave us the chance to slow down and actually spend time there instead of simply stopping for a photograph and moving on. It was also where Sarah had what she still says was the best lamb she has ever eaten, a claim she remains completely committed to.

On another day, we visited the Blue Lagoon. After spending so much of the trip outdoors in Iceland’s wind, rain, and cold, sinking into warm geothermal water felt pretty incredible. The milky blue water, steam rising around us, and dark volcanic rock made it unlike any spa experience we had ever had. It was touristy, yes, but sometimes popular places are popular for a reason.

Another day took us through several of Iceland’s most famous geological and natural landmarks, beginning with Þingvellir National Park. Þingvellir is one of those places where Iceland’s history and geology come together. We walked through a landscape shaped by the movement of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, surrounded by cliffs, open fields, and enormous views.

From there, we continued to Geysir, home to Iceland’s famous geothermal area. The landscape looked almost otherworldly—steam rising from the ground, bubbling pools, and the smell of sulfur reminding us that there was a whole lot happening beneath our feet. Watching Strokkur erupt and send water high into the air was one of those moments where everyone knows exactly what is about to happen and somehow everyone still reacts when it does.

We also stopped at Kerið Crater, a volcanic crater with steep red and dark-colored slopes surrounding a lake below. Iceland has a way of making you realize just how much of the country was created by forces that are still very much present beneath the surface.

Another stop took us to the Bridge Between Continents, where you can literally walk between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is one thing to read that Iceland sits across two tectonic plates; it is another to stand there and walk between them.

Somewhere along the journey, we also spent a night at Hrosshagi’s Buubble Hotel, which was one of the more unusual accommodations we have ever booked. Sarah was a little nervous about this one. The idea was to sleep inside a clear plastic bubble surrounded by nature, with the hope that we could lie in bed and watch the Northern Lights through the roof. It sounded amazing, but also just strange enough to make Sarah wonder what I had signed us up for.

Fortunately, she ended up loving it. Unfortunately, Iceland’s weather had different plans for us that night. It rained, so instead of lying under a clear sky watching the Northern Lights dance above us, we lay inside the bubble listening to rain hit the plastic all around us.

And somehow, it ended up being perfect. The sound of the rain was incredibly soothing, and it surrounded us inside the bubble until it eventually lulled us both to sleep. We didn’t get the night we had pictured when we booked it, but it became one of those travel experiences that was memorable precisely because it didn’t go according to plan. We would absolutely do it again.

Of course, one of the biggest things we hoped to see in Iceland was the Northern Lights. The tricky thing about the aurora is that you never really know if—or when—you are going to see it. You can choose the right season, watch the forecast, and hope for clear skies, but there are no guarantees. The weather has to cooperate, the clouds need to stay away, and the aurora itself has to decide to make an appearance.

We were incredibly fortunate. During our trip, we saw the Northern Lights on three different nights. Seeing them once would have been amazing; seeing them three times felt like Iceland was giving us a little extra luck.

Each time still felt special. The green light moved across skies filled with stars, changing shape as we watched. I had my camera, of course, and while photographs could capture the colors, the stars, and the landscape beneath them, they couldn’t capture the movement, the silence, or what it actually felt like to stand there together looking up.

There is something humbling about standing beneath a sky like that. For a while, there was nowhere else we needed to be—no next stop, no schedule, just the sky, the stars, and the light moving above us.

Looking back, what I remember most about Iceland isn’t one particular waterfall, glacier, or crater. It is how constantly the country changed around us.

We started among the streets and colorful buildings of Reykjavík and then found ourselves driving past waterfalls, standing on windswept cliffs, walking beside glaciers, soaking in geothermal water, watching geysers erupt, peering into a volcanic crater, walking between tectonic plates, and falling asleep to rain inside a clear bubble. There were moments when Iceland felt green and peaceful and others when it looked almost like another planet.

And the wind? The wind was pretty much always there.

For someone who travels with a camera, Iceland is almost overwhelming because everywhere you turn seems to be another photograph. But it also reminded me that some places are simply too big to capture completely. Sometimes you have to put the camera down, stand there, and take it in.

We only saw a portion of the country, and maybe that is why Iceland still feels a little unfinished to us.

We drove the southern Ring Road wondering what was around every bend. Someday, we’d love to go back and keep driving until we’ve made it all the way around.