NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For years, Nashville has only had one nonstop flight to Europe, but that changed on April 10, 2025, when Icelandair launched a new nonstop flight to Iceland.
A team from NewsChannel 5 was invited on the inaugural Icelandair flight that left Nashville on April 10. Our goal over the next week is to take you on a tour of Iceland's natural wonders and introduce you to the people and places that make the Land of Fire and Ice so unique.
Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic. The island is about the size of Kentucky and has about 360,000 people, roughly the number of people who live in Rutherford County.
NewsChannel 5's Carrie Sharp - along with photojournalist Catherine Steward and producer Michelle Bonnett - will spend the next week touring the country with a small group from Nashville and our host from Icelandair. We plan to share all our Adventures in Iceland with you. We hope you will follow along on the journey with us.
THURSDAY, APRIL 10
The inaugural flight from BNA to Keflavik, Iceland, left Nashville around 8:55 pm. The nearly 7-hour flight arrived the following morning at 8:40 am local time. Iceland is five hours ahead of Nashville, but the overnight flight made for a relatively easy transition to Icelandic time. One of the things that makes Icelandair unique is that you can book a flight to anywhere in Europe but have up to a 7-day layover in Iceland at no extra charge. That means you can see at least two European countries for the price of one plane ticket.
FRIDAY, APRIL 11
Carrie and crew landed in Keflavik, Iceland, around 8:40 am local time on Friday morning. The process to get through customs was quick and easy, and we were on the way to our hotel in the capital city of Reykjavik in less than an hour. The airport in Keflavik is the only international airport in the country. It is relatively small when compared to BNA, but easy to navigate. Reykjavik is about a 45-minute drive from the airport.
Once we arrived in the capital city, we stopped at our hotel for a quick change and then were off on our first adventure.
That adventure took us to Hafnarfjordur - a small village about 25 minutes from Reykjavik. That's where we met Silja Gunnarsdottir for a Hidden Worlds walking tour. The tour explores the hidden people, or Huldufólk, as the locals call them. In Icelandic folklore, the hidden people are a group of magical beings, mainly elves, fairies, and trolls, that live alongside humans but are rarely seen. The hidden people are thought to live in rocks or caves and are considered protectors of nature. While not everyone in modern-day Iceland believes in the existence of elves or hidden people - they have a deep respect for nature, tradition, and their connection to the land, and the elves are an important part of that tradition.
After the walking tour, we headed back to Reykjavik for a meeting with the mayor. Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir was elected earlier this year and is one of several powerful women in government. She showed us around some of her favorite spots in the city and talked about what she hopes to accomplish as mayor. The power dynamic in Iceland is a bit different than here at home. Women play a surprisingly big role in politics and government. We will talk more about that in the coming days.
We ended our first day with an incredible dinner at Tides Restaurantinside theReykjavik Edition hotel. We enjoyed lobster ravioli, 40-layer lamb lasagna, and freshly caught cod. Iceland is known for its incredibly fresh seafood, delicious lamb, and crystal clear water. Friday's dinner was the perfect preview for some of the traditional Icelandic foods we plan to try tomorrow on our walking food tour.
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
After a much-needed night's rest, we started the day at the Kolaportid Flea Market. The market is only open on the weekends and is full of all sorts of booths. You can find handmade Icelandic wool sweaters, locally-made lava jewelry, and all kinds of traditional Icelandic foods. Kolaportid is the oldest and largest flea market in Iceland and features everything from arts and crafts to books and antiques. The flea market is a great way to get a sense of Iceland in a single building.
After the flea market, we headed to the center of the city for a 3-hour food tour. We started at Saegreifinn (aka the Seabaron) - an old green fisherman's hut in the harbor. It's an old-fashioned, family-owned seafood restaurant that's known for its lobster soup. They have pretty much any local seafood you can imagine - but just stick with the soup and homemade bread and butter, and you won't regret it.
The tour continued at Le Kock - a place known for great burgers and bakery items. Then we moved on to one of the country's most beloved tasty treats - the Icelandic hot dog. There's only one place to get it in Reykjavik and that's Bæjarins Beztu.
It's a hot dog stand in the heart of downtown that sells more than 4000 hot dogs a day! So what makes this hot dog so special? It's made with not only beef and pork - but also lamb - and it's amazing. For a true Icelandic experience, you need to get it with everything - homemade crispy onions, sweet mustard, raw onion, ketchup, and remoulade. The ketchup is made with tomatoes and apples and has a sweet flavor. The line is always long - but the workers get paid by the hot dog - so it moves quickly.
The final stop of the food tour was Icelandic Street Food for a hearty bowl of lamb stew and Iceland's famous fermented shark. Hakarl, as it's called in Iceland, is made from Greenland shark - which is poisonous when first caught. For it to be safe to eat, you have to let it ferment for months. Once it's ready to eat, it still has a strong ammonia smell and taste. For those brave enough to give it a try, you traditionally follow it up with a shot of brennivín. Carrie and Catherine tried it not once - but twice - and lived to tell the tale! One small note for any Nashvillans looking to make the trip - you won't find McDonald's or Starbucks in Iceland. We saw a few American fast food places - like Subway and Dominos - but not many. And for anyone that's used to eating a lot of chicken - we didn't see it on the menu anywhere.
SUNDAY, APRIL 13
Sunday took us out of the city and into the countryside. We left Reykjavik to tour part of the Golden Circle. Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park. Thingvellir is the only place in the world where you can stand between two continental plates. The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet in the park, and visitors can see the landscape shift a bit every year.
Our next stop was the Strokkur Geysir. It's located in the Haukadalur Valley in the southern part of Iceland. Strokkur erupts every 4-8 minutes, shooting boiling water as high as 100 feet into the air. It is one of the most active and reliable geysers in Iceland, so it's a popular stop on the Golden Circle Tour.
After a cold and blustery stop at the geysir, we headed to Fridheimar Tomato Farm for an incredible lunch and a fascinating lesson on growing vegetables in an arctic climate. Fridheimer is known for growing the best, most tasty tomatoes in Iceland. They grow tomatoes year-round in environmentally friendly greenhouses with no chemical pesticides. The greenhouses are built on top of geothermal areas where crystal clear, hot water allows the tomatoes to grow through the long, dark winters. If you like tomato soup - this may be the best bowl you'll ever have. The restaurant serves all kinds of tomato-based foods - but keep it simple and stick with the tomato soup and homemade bread and butter. We promise it will be the best you've ever tasted.
After lunch, we headed back out to continue our Golden Circle Tour with another wind-whipped stop - this time at Gullfoss Falls. Gullfoss is considered the most famous waterfall in Iceland and is a must-see attraction. Mother Nature wasn't exactly cooperating on the day we visited - it was cold and windy. The temperature was about 37 degrees - but with the wind chill - it felt more like 20. The massive waterfall creates a significant amount of mist - so everything the water touched immediately turned to ice - even our camera lens. This may be one you want to visit when the weather is just a bit warmer.
Our next stop was one of our favorites - we got to meet the Icelandic horses. We stopped at Icelandic Horse World - a family-owned horse farm in Skeidvellir, Iceland. The 850+ acre farm is home to more than 100 Icelandic horses. Icelandic horses are different than horses in America. Not only are they smaller (sometimes the size of ponies) - they also have 2 additional gaits. Most horses can walk, trot, and cantor/gallop. But the Icelandic horse has 2 additional gaits known as tolt and flugskeid or "flying pace". The horses are only bred in Iceland and if they leave the country - they are not allowed to return. Iceland is very protective of its prized horses and prohibits all other breeds in the country. Despite their smaller size, the horses are known for their strength and ability to survive in harsh climates. They are also known for their sweet temperament. Many Icelanders describe them as dog-like.
After a long day of touring, we ended up at Hotel Ranga - our home for the next 2 nights. The hotel is situated along the Ranga River in Hella, Iceland. It's far from the lights of the city, so it's the perfect place to stargaze or see the Northern Lights. The hotel even has an observatory with professional-grade telescopes on site and an astrophysicist to explain what causes the Northern Lights.
MONDAY, APRIL 14
On Monday, we ventured out to explore Iceland's iconic Southern Coast. Our morning started with a stop at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It's unique in that you can actually walk behind the waterfall.
Getting behind the waterfall is no easy task, especially when the temperature drops. The path is usually closed in the winter due to ice conditions. We were lucky it had just reopened, but it was still covered in ice and extremely slippery.
After Seljalandsfoss, we were completely soaked but decided to walk a few hundred yards down the road to another waterfall - this one hidden in a cave. It's known as Gljúfrabúi. It's just off the main road and down a narrow path. You walk into what looks like a small cave, into a stream, and through a narrow gorge. Once inside, it opens up to a small area with a giant waterfall, unlike anything we had ever seen before. The view inside was breathtaking, but be prepared - you will get wet! You need waterproof clothes and boots - and it turns out mine weren't as waterproof as the online ad claimed.
We had just enough time to dry off in the van before our next stop - Skogafoss waterfall. It's one of the biggest waterfalls in the country with a drop of more than 200 feet. One of the things that makes it so unusual is the number of rainbows you can see around it on a sunny day.
Our next stop was one of the most memorable of the trip - Reynisfjara. It is a world-famous black-sand beach that features basalt columns. Dozens of movies and TV shows have been filmed on this beach, including Game of Thrones, Star Wars: Rogue One, and Star Trek: Into Darkness.
The beach looks beautiful and the seas calm - but don't be fooled. You can't get near the water at Reynisfjara. The area is known for its sneaker waves. These sudden and unpredictable waves happen almost daily and have killed several tourists over the last decade.
The black sand comes from volcanic rock that has been eroded by wind and water. When a volcano erupts and lava flows into the ocean it cools quickly and breaks into small pieces. Over time, those small pieces are worn down by wind and waves and form the black sand.
After a quick lunch at the Black Beach Restaurant, we got back in the van and headed towards Vik - a small village nearby. We weren't able to spend any time in the village, but did stop to see one of Iceland's most accessible glaciers. Solheimajokull glacier is nestled between two volcanoes - Katla and Eyjafjallajökull - and stands out because of its dark volcanic rock and white layers of ice. The glacier is dramatically smaller than it was just 20 years ago thanks to global warming - but it's still worth seeing if you ever have the chance.
After a full day of exploring Iceland's natural wonders, we headed back to Hotel Ranga for a delicious dinner and a night of stargazing. We met with the resident astronomer, Saever Helgi Bragason, to learn more about the northern lights and why Iceland is the perfect place to see them.
Hotel Ranga was the first hotel in the country to offer a Northern Lights alarm. If the lights appear in the middle of the night, they will call your room so you can step outside and see them. The hotel even offers insulated coveralls that you can put on quickly so you don't lose any time layering up.
TUESDAY, APRIL 15
After our late night watching the northern lights, we got a later start on Tuesday. We had a leisurely breakfast before packing up and heading out to the Blue Lagoon.
Along the way, we made a quick stop at Urridafoss Falls. More water flows over the Urridafoss Falls than any other waterfall in Iceland.
We arrived at Iceland's most popular tourist attraction just before noon. The Blue Lagoon is situated in the small town of Grindavik but it's like stepping onto another planet. The town is made up entirely of volcanic rock - some of it just a few weeks old. The town - along with the lagoon - had to be evacuated on April 1 because of a nearby volcanic eruption. This eruption was the 11th since 2021.
The lagoon is known around the world for its milky color and healing properties. It first appeared in the mid-1970s near a hydroelectric power plant in town. When the boiling water from far beneath the earth came in contact with the volcanic rocks it created the milky colored water. The color comes from silica in the rocks along with blue-green algae. It has been shown to reduce toxins in the skin and even cure psoriasis. In fact, anyone in Iceland can get a prescription from their doctor to visit the Blue Lagoon for free if they have psoriasis.
The lagoon - and the 2 hotels on site - are surrounded by volcanic rock. You step outside your balcony and the rock is about 4-5 feet tall. It looks like you landed on the surface of the moon. Most of the rocks near the lagoon are about 800 years old, so moss has begun to grow on them. It takes 800-1000 years following a volcanic eruption for the rocks to cool enough for moss to begin to grow. During the summer, much of the countryside is a bright green.
There is a section of town that has new lava - it looks like giant pieces of coal. It is jet black and it will be hundreds of years before anything can start to grow on it. This section of Iceland is one of the newer parts of the island and is constantly changing thanks to volcanic activity.
The weather in Grindavik couldn't have been better while we were there. The skies were clear, which meant one final chance to see the northern lights before heading back to Nashville. Mother Nature did not disappoint.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16
We started the day with another soak in the Blue Lagoon before getting ready for a live report for the morning newscast in Nashville. Carrie gave viewers a live look at the lagoon and talked about what makes it one of the Top 25 wonders of the world.
We packed up and had one more phenomenal meal at the Lava restaurantbefore heading home. As we were about to leave, we got to spend a few minutes chatting with our incredible driver/guide from Activity Icelandover the last week. We can't wait to share some of Magnus' story with you in the coming days.
I'm not sure there is a story that's brought a bigger smile to our faces than this one celebrating Ms. Marie's own story is amazing - a true Rosie the Riveter! What was also amazing to see was how an entire community turned out to celebrate her. You've got to check this out!
-Carrie Sharp