What I wish I'd known before our first trip to Iceland

What I remember most clearly is a bearded, tattooed, viking-looking man in a business suit, riding a scooter through downtown Reykjavik. He looked like he could have stepped out of a longboat in 900 AD, and he was checking his watch on his way to work. That's Iceland in one image for me. It's ancient and modern and a little funny all at the same time, and once you see it you stop trying to file it next to anywhere else you've been.

Most of our trip was based out of Reykjavik, which I think is the move for a first-timer. The city is small enough that you can walk it in an afternoon and big enough that you don't get bored, and it makes a perfect home base for the day trips that take you out into the parts of the country that look like another planet.

We did two of those day trips. One was the Golden Circle, which took us out to Gullfoss, a waterfall so loud and wide you feel the spray on your face before you even round the path. On the same day we stopped at a working tomato farm for lunch, which sounds odd until you actually do it. The food was incredible, all built around what they grow in greenhouses powered by geothermal heat, and the whole thing felt like a glimpse into how Iceland actually works. Then we finished the day at the Secret Lagoon for a dip in a natural hot spring while it was cold and gray outside. Sitting in 100-degree water with 40-degree air on your face is one of those small, weird joys I didn't know I needed.

The second day trip was Landmannalaugar, deep in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve. This is the place that lives in my head when someone says the word Iceland. Rhyolite mountains in colors I couldn't name, hot springs steaming out of the ground, lava fields that look like they cooled yesterday. You don't see anything like it in the rest of Europe, and the drive in is most of the experience.

Then there were the things we did in Reykjavik itself that I didn't plan and ended up loving most. We took a walking food tour, which I cannot recommend enough for a first visit. The guide walked us through Icelandic food traditions stop by stop, fermented shark and all, and answered every weird question I had about what these people actually eat. I left understanding the country in a way no museum had managed. My husband and I also got tattoos in town, which I will admit was not on the itinerary, but it felt right, and it gave us something to take home that no postcard could match.

The small things that took me by surprise.

The first is the language. Icelandic is unlike anything you've heard, with words so long that each one feels like it lasts forever. You will see a street sign and laugh out loud. But every person we met spoke beautiful English, and they were patient and warm with the fact that we couldn't pronounce a single thing. Try the words anyway. They will smile.

The next is the people. Iceland is one of those places that should feel foreign and somehow felt like home almost immediately. The Icelanders we met were direct, a little dry, deeply welcoming once you got past the first 30 seconds of reserve. The country is small, and you get the sense that everyone is connected somehow, and that warmth extends outward to visitors.

The third is that the weather is real, even in summer. You will be in a fleece in July. You will get four seasons in an afternoon. This is part of the deal. Pack layers, bring something waterproof, and let go of the idea that Iceland is going to behave like a normal vacation climate.

One last thing for anyone considering Iceland as their first big international trip. People hear Iceland and think they need to be a hardened adventure traveler to handle it, and they really don't. Reykjavik is easy. The day tours are well organized. The food is excellent. The infrastructure is better than most places I've been. It might be one of the most beginner-friendly first big trips out there, and the reward is a country that doesn't look or feel like anywhere else.

If you've been quietly thinking about Iceland but assumed it was too far, too cold, or too strange for you, this is your sign. It's closer than you think, kinder than you expect, and it will change what you thought a vacation could feel like.