{"id":478,"date":"2026-09-13T10:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T10:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/?p=478"},"modified":"2026-09-13T10:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T10:21:30","slug":"welcome-to-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/13\/welcome-to-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sunday <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the long awaited time to travel to Iceland had arrived. Surprisingly, I didn\u2019t feel ready at all. I wasn\u2019t sure what was waiting for me there, and I didn\u2019t even feel particularly excited about the trip. But, as usual, life put wonderful people in my path. Already at the airport in Warsaw, I met a Ukrainian woman travelling with her daughter. They literally saved me by offering a ride from the airport to my hostel in Reykjav\u00edk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was honestly terrified by the prices in Iceland. The cheapest safe option I could find, relatively close to the city centre, was a bed in a female dorm at KEX Hostel<\/a>, which cost around 250 PLN per night. I knew it was quite expensive, but I had already booked it as an only possible option. I also discovered that getting from the airport to the city could cost around 200 PLN, so I was even more grateful for the unexpected help I received. The ride was peaceful, friendly and comfortable, with great music playing in the Tesla and beautiful views along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, I woke up and immediately went to the corridor. Through the window, I saw an incredible view of the ocean, mountains and dramatic rock formations. It was my first real Icelandic wow moment. And breakfast? Well\u2026 let\u2019s just say I was travelling on a budget. A protein bar and some Lidl crisps. I had to save my money for later! I also met some really lovely people at the hostel. Everyone seemed open, friendly and helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, I set off on a walk along the coast. I didn\u2019t really know where I was going, but I trusted my intuition. Somehow, it always takes me to interesting places. The coastline was beautiful. The wind was strong, but the sun was shining and there were hardly any clouds. What surprised me the most was how empty everything felt. I was walking without seeing almost anyone. Just a couple of cars on the road. Honestly, it was perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After my long walk along the beach, I found a public library where I could warm up and escape the wind. There were lots of books in English, including several about Iceland, so I spent some time browsing them. I found a free bathroom and even got a free coffee with lactose-free milk. Things like that make you love Iceland even more. Warm and happy, I continued exploring Reykjav\u00edk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My next stop was Rainbow Street<\/a>. The atmosphere was amazing. Smiling, friendly people, small jewellery shops, vintage stores and tiny caf\u00e9s. I even visited a record store filled with vinyl records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I went to Hallgr\u00edmskirkja<\/a>, the huge church overlooking the city. Its interior was simple and raw, but incredibly beautiful. Later, I went back to the hostel, took a short break and headed to meet the project coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also stopped at B\u00f3nus, one of the cheaper supermarkets in Iceland. And honestly, the prices weren\u2019t as terrible as I expected. It was almost like shopping in \u017babka, so definitely manageable! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, we arrived at the place where our training was going to take place. It was a beautiful house with one very cute cat. Our coordinators were leaving for another project, so we were going to stay there on our own. They showed us what we could do in the area, including going to a swimming pool or watching the sunset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we chose the sunset. We cooked dinner together and then went out to watch one of my favourite things during every trip, the sunset. And that was how my first wonderful day in Reykjav\u00edk came to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tuesday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning started with breakfast and a beautiful view of horses. We went for a walk through the mountains and spent a lot of time in complete silence. On our way to Siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, we visited Gr\u00e1br\u00f3k<\/a>, an extinct volcanic crater. It was really fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The views along the way were beautiful, and we listened to good music while driving. Eventually, we arrived at our camp in the north of Iceland. There were a lot of people and it was quite chaotic, but my first impression was still positive. That evening, we had dinner together and made Polish pierogi, vegan style. Instead of cottage cheese, we used tofu. I had never tried them that way before, but honestly they were pretty good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, we went out to chase the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, we couldn\u2019t really see them with the naked eye. But when we took photos, they appeared in the sky. And just like that, our first real Icelandic camping adventure had begun. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Pierwsze dni na Islandii<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wersja polska<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niedziela<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nareszcie nadszed\u0142 upragniony czas wyjazdu na Islandi\u0119. Nie czu\u0142am si\u0119 jednak na niego gotowa. Nie by\u0142am pewna, co mnie tam czeka, a co najdziwniejsze, nie czu\u0142am nawet wi\u0119kszej ekscytacji z powodu wyjazdu. Natomiast, jak zwykle, los postawi\u0142 na mojej drodze wspania\u0142e osoby. Ju\u017c na lotnisku w Warszawie pozna\u0142am dziewczyn\u0119 z c\u00f3rk\u0105 z Ukrainy, kt\u00f3re dos\u0142ownie mnie uratowa\u0142y i zaproponowa\u0142y mi podw\u00f3zk\u0119 z lotniska do mojego hostelu w Reykjav\u00edku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Og\u00f3lnie ceny na Islandii bardzo mnie przerazi\u0142y. Najta\u0144sz\u0105, bezpieczn\u0105 opcj\u0105, kt\u00f3r\u0105 znalaz\u0142am i kt\u00f3ra by\u0142a w miar\u0119 blisko centrum, by\u0142 Hostel KEX, oko\u0142o 250 z\u0142 za osob\u0119 za \u0142\u00f3\u017cko w pokoju wieloosobowym \u017ce\u0144skim. Wybra\u0142am w\u0142a\u015bnie t\u0119 opcj\u0119. Sprawdzi\u0142am r\u00f3wnie\u017c, \u017ce dojazd z lotniska do centrum kosztuje oko\u0142o 200 z\u0142, je\u015bli korzysta si\u0119 z transportu publicznego. Tym bardziej jestem wi\u0119c wdzi\u0119czna losowi, \u017ce spotka\u0142am t\u0119 cudown\u0105 osob\u0119 z Ukrainy, kt\u00f3ra po prostu mi pomog\u0142a. Dojazd do hostelu by\u0142 bardzo spokojny i min\u0105\u0142 w przyjaznej atmosferze, Tesla, super muzyka i pi\u0119kne widoki za oknem. Ju\u017c wtedy poczu\u0142am, \u017ce ta podr\u00f3\u017c mo\u017ce by\u0107 naprawd\u0119 wyj\u0105tkowa.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Poniedzia\u0142ek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nast\u0119pnego dnia rano obudzi\u0142am si\u0119 i od razu wysz\u0142am na korytarz. Przez okno zobaczy\u0142am przepi\u0119kny widok na ocean oraz g\u00f3ry i formacje skalne w tle. Widok by\u0142 naprawd\u0119 niesamowity. W hostelu pozna\u0142am te\u017c bardzo przemi\u0142e osoby w hostelu. Wszyscy byli otwarci, pomocni i u\u015bmiechni\u0119ci.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyruszy\u0142am na w\u0119dr\u00f3wk\u0119 wzd\u0142u\u017c wybrze\u017ca. W zasadzie nie do ko\u0144ca wiedzia\u0142am, dok\u0105d id\u0119, ale wiedzia\u0142am jedno, moja intuicja zawsze prowadzi mnie w dobre, a przede wszystkim ciekawe miejsca. Spacerowa\u0142am wzd\u0142u\u017c naprawd\u0119 pi\u0119knego wybrze\u017ca. Ca\u0142y czas by\u0142o s\u0142ycha\u0107 wiatr, ale niebo by\u0142o prawie bezchmurne i \u015bwieci\u0142o s\u0142o\u0144ce, wi\u0119c pogoda wcale nie by\u0142a tak z\u0142a, jak si\u0119 spodziewa\u0142am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mia\u0142am na dzi\u015b zaplanowanych kilka atrakcji. W\u0142a\u015bnie zmierza\u0142am na zachodni\u0105 cz\u0119\u015b\u0107 miasta i kompletnie nie wiedzia\u0142am, co mnie tam czeka. Jedn\u0105 z rzeczy, kt\u00f3ra od razu rzuci\u0142a mi si\u0119 w oczy, by\u0142a niesamowita pustka. Sz\u0142am ju\u017c oko\u0142o 20 minut \u015bcie\u017ck\u0105 dla pieszych i nie spotka\u0142am praktycznie nikogo. Min\u0119\u0142y mnie mo\u017ce dwa samochody. Tak ma\u0142e nat\u0119\u017cenie ruchu i ludzi by\u0142o dla mnie idealne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Po wspania\u0142ym spacerze wzd\u0142u\u017c pla\u017cy uda\u0142o mi si\u0119 znale\u017a\u0107 miejsce, w kt\u00f3rym mog\u0142am si\u0119 troch\u0119 ogrza\u0107 i schroni\u0107 przed wiatrem. By\u0142a to publiczna biblioteka. W \u015brodku znajdowa\u0142o si\u0119 mn\u00f3stwo ksi\u0105\u017cek, r\u00f3wnie\u017c po angielsku, co by\u0142o dla mnie naprawd\u0119 \u015bwietne. Przejrza\u0142am kilka ksi\u0105\u017cek o Islandii i mog\u0142am troch\u0119 odpocz\u0105\u0107. Opr\u00f3cz tego uda\u0142o mi si\u0119 skorzysta\u0107 z darmowej toalety i dosta\u0107 darmow\u0105 kaw\u0119 z mlekiem bez laktozy. Takie rzeczy chyba tylko na Islandii! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bardzo zadowolona i przede wszystkim ogrzana ruszy\u0142am wi\u0119c dalej odkrywa\u0107 Reykjav\u00edk. Kolejnym punktem na mapie by\u0142a s\u0142ynna ulica T\u0119czowa. Og\u00f3lnie klimat by\u0142 wspania\u0142y. Ludzie u\u015bmiechni\u0119ci, otwarci, zagadywali do mnie. Zupe\u0142nie inaczej, ni\u017c si\u0119 spodziewa\u0142am, wr\u0119cz przeciwnie do stereotyp\u00f3w, kt\u00f3re zna\u0142am. Na razie Islandczycy wydawali mi si\u0119 bardzo otwarci i pomocni. Dooko\u0142a znajdowa\u0142y si\u0119 vintage shopy, ma\u0142e sklepiki z bi\u017cuteri\u0105 i male\u0144kie kawiarnie. Atmosfera by\u0142a naprawd\u0119 przepi\u0119kna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wesz\u0142am te\u017c do sklepu z p\u0142ytami, gdzie mo\u017cna by\u0142o zobaczy\u0107 mn\u00f3stwo p\u0142yt winylowych. Dla mi\u0142o\u015bnika muzyki by\u0142o to naprawd\u0119 \u015bwietne miejsce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nast\u0119pnie uda\u0142am si\u0119 do ko\u015bcio\u0142a Hallgr\u00edmskirkja, kt\u00f3ry by\u0142 pot\u0119\u017cnym budynkiem wznosz\u0105cym si\u0119 wysoko nad miastem. W \u015brodku by\u0142 bardzo surowy, ale jednocze\u015bnie pi\u0119kny. Teraz czeka\u0142 mnie ju\u017c tylko spokojny spacer w kierunku hostelu, godzina odpoczynku i spacer w miejsce spotkania z koordynatork\u0105 projektu. Zapomnia\u0142am jeszcze doda\u0107, \u017ce wesz\u0142am r\u00f3wnie\u017c do jednego z ta\u0144szych sklep\u00f3w spo\u017cywczych, kt\u00f3ry nazywa si\u0119 B\u00f3nus. Ceny rzeczywi\u015bcie by\u0142y troch\u0119 jak w \u017babce, wi\u0119c da si\u0119 prze\u017cy\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nast\u0119pnie dojechali\u015bmy do miejsca, w kt\u00f3rym odbywa\u0142 si\u0119 trening. By\u0142 to pi\u0119kny dom z jednym uroczym kotkiem. Na miejscu okaza\u0142o si\u0119, \u017ce b\u0119dziemy sami, poniewa\u017c nasze koordynatorki jecha\u0142y w\u0142a\u015bnie na inny projekt. W swoim domu pokaza\u0142y nam, co mo\u017cemy robi\u0107 w okolicy, mi\u0119dzy innymi p\u00f3j\u015b\u0107 na basen albo wybra\u0107 si\u0119 na zach\u00f3d s\u0142o\u0144ca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Najpierw ugotowali\u015bmy wsp\u00f3lnie obiad, a nast\u0119pnie udali\u015bmy si\u0119 na wspania\u0142y zach\u00f3d s\u0142o\u0144ca, czyli moj\u0105 ulubion\u0105 cz\u0119\u015b\u0107 ka\u017cdej podr\u00f3\u017cy. I tak zako\u0144czy\u0142 si\u0119 m\u00f3j pierwszy, cudowny dzie\u0144 w stolicy Islandii.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Wtorek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poranne \u015bniadanie z widokiem na konie. Spacer w pi\u0119kne g\u00f3ry i sporo czasu sp\u0119dzonego w ca\u0142kowitej ciszy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Po drodze do Siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur odwiedzili\u015bmy wygas\u0142y krater wulkaniczny, Gr\u00e1br\u00f3k. By\u0142 naprawd\u0119 ciekawy. Po drodze podziwiali\u015bmy pi\u0119kne widoki i s\u0142uchali\u015bmy fajnej muzyki. Na koniec dojechali\u015bmy do naszego campu, kt\u00f3ry znajdowa\u0142 si\u0119 na p\u00f3\u0142nocy Islandii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Na miejscu by\u0142o bardzo du\u017co ludzi i panowa\u0142 dosy\u0107 du\u017cy chaos, ale pierwsze wra\u017cenie by\u0142o ca\u0142kiem pozytywne. Wieczorem mieli\u015bmy wsp\u00f3ln\u0105 kolacj\u0119 i robili\u015bmy polskie pierogi w wersji wega\u0144skiej. Zamiast twarogu dodali\u015bmy tofu. Nigdy wcze\u015bniej takich nie jad\u0142am, ale w sumie by\u0142o ca\u0142kiem spoko!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potem, pe\u0142ni energii, ruszyli\u015bmy na podb\u00f3j zorzy polarnej. Niestety na \u017cywo zupe\u0142nie jej nie by\u0142o wida\u0107. Dopiero na zdj\u0119ciach zacz\u0119\u0142a si\u0119 delikatnie pojawia\u0107. To by\u0142o niesamowite uczucie, wiedzie\u0107, \u017ce co\u015b jest nad nami, ale go\u0142ym okiem praktycznie tego nie dostrzega\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tak rozpocz\u0105\u0142 si\u0119 pierwszy dzie\u0144 naszego prawdziwego islandzkiego campingu. Zobaczymy, czy uda nam si\u0119 to przetrwa\u0107! <\/p>\n\n\n

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Sunday Finally, the long awaited time to travel to Iceland had arrived. Surprisingly, I didn\u2019t feel ready at all. I wasn\u2019t sure what was waiting for me there, and I didn\u2019t even feel particularly excited about the trip. But, as usual, life put wonderful people in my path. Already at the airport in Warsaw, I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ania.popieko.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}