My flight from Paris arrives at the airport in Keflavik, 45 minutes southwest of Reykjavik. I ride in a golf cart to the rental car facility, where I’m asked, among other offers, if I’m interested in sandstorm insurance. I add gravel insurance for off-roading, but I’ll take my chances on the sandstorm. As I rev the engines on my hot white Ford Fiesta, my first thought is, “What music is going to set the tone?” I pull out my iPod classic, and it’s dead. I open Spotify, and I have no service. The only albums I have saved are two with the world’s longest and shortest album names: The 1975’s ‘i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’ and Steely Dan’s ‘Aja.’ This is worth mentioning because every time I listen to these albums now, all I see are green pastures, steep cliffs, and flowing streams.

Driving north along the southwest coast from Keflavik to Reykjavik, I’m struck by the lush, green farmland adorning the mountainside. When I reach the capital, my first stop is Hallgrimskirkja, the country’s largest church. I showed a friend a photo of the cathedral after my trip, and he said verbatim, “Woah! That’s some Game of Thrones shit!” If you don’t believe him, see for yourself.

Reykjavik is the country’s largest city, but it is easy to navigate and walk around. Along the water I walk by the gleaming Harpa, a dazzling concert hall defined by its beautiful, green-glass facade. Walking towards Austurvöllur, the main square, I make my first culinary pitstop: Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. Icelandic for “the best hot dog in town,” this legendary stand has become an attraction due to visits from several dignitaries, including Bill Clinton and Anthony Bourdain. Bæjarins’ hot dogs are made from sheep and lamb, topped with ketchup, mustard, remoulade and undercoated with crunchy onions and raw shallots. I order two, and it costs less than six bucks. This is a delicious bargain, considering that’s the price of a latte at Austurvöllur.

As I arrive at the main square, I am thrilled that an official viewing station for the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup is showing matches and highlights all day. For a country of just over 300,000 people, Iceland is diehard about its soccer team. I ask a local fan to look at my map, for sightseeing advice. Not only does he speak his second language better than many Americans do their first, he points out hidden gems along my route, as I struggle mightily to pronounce them.

Walking back to the Fiesta, I notice the temperature dips. In order to stay warm, I keep the car on for 20 minutes, letting the seat warmer do its magic. [Note: if you open the door for any reason, repeat step 1.] During the summer, the sun sets slightly around midnight and rises at 3 a.m. With only three hours of “civil twilight,” I thought to bring my beanie, which serves as a more-than-adequate eye mask.