On Thursday April 2nd- Monday April 6th we spent the long Easter weekend in Iceland (In the UK everyone is off Good Friday & Easter Monday!) Brian had been wanting to go there since we moved to London because it's a different and unique destination that over the last few years has become a very popular tourist destination. We got into Reykjavik real late and by the time we got to our hotel it was about 2:00am London time and 1:00am Iceland time since they are an hour behind. We were welcomed by heavy rain, strong winds and chilly air. When we woke up in the morning we walked around and checked out the marina near our hotel...
We both thought it reminded us of being in Alaska.
Loved this interesting colorful wall...
Our car got delivered to our hotel around 10:00AM (Ford Explorer with studded tires for Icelandic driving!) Then we found a grocery store, loaded up with some snacks for the road and headed off on the “Golden Circle” (A popular drive with 3 scenic stops along the way). After a few miles outside of Reykjavik our impression was, “wow…not much out here!” It was a white wash and it felt like we were driving on a ski hill. Very rainy and couldn’t see anything, this was our view for miles...
Our first stop was Pingvellir, a valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (2 of the earth's plates). It was a cold, drizzly and wet walk and a little bit of an underwhelming view from what we had imagined.
Back on the road again…
Iceland only has a population of approx 300,000 people (More then half live in Reykjavik, which is also the world's northernmost capital city). Supposedly there are more sheep then people but we think they actually meant horses because we saw way more Icelandic horses like the ones below.
Next stop was Haukadalur which is an active geothermal area. It felt really supernatural with the steam rising from various points in the ground and very hot water streaming around.
The best part was watching the Strokkur Geysir which erupts every 4-8 minutes and shoots water about 60 feet in the air on average each time although it has gone up to 130 feet!
To get an idea of the excitement watch the video we took.
Some people standing on the other side (where we had just been previously) were all waiting and watching with their cameras and phones out and the wind switched and when the geysir blew they all got drenched! We were lucky!
Brian wished we had rented the big wheels...
The final stop on the Golden Road was Gullfoss waterfall which has the largest volume of water flowing over it in Europe. It was very cold (30's F) windy and rainy but we braved it for the unbelievable sight, you cannot capture it's size, nor can you even see the bottom of it in pictures.
We would have probably stayed a long time watching and looking at it from different angles if the weather had been better. So pretty...
Then it was time to head back to Reykjavik. On the way back we had some great views of a huge lake…
and pretty mountain views...
Once we made it back to the city we found a great spot for drinks that I had read locals love near the marina (we ended up going there a couple of times during our stay).
Later that night at dinner I had some delicious salted cod which is a popular dish. A very enjoyable first day!
The next morning we wandered around Reykjavik and went up to the top of the Hallgrimskirkja (central church) where there were great views!
We even got to hear the bells chime on the hour. Have a listen...
Then even though it was cold we had to try the famous Icelandic ice cream which the people there are known to eat all year round no matter what the temperature! Yummy :)
Our hotel was the white one, City Center Hotel
Later in the afternoon we drove about 30 minutes outside the city to the famous Blue Lagoon filled with warm geothermal water. (Actually we had gone there in the morning too but found out we needed to have a booking in advance and couldn't get in until later in the day). On the way there the drive took us through huge molten lava fields...
Entrance to the Blue Lagoon...
The pretty color of the water comes from the minerals and silica that it is rich with and are great for the skin.
The warm waters that spring from the earth are first fed through a geothermal power plant to harness the energy and then released into the lava field and into the blue lagoon to be enjoyed and relax in.
It was much bigger then we expected and the water felt so nice compared to the chilly outside temps.
There also was white silica "goop" around the outer edges to put on as face masks which exfoliated and made our skin real smooth. (Wished we had a pic of that!) It was a great experience!
After we were done at the Blue Lagoon we went back to the car and the light on the dash flashed saying "Check right headlight" This would have been no big deal except for the previous day it had said "Check left headlight" Brian jumped out and looked and sure enough they were both dead! He got back in the car and sped out of the parking lot quickly while I searched around for the rental contract to call. It was starting to get dark and we still had to get back to Reykjavik! Brian discovered a few miles down the road that we actually did have lights if we kept them on the high beams. When we finally got ahold of our rental agent and his response was, "Well it is what it is..." Haha I don't think that would have flown with my Enterprise customers!
The next morning was Easter Sunday and we set out for another couple hour drive along the southern coast. When we stopped for fuel and snacks I took the picture below of a common product we kept seeing in stores. We may eat beef jerky at home but apparently in Iceland they enjoy dried fish...no we did not try it!
Back on the road again with a full tank...We were told to be cautious of fuel level beyond this point since there wouldn't be another station for many many miles!
First stop was the Seljalandsfoss Falls,
very beautiful indeed...
As we drove along further we knew we were in the area of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused major air traffic disruption across Europe for weeks. Suddenly we saw this farm on the left and the building in the picture below on the right.
I saw people going into the building so told Brian to turn around. Turns out we were getting there just as a tour group was filing in to watch a short film about the family who lives at the farm and the eruption. We basically became part of the tour group and quickly went in and sat down (didn't realize we were to pay...oops!)
It was very interesting learning about the eruption of the volcano which was actually inside of a glacier. Major flooding occurred during the eruption since the hot lava quickly melted tons of ice. Water rushed down changing the land and completely washing away the road we had been driving on. The video also showed how the family along with all the animals on their dairy farm were quickly evacuated by military tanks as the daylight turned to darkness as the ash came down. Then the aftermath and cleanup showed everything on the farm coated in a couple feet of ash. Approximately 10 million travelers were affected since 20 countries were forced to close their airspace because the planes couldn't fly with ash in the air because it risked the engines not working.
Compare the two pictures below to see what it had looked like as the eruption occurred.
Compare the two pictures below to see what it had looked like as the eruption occurred.
Further down the road we came upon Skogafoss Falls...
After that we continued on a bit further to the black sand beaches, they are this way from old volcanic lava...
Very neat to see
It wasn't rainy but the air looked misty almost added to the wonder of the scene...
As we drove along further we stopped off at a section along the coast that had an amazing rock formation. Never seen anything like it...Can you see me?!
Unbelievable to think about the pattern, sheer size and how they got like this...
This was a beautiful beach with an eerie still calmness as the waves rumbled in along the small rocks...
As we made our way back to Reykjavik suddenly Brian pulled over and turned around.
He said he kept seeing flashes of color in the bog and wanted to check what they were. So before you knew it we were on our own "Easter egg hunt!" Turns our there were multiple old fishing floats that had somehow broken off a ship or net and washed in. Since we have one at home that we found in the middle of the ocean in Alaska that had drifted all the way across the Pacific in Tsunami debris we thought it would be fun to add another to our collection. So yep we brought one home in our suitcase as a real souvenir. This one says Denmark on the bottom and it's fun to think about the journey it went on out in the sea before washing in and eventually coming home with us!
On the way back we saw the first tiny bit of sun poke out for a minute and it resulted in an Easter rainbow :)
Later that night we enjoyed our last dinner in Iceland. We had delicious mussels to start and both had the catch of the day which was some very tasty salmon. Take a look at the menu on the right. Two things we didn't try which are common on many Icelandic menus...whale and puffin!
The next afternoon we flew back to London. We had a beautiful landing at sunset coming into Heathrow...
Even got to fly directly over Windsor Castle (Queen's weekend residence)!
Another memorable holiday.
