Iceland

setembro 2021
  • Laurens Hoengenaert
Uma 15aventura de um dia na Laurens Leia mais
  • Laurens Hoengenaert

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  • All that glitters is not gold

    14 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    The alarm goes off and with the dawn of a new day we start a new adventure. We load everything back in our car that's parked in front of our chalet and head over to the main lobby where breakfast is served. The premises has about 4 chalets, and we believe only two of them are occupied. It's the first time we have to pick a table and breakfast is served instead of a buffet. After an extensive breakfast with scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, yogurt, and cereals we check-out and decide to go back to Brúarfoss. The hotel owner asked about our itinerary for today and reassured that Brúarfoss is a lovely waterfall although very muddy after rainy days. The pictures we had seen online also promised a spectacular hike to Iceland's bluest waterfall. If we keep up the pace today that should still fit into the planning.

    We park the car on the same tiny parking area at the start of the trail. Unlike other highlights in the area, this is still a hidden gem with little tourists. Maybe it's the mud that keeps most of them away. The trail goes through private property, so tourists are advised to stay on the track and leave nothing behind. In our opinion it's super nice that the owner of this land allows tourists to hike here instead of just putting up a fence and claiming the waterfall as his/her own.
    After a short while into the hike we start to believe that the amount of mud is still okay. With some proper hiking boots there's nothing that really slows you down. However, a while later we arrive at a section that goes through vegetation and little trees. This section becomes very muddy really quick, and we have to carefully look where to place our feet. Rubber boots are not useless here.
    A few minutes later we cross two American tourists that are on their way back. Luckily, they tell us that the muddy section is almost over and the rest of the trail is normal. If we've made it this far, we have to continue! Relieved by this good news we continue and not much later make it out of the woods. We arrive to the river and a first waterfall. Brúarfoss is the biggest waterfall at the end of the trail further upstream. On the way there we'll see two other waterfalls. This must be the first.
    As we see the waterfall and the river, we're blown away by the colour of the water. It is indeed extremely blue! Usually pictures online are edited to make it look more spectacular, so I didn't expect the water to be this blue. After a couple of pictures, we continue the track alongside the river.
    By this point we're already glad that we decided to come back to do this amazing hike and also that we didn't do it yesterday evening. Today is cloudy but sometimes the sun breaks through and brightens the water even more. Yesterday evening was already dusk and cloudy. With the muddy section in the beginning of the trail we would have lost too much time.
    Not much later we arrive to the second waterfall: midfoss. We take out the tripod and take various pictures. It's almost like the river is filled with de-icing fluid for your car instead of water.
    Ten minutes later we arrive to Brúarfoss. The trail ends at a bridge over the river that gives a good sight on the waterfall. We quickly take out the cameras and take our pictures as the sky has turned dark and a rain shower is imminent. Just after we've taken our pictures the first droplets start falling down. Satisfied we head back on the same track to the parking. The rain doesn't last that long and by the time we arrive back at midfoss it's already sunny again. Nevertheless, when we start our muddy section, it's raining again. Once more proof of typical Icelandic weather. Better be prepared for everything when you go out on a walk!

    It's a little before noon when we drive to our next stop: Thingvellir. There is a lot you can read about this national park and its history. It's also one of the most visited areas in the golden circle. In short, Thingvellir is a place where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are drifting apart. Every year the 6km wide canyon is pulled apart a few centimetres. Because the park is quite big, there are various parking lots. We drive to the parking area in the south, closest to the main landmarks. After having paid for our parking ticket we start our walk in this highly touristic park. To be honest we're not that impressed by the things we see. On our left-hand side there's a wall that clearly forms one side of the canyon. Because of the size of the canyon (6km), we can't see the other side, or at least it's not equally visible as over here. Besides the wall, there's not that much to see. A waterfall that doesn't stand out compared to all the others we've seen so far. Some old houses and a church of a village that has great historic value. According to history, Thingvellir is the place where important meetings were held and where parliament resides. Up until today the summer house of the prime minister is here in the national park. After about half an hour walk in the canyon we head back to the car. It's good to have been here, at least we can say we've seen this place but for us it didn't impress.

    Our next section of road takes us one last time off-road. We're taking the Kaldidalur (F550) which is the shortest highland route on the island. The road takes you between a glacier and a volcano. Obviously, it's calmer here. Most people who visit the golden circle do it by bus or don't rent a 4-wheel drive car to do this road. The weather has turned from cloudy with sun to overcast and at times we can see a blue glacier in between the clouds. Based on the map we have to carefully look to spot the volcano. In general, it's hard to spot a volcano just by the looks of it. There are plenty of active volcanos in Iceland, but most of them you just drive by without knowing it's a volcano.
    Despite this being a short highland route, it slows down our pace. We plan the rest of our day based on the estimated arrival time on our GPS. However, on this road the arrival time keeps moving forward. We'll spend about two hours driving this section before we arrive to Hraunfossar & Barnafoss.
    These two waterfalls are very close to each other and a 1km loop trail takes you passed both of them. Hraunfossar is a special waterfall because the entire length of the waterfall stretches out over more than 1km. The water seems to magically appear from in between the rocks and streams down into the river. We're in luck at this stop because the sun has found its way back to us. The second waterfall, Barnafoss, is further upstream the river and comes down in a small gorge. Compared to Hraunfossar this one is less spectacular. Because of the short trail we're quickly back at the car and continue to our next hotel in Reykholt. Because tomorrow is a very busy day, we decide to already do some highlights today. We'll have to drive the same road again, but at least we don't have to stop anymore.

    We drive passed the hotel and stop at Deildartunguhver. This is the biggest geothermal hot spring of Iceland and probably the entire world. It produces - hold on - 180L of boiling water per second! Before, this water was just lost into the soil. Nowadays, there's a pump station nearby and the hot spring provides all the hot water for two major cities nearby: Borgarnes and Akranes. It's weird to know that the hot water of the shower this very evening will be coming directly from this spring. Next to the spring there is a geothermal spa and a greenhouse that is heated by the water from the spring. You can buy vegetables from the greenhouse here.

    We continue and stop at the Glanni waterfalls. We have to park the car on the parking area of a golf course and continue on foot. After about 1km we arrive at the waterfall. It somehow reminds me of the very first waterfall we saw here in Iceland. We found this recommendation in a guidebook but didn't pop up in many other tourist information of the area. Maybe it's less known or popular. Either way, we like to explore things that are a bit off the beaten track.

    Just across the road we find Grábrók, an almost 3000 years old crater much like Hverfell in the Mývatn area. There's a small parking in front and you can walk around the crater edge on a short 1km hike. We only have to walk up the many stairs to get to the top of the crater. At least they have stairs here, back at Hverfell we had to walk on the loose gravel to get to the top. Would this be a sign that we're still in a more touristic area? The black sand of the crater has some beautiful green mosses that give nice contrast. From the top we have a nice view of the surroundings and another, similar, crater. There are some remnants of an old settlement as well.

    For these three landmarks we can already make a tick in the box for tomorrows planning. Time to head back to Reykholt and check-in our hotel. Hopefully we can finish everything now tomorrow.

    In the hotel we get a gigantic room and wash the mud off our rain trousers. We have dinner at the hotel's restaurant and just before bedtime I quickly visit to the hotel spa that was free of charge. It's a super nice spa with cosy couches and a big fire. There's a sauna and an outside whirlpool. Shame we don't have more time, otherwise that would have been a relaxing end of the day.
    Today we've visited all the highlights of the golden circle area. Tomorrow we'll visit the entire Snaefellsnes peninsula. A bit disappointed by the fame and glory all these golden circle landmarks get, we go to bed. The golden circle is great when you don't have much time in Iceland to get an impression. But if you really want to explore the country and do its nature justice, one has to go further and spend more time.
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  • Snaefellsnes

    15 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    One last time on this journey the alarm clock gets us out of bed early to start a day full of wonder. As we open the curtains it looks like a sunny day will be upon us. The weather forecast looked promising at least!
    We head over to the breakfast area and enjoy a yet again breakfast buffet with a wide range of options. It's still quiet and tranquil and we wonder of most tourists go in the opposite direction, or also to Snaefellsnes from here.
    Time to go! Checking out, loading everything in the car and off we go. We start today with a long drive to almost halfway on the peninsula: Kirkjufell. Because we did the first two highlights yesterday (Glanni and Grábrók), we can just drive passed them and safe some time. It's a 2,5h drive to Kirkjufell and about 170km. Luckily, with the sun and blue sky this can't be a bad day!
    As we get closer to the ocean, the high green mountains appear again. Around Reykholt we saw more pastures and fields, but after a couple of mountain passes, we're back into the landscape that's somewhat comparable to what we saw the first days.
    Unfortunately, after about a 1h drive the road turns to gravel. Nothing too bad, not like the F-roads we've done before. Nevertheless, it slows down our speed and with so much on the planning today, that's something we didn't foresee. The gravel road seems to continue for a long while and I'm hoping that the entire road around the peninsula isn't this way. Should that be the case, we can be sure that we'll arrive back at the hotel after dark. There are some tiny potholes and every now and then we encounter another car. Most of them not 4-wheel drive or even a camper. They advance very slowly at about 50km/h maximum. Luckily, we've got 11 days of experience on Icelandic roads, and we can comfortably push up the speed to 80km/h. We're both convinced that should we have done our entire holiday in the opposite direction; we would also drive this section at a slower speed and not be able to finish the highlights this day. After about 75km of gravel road we finally see asphalt again. Grateful for this change we press on the last couple of kilometres to Kirkjufell.

    I'm sure most of you have definitely seen a picture of Kirkjufell before. It's one of Iceland's most iconic pictures: the pointy mountain with the waterfalls in front. We park the car at the designated parking area and pay with our smartphones the requested parking fee. There are signs with a QR-code that request you to pay for the parking lot to keep up the maintenance. Sadly, it seems like we're one of the few that actually seem to do this. Most tourists just walk past the sign or ignore it all together.
    50m from the parking lot, there is a bunch of people taking the famous picture. Today is especially good because of the beautiful weather. Lots of people with tripods and camera filters. All looking to get that one amazing shot. And yes of course... so are we. Nevertheless, we didn't bring the tripod and are happy with a few decent shots. The mountain is impressive, and it surely makes a beautiful picture. Although, somehow on picture it looks more surreal. While standing there, the Kirkjufell mountain actually gets easily lost in between all the other mountains. The view behind us is honestly also a very impressive sight: green cliffs with waterfalls coming down. It truly is an amazing country!

    Not much further lays the town of Ólafsvík. It's a tiny village with a surprisingly modern church. Just next to the church there is a short trail that leads to a waterfall: Bæjarfoss. It's not a common touristic stop, but because it's just a 5 minute side stop, we decide to stop here too. The waterfall lays in the backyard of the town's school. How cool is that?! Imagine the kids saying: "I went to school in Ólafsvík, we had a waterfall in our backyard".

    We continue our drive and pass Hellissandur where we stop in a grocery store to buy some lunch. From here it's not much further to the peninsula's top and another landmark: Skarðsvík. We decide to have lunch there. About this time, we enter the Snæfellsjökull National Park. At the end of the peninsula there is a huge volcano where the top is cover by a glacier. It's so big that on a clear day you can see Snæfellsjökull from Reykjavik! The main road takes us around the volcano. But first, a tiny windy road leads to Skarðsvík: a small yellow sand beach. Yes, you read that well: yellow sand beach. It's one of the few places in Iceland where you can see find sand that isn't black. We have lunch at a picknick table and enjoy the waves crashing into the rocks on either side of the sand. We're so lucky that the sun is shining on this last busy day.

    From one beach to another. On the southern tip of the peninsula, we find Djúpalónssandur. Also a famous beach, but this time it's back to black marbles. Apart from the stunning beach, there's a lot to see here. According to old folk tale the fishermen measured the strength of the men who wanted to join their ships by lifting certain stones. There are 4 stones: "Fullsterkur" (full power) with a total weight of 154 kg, "Hálfsterkur" (half power) of about 100 kg, "Hálfdrættingur" (weakling) of 54 kg and "Amlóði" (useless) of 23 kg. Unfortunately, the smallest one of 23kg has gotten lost. If you could lift "Hálfdrættingur" to the height of your hip, you were allowed to enter the ship.
    Let's put it this way: I managed to lift the 54kg stone a bit from the ground. The 100kg stone barely moved. And I didn't even touch the 154kg one. Pretty sure the fishermen's life isn't my destiny.
    As we enter the black marble beach, we can spot the rusty remains of the Epine GY7. A fishermen boat that stranded and crashed on the rocks before the coast in March 1948. Sadly, 14 of the crew drowned. The remains washed ashore and have remained there unspoiled ever since. Just like the DC3 plane wreck at the beginning of our journey, I'm amazed by how they leave these things untouched in nature. Honestly, it connects way more this way than being in a museum or completely forgotten. At the shoreline we can understand why the sea around this part of the island is notorious. The waves crash into the black rocks and with the sun right in front of us provide really great photos for silhouette photography. We spend a couple of minutes here soaking in the beautiful landscape.

    We follow the main road and make a stop at Hellnar. This is a tiny settlement that offers great views on the cliffs. There's also a famous walk between the town of Hellnar and Arnarstapi. But because the walk is about 4km one way, we would lose quite a lot of time with a round trip. Most of the pictures we've seen online show the same jagged coastline. We get out of the car and have a quick look around. Walk a few metres onto the trail but then turn back and continue our trip. Next up is the famous black church of Búðir. Again one of Iceland's most photographed icons: the black wooden church in the middle of nowhere. It's located next to a lava field and a few metres apart from an old hotel. With the sun, this makes the classic guidebook picture. We make a short walk in the lava field before heading back to the car. Most of the lava is covered by grass or moss yet one has to be careful where to tread. There are cracks in the earth or depressions in between the lava structures.

    We won't be seeing puffins on our journey at this time of year. However, seals are also often to be seen on this island. We've read that at our next stop, Ytri-Tunga beach, there is a high chance of seeing them. Convinced that this would also be one of the non-touristic hidden gems, I was clearly proven wrong when we arrive at the parking. As we walk to the beach, we see some signs telling us to keep a good distance from the seals and to be quiet. Not knowing whether to turn to the left or the right, we follow a bunch of other tourists to the left. After a while we spot some seals laying on the rocks in front of us. They're lazy animals that enjoy the sun today as much as we do. For them it's a relax day: sunbathing on the rocks. There isn't much movement. With a proper telescopic lens you could take amazing pictures here. Unfortunately, our lenses don't allow for this type of wildlife photography so it's not always easy to get a good shot.

    We walk back to explore the right-hand side of the beach and after a while see a huge mass on the beach. We say to each other that it looks like a beached whale from afar, but immediately realise that sounds pretty unrealistic. When we get a bit closer, we spot a huge vertebra, turns out it's a whale carcass after all! As we approach the carcass the intense odour of rotting flesh becomes more prominent. Nevertheless, it's quite baffling to stand next to such an extraordinary creature. The size of the bones is simply huge!
    I quickly look up what type of whale it was and when it washed ashore. A news article says it's a humpback whale that was found dead before the coast and washed ashore in March 2021. So, over the last 6 months the carcass has slowly been rotting away up to what is left today. What did I just say about Iceland leaving nature untouched?
    Blown away by what we just saw, we continue a bit further in search of some more seals. At the end of the beach, we see another group resting on the rocks and swimming in the water.

    The evening sun starts to set in as we drive to our next stop. A little gravel road brings us to the Gerðuberg cliffs. A one-kilometre-long cliff of basalt columns that rise up about 10 metres from the ground. With the evening sun illuminating the wall it's a beautiful sight. We walk up to the columns and to the top. Enjoy the scenery around us but also realise that we won't be able to do every item on our planning today. We had another crater 'Eldborg' and a hot spring on our list, but because we've visited two craters by now decide to erase Eldborg from our list. The hot spring seems like a well-hidden place but is also far from the main road. Also, the hot spring itself is so tiny it can only accommodate two people. So, in case we're not alone, we probably have to wait to enter. We decide to drop this one as well and continue down to our hotel near Borgarnes. It's still about a 40 minutes' drive to the hotel. On the way we'll stop by Brúarfoss. A waterfall just next to the road.

    We only found reference of this waterfall in one guidebook, and are a bit confused by the name. If you Google Brúarfoss you'll only find the famous blue waterfall we did the day before. So, it's a well-planned search for coordinates where this waterfall should be located.
    When we arrive, there is a house next to the waterfall with a lot of signs: "private property, no trespassing. Pictures of waterfall, other side of the bridge." Confused by all the signs we drive back over the bridge from where we came. There is indeed a tiny exit that leads to a parking area. We get out and walk again to the house from the other side of the river. Once more we come across signs that clearly state that this is private property and we're not allowed to go any further. The house is actually a fishing club, and apparently the owners/club doesn't want tourists to come close. We take a few pictures from the actually not impressive waterfall and continue to our hotel.
    Our hotel looks like a typical American motel. We park the car just in front of our room and relax a few minutes after this busy day. We've driven some 370km and made quite a few stops. Happy that we managed to do most things on our list we prepare for dinner. This motel doesn't serve dinner, so we have to drive back to Borgarnes to find a restaurant. It's clear that we're getting back to the southwestern part of the island. More people, bigger cities, and more fancy cars. It's been a long time since we saw a Tesla. After dinner we quickly go to bed to catch some sleep. It doesn't take long before we realise the rooms aren't isolated at all. At around 11PM our neighbours arrive and every single word they say is loud and clear. It's just like they're standing in our room. Later, at around 2AM another bunch arrives to their room and keep us awake for a big part of the night. Not all accommodations are equal I suppose.
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  • A breath-taking hike

    16 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    After a short and terrible night, we wake up to our last day in the countryside of Iceland. As of tomorrow, we'll be back in Reykjavik to spend the last moments of our amazing trip.
    Although we could have slept long this morning, we woke up early. The planning today is quite relax: we have to drive only 1h30 to Reykjavik, so that leaves plenty of room to do another nice activity today.
    We can choose between a walk on a mountain in the area of Akranes that provides a great view on the nearby fjord and ocean. Or we drive a bit further to do a more adventurous hike to the Glymur waterfall. The hike would take about 4 hours and it's recommended to take some spare shoes because you have to cross a river. Because the sky this morning is overcast and the clouds aren't that high, we decide to make the adventurous walk.
    After breakfast in the lobby of the motel, we set off our last walk in nature. This is something we hadn't meticulously planned from the start so we didn't really know what we would find.
    When we leave the main road to the parking lot, we have to stop for some sheep crossing the road. The last couple of days we've come across some sheep that haven't yet found their way back their owners. It's always nice to see them wander freely in nature and cars drive carefully around them.
    The parking lot is almost empty which is not that surprising as we figure this hike isn't that well known. We take out the backpack, extra shoes and excited venture off into the wild.
    We follow the trail clockwise. According to the mobile app, we will pass the waterfall and river crossing at the end of the walk, which is to be preferred. Always nicer to have to walk only a short while with wet shoes. The trail climbs gradually and every now and then we stop to rest and take in the beautiful fjord behind us. Nature never fails to amaze here.
    When we're approaching the highest point, we're exposed to a strong wind. We zip-up our jackets and put on our hoods and press on. In front of us there's a deep gorge, just before, the path takes a left turn and follows along the gorge. We can't see very well into the gorge itself because we can't get close enough to the edge. Every now and then there's a cloud of mist that emerges from the depths.
    Not much later the gorge comes to an end and turns into a river. It doesn't take long before we realise that our path goes straight through this river.

    The point where we normally have to cross has a very wide riverbed and the current is quite strong. The latest review about this trail rated one star and said: "impossible unless you want to risk your life". Because of the rainfall the last couple of the days, we figure that the riverbed must have swollen. We immediately decide that we won't cross the river at the point where the track normally plans to.
    We continue a bit further in search of a better spot to cross the river.
    Behind us, another couple of Americans arrive and start the conversation about how and where to cross this river. We're both a bit sceptic about where to cross and share our thoughts on the best approach. Ann continues a bit further upstream to see if there's a narrower section. In the meantime, our American friends seem to prepare to go across. When they've pulled up their pants and changed their shoes, it starts to drizzle. A very welcoming element in preparing to step seconds later in a freezing cold river...
    Last minute, they decide to turn around and head back down the same way they came. Very unfortunate for us, otherwise we could have seen how high the water came and how well it all went. Luckily, from the other side another couple arrives to the river. They don't seem hesitant at all and quickly change their shoes and pull up their pants. They wade through the water and make it across with water to knee height. They encourage us to go across and tell us that the view will be amazing. There's another river crossing at the end of the trail, but according to them it's peanuts compared to this one.
    Motivated by their words and having seen other people making it safely across we prepare to go through as well.
    We tie our shoelaces together and swing them around our neck. Holding hands for extra stability on the rocky surface we wade through the water. It's cold... just like in the highlands it's painfully cold.
    As soon as we reach the other side, we quickly dry our feet and change shoes again. They start to glow. We put the wet shoes in a plastic bag and tie it to the backpack and continue, excited about what we'll find.
    The track is sometimes hard to find and winds at times very close to the gorge's edge. The reason for this becomes instantly clear: a massive waterfall goes down into the gorge. The cloud of mist we could see from the other side is from this waterfall. Maybe it was because of the wind, or the distance from the edge, but we didn't hear the crashing water that well from the other side. According to guidebooks this is the second highest waterfall of Iceland.
    Amazed by the view we continue down the path further along the gorge. Every few 100 metres we turn around to enjoy the amazing view on the waterfall. Just like day 4 on our trip there are seagulls flying like little white dots. With the seagulls as contrast, we get a sense of magnitude and how little we are in this gargantuan environment.

    The path down remains adventurous with loose rocks, steeps paths and a sometimes difficult to track path. On the steepest paths, there's a rope to help you. Every now and then there's a little stream of water that we need to cross. Hardly a river, but you carefully have to choose your steps to make it across without wet feet. In the far distance, we can see the next main river crossing. There's a rope across the river to hold onto because of the strong current. In the first section, there's also a tree trunk to make it halfway across. The adrenaline starts to rush through our veins again. But we're confident! We've made it across upstream which was apparently more difficult.
    When we arrive at the lower river crossing, there are some other hikers on the other side that just have started their trip. When they see the river, some of them quickly turn around. Some people aren't prepared at all and didn't bring other shoes. While we switch shoes again, some people from the other side come across. It seems fairly okay because you have the cable to hold on to. The current here is stronger compared to the wider river upstream, so it's good that there's something to hold on to. We make it across like pros and switch shoes once more.

    The last part of the trail takes us through a cave which was fun as well. Going in one side and coming out on the other side. We come across more people who seem to think that this is a Sunday afternoon hike. We're curious how surprised they'll be in a couple of minutes. Having arrived back at the car, we have lunch in the trunk of our car and happily reflect back on this stunning hike. We particularly liked this hike because it's not touristic at all. It has a high adventure level, but in return, you get simply marvellous sights. For us, a five-star hike!

    Satisfied we drive to Reykjavik to check in our final hotel. We'll be staying here two nights. Tonight, and tomorrow we still have a whole day to discover Reykjavik. It feels weird to drive in a city again. Our hotel is situated in the main shopping street which is a pedestrian area. We park the car as close as we can to the hotel and pay for parking. Because this is the centre of the city, the parking fees are extremely high. After checking in, we move the car a bit further to the edge where fees are a bit lower. A 5-10 minutes' walk from the hotel is still more than fine for us when compared to the price difference.

    After some relaxing in our hotel room, we go out to stroll through the shopping street and go out for dinner. The shops are open here quite late, especially compared to Belgian stores. It's no exception that a gift store is open at 9PM. Because we've seen some highlights of Reykjavik on the first day, we feel there's not that much to see anymore really. Especially for a whole day of time tomorrow. Therefore, we decide to spend the morning in Reykjavik to finish all the landmarks and visit the active volcano in the afternoon. This is close to the airport and about 1h drive, but as we won't see an active volcano every day, this might just be worth it!
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  • Earth, wind and fire

    17 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We wake up to a grey and rainy morning. After breakfast we go back to our room to prepare our route through the city. Most of the highlights are not that far apart so we can connect them on foot. Only a museum, Perlan, is a bit further out of town. It consists of 6 water circular tanks that are nowadays exhibitions rooms. From the roof you have a nice view of the city. We decide to first finish all the landmarks in the city and before going to the volcano stop by Perlan.

    Our first stop is the city hall which is located near a lake and the entrance has a walkway over the water. It looks very nice, although a lot of birds like the walkway as well to rest. Most of the railing and floor is full of bird poop.
    Inside the city hall, there’s an 80m² replica of Iceland. Everything looks modern and the model is impressive. A bureau worked for several years on it and every hill or mountain is made up out of different layers of what looked like plaster. Almost like the whole model is 3D-printed. It’s amazingly detailed and we can trace back most of our route. They even thought of the practical aspect and can roll the entire model in a cabinet in the wall of the room in case it’s needed for an event.

    After the city hall we continue towards the harbour. We pass some cool artwork that serves public use like little seats made out of rotor blades of a ship or a bicycle stand from anker chain. The idea was to walk around the harbour to Thufa, an artificial hill at the seaside of the harbour. The docks and wharfs keep showing up in front of us and we realise this is actually a pretty big harbour. Or at least, it takes a while to walk around. With some occasional rain and strong wind, we hope we’ll arrive there quickly.

    Thufa itself isn’t that spectacular. It’s a perfectly shaped spheric grass hill with a tiny hut on top. We reach the top by a path that swings around the hill and gradually climbs. In the tiny hut on top there’s dried cod hanging from ropes. We do get a nice view over the harbour and the city of Reykjavik with the modern Harpa building just across and the famous church tower raising above all of Reykjavik.

    Since the way back to the hotel is quite a walk, we plan to take one of the electric steps that we saw all around town. Of course, turns out that they are not that popular in the harbour area. So, in the end we ended up walking the whole way back to the hotel.

    After a short rest we looked up the latest information about the volcano. Is the weather okay? Is the volcano active today? Where to park? Which trails are still available? Having sorted out most of the information we pick up the car and drive to Perlan.
    When we arrive to the museum it looks like a really immersive and interactive place. There is even a live ice cave of minus 10 degrees! At one point, we doubted if we would buy a ticket for the exhibitions, but then decided that we wouldn’t have the time. We quickly made our way to the top to go to the viewing terrace. Perlan is very close to Reykjavik airport which mainly serves smaller aircraft as the big hub is located at Keflavik. We have a look around and drink a coffee at the rooftop bar.

    It's a bit after noon when we drive to the active volcano in Geldingadalir. From the highway we can already spot a cloud above a mountain, but we’re still a bit unsure if it’s smoke from the volcano or just a cloud. Not much later we can clearly see it’s smoke coming from the mountain!
    When we arrive at the parking lot, we’re lucky to find a free spot. The government has opened various parking lots in the area to accommodate the high number of locals and tourists. Most of these area are full of cars. According to a sign at the beginning of the trail we have to pay a parking fee here as well. Just like in Snaefellsness we try the website, but our bank app requires us to verify the transaction with a card reader and the card itself. The parking fee itself was also higher than anything we’ve seen before, so that’s maybe the drawback from higher prices: people can’t just pay them quickly with their mobile.
    We decide to take the trail that leads up the volcano to where you can see the crater. There was another trail that takes you closer to the lava, but then you don’t see the crater. We hope to see some activity, so we decide to go on the long route.
    From the road we caught a glimpse of red flowing lava. Already amazed by this sighting we were hoping we would still see something similar.
    Not too far into the trail we spot similar fresh red flowing lava streams over the older black hardened lava. It’s an incredible sight!
    After around 5-10 minutes we arrive at the bottom of the lava. It’s black, full of little stones and every now and then it’s still smoking. Despite the various warnings online we still spot people walking on the lava… It’s unbelievable how stupid some people are.
    After having seen the hardened lava from up close, it’s time to start our steep climb to the crater. The higher we climb, the better the view becomes and the more you get a sense of magnitude on what this volcano already erupted. In fact, two days ago there was another trail that just went to the bottom of the lava flow. As of yesterday, the trail closed because the lava had come further down and destroyed the track.
    The path up is steep and we don’t advance very fast. Every time the red glare in the fresh lava changes, we stop to take a picture. The temperature of this stuff is insane and can reach above 1000°C. It’s no surprise that when a stream of red lava reaches the sand and vegetation it immediately sets ablaze everything on its path.
    At a certain point we lose the cover of a nearby hill and the wind picks up fiercely. It’s cold and especially hard to take any good pictures. Because the crater and lava are far away, we need to use our telescopic lenses to the maximum and the wind doesn’t help the stability of the shot. Even on a tripod the camera gets shaken around too much to take a good picture. We see the crater in the distance, and every now and then there’s some more smoke coming out of it. The edges of the crater are full of colours, especially yellow and green like we saw earlier at various places with high geothermal activity. We stick around, take a lot of pictures and enjoy being at such an unreal place. Because we don’t think the view on the crater itself will get much better, we retrace our steps downhill to the car. Unfortunately, there’s no more time to do the other trail that gets closer to the glowing lava.

    On our way back to Reykjavik we stop at a gas station to clean our car. Some gas stations have free to use self-carwash which is very practical. Our car has been stationary for the last couple of days and had seen some rain. However, the dirt from the last weeks didn’t really wash off by itself. Therefore, in order to prevent an extra fine by the rental company for not being able to inspect the vehicle upon return, we gave it a quick wash ourselves. Back in Reykjavik we do some souvenir shopping and have dinner in a cosy restaurant in the shopping street. Ann has a classic traditional Icelandic dish for her last night: lamb. You cannot leave Iceland without having tasted at least one of their famous dishes. Satisfied we went to the volcano, we go to bed. The next morning will be painful as we need to get up early to catch our flight back to Brussels.
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  • All fairy tales come to an end

    18 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    It’s still night when our alarm goes off. The reception desk of the hotel is open 24/7 and we can easily check-out. They don’t serve breakfast this early, but they’ve prepared a bag with about 8 little croissants for us and a cup of orange juice. Amazing! Because this is the only night where there’s a reasonable chance to see the northern lights, we check the website/forecast again when we leave. It should still be possible to see them, but the sky is partly clouded and in the city there’s definitely too much light pollution. Maybe once we’re on our way to the airport and we’re in the middle of nowhere.

    Once we’re on the highway the artificial light gets less, but unfortunately for us, this seems to be the only highway where they’ve placed street lighting on the entire highway. With the partly clouded sky we quickly give up any hope to see the northern lights and wonder how the volcano would look at night. It must simply be amazing to have that extra bit of glow and contrast of the lava in the pitch black dark. Not much later we get an impression of how amazing this must be: the sky in the distance has a red glow. Just like the sun is about to rise! How cool is this?! Even from the highway we’re still stunned by this volcano and mother nature.

    There’s no one at the car rental office at this time of day (or night) and we have to leave the keys in a box. Curious if we’ll hear anything from them about our beloved car we go to the airport. Fingers crossed they don’t find anything seriously wrong, or the sounds start coming back during a test drive.
    Spoiler alert: we didn’t hear from them, yet.
    When it’s time to board the aircraft the first daylight reaches the island. As dawn breaks, we leave this magnificent country behind us. We’re both sad it’s over, but truly grateful we look back on a trip full of amazing experiences and breath-taking views.

    I hope this blog may inspire you to one day visit Iceland. The title of this last blog post is not only a good music band, for me it’s also fitting for the country. The earth with all its contrast in colours and mountains. The elements of the weather of which wind is especially something to be prepared for. And last but not least, fire, of a never-ending looming danger beneath this island.

    Thank you for reading!
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  • The travel itinerary

    22 de setembro de 2021, Islândia ⋅ ❄️ 0 °C

    Welcome,

    In September 2021 I traveled together with my girlfriend, Ann, to Iceland for a two week road trip across the country. In this blog I would like to take you along for the ride and share our experience. May it inspire you to one day visit this magnificent country.

    Travel planning

    After all the misery that COVID-19 brought into our lives, we dared to speak of holidays abroad in late spring 2021. The vaccination campaign was fully under way in Belgium and if all went according to plan, our government deemed international travel possible for the summer holidays. A bit precautious we decided to plan our trip in September. Firstly because we were a bit sceptical about the government's planning, secondly because travelling outside the touristic season is always a benefit. Not only financially, but especially when travelling to a country where you want to see nature... not tourists.
    On the downside does September brings more uncertainty for the weather and temperature. The latter in mind, we contacted various travel agencies to see if traveling to Iceland in September was still a good idea. Luckily all replies were very reassuring and we sat down at the drawing board to plan our trip.
    Normally I don't rely on travel agencies for planning trips, but because September is autumn in Iceland and winter is usually not far behind. This brought up some questions that needed answers from experts. For example: we really wanted to visit the highlands with a 4 wheel drive, but most of these routes close around this time. Whale watching tours are also one of Iceland's favorite tourist attractions. When registering for a tour we wanted to check if there was still a high chance of seeing them in September. Google is your friend, but sometimes it's better to not take too many risks.

    After a couple of weeks we finished our travel itinerary. It looked like this:

    Day 1: Keflavik airport to Reykjavik
    Pick up rental car + grocery shopping
    Day 2: Reykjavik to Vík
    Geyser Grýla, Gluggafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrafoss, Skógafoss, DC3 plane wreck, Dyrhólaey
    Day 3: Vík to Skaftafell National Park
    Hjörleifshöfði, Fjaðrárgljúfur, Svartifoss, Sjónarnýpa
    Day 4: Skaftafell to Kirkjubæjarklaustur
    Svínafellsjökull, Hangandifoss, Fjallsárlón, Jökulsárlón, Systrafoss, Kirkjugólf
    Day 5: Kirkjubæjarklaustur to Hrauneyjar (highlands)
    Landmannalaugar, Lakí, Eldgjá, Ófærufoss
    Day 6: Hrauneyjar to Mývatn
    Sprengisandur (F26), Aldeyjarfoss, Goðafoss, Mývatn Nature Baths
    Day 7: Mývatn area
    Dettifoss, Selfoss, Hafragilsfoss, Ásbyrgi, Hverir, Krafla (Víti), Hverfell, Dimmuborgir
    Day 8: Mývatn to Dalvik
    Vindbelgjarfjall, Akureyri
    Day 9: Dalvik to Sauðárkrókur
    Whale watching tour, Siglufjörður, Hofsós, Grettislaug
    Day 10: Sauðárkrókur to Laugarvatn (highlands)
    Kjölur (F35), Hveravellir, Kerlingarfjöll, Gullfoss, Geysir/Strokkur, Brúarfoss
    Day 11: Laugarvatn to Reykholt (highlands)
    Thingvellir, Kaldidalur (F550), Hraunfossar & Barnafoss, Deildartunguhver
    Day 12: Snaefellsnes peninsula
    Grábrók, Kirkjufell, Bæjarfoss, Skarðsvík, Djúpalónssandur, Hellnar, Búðir, Ytri-Tunga
    Day 13: Borgarnes to Reykjavik
    Glymur waterfall
    Day 14: Reykjavik

    As you may notice from the itinerary we planned for a pretty busy trip. After all, we didn't go to Iceland to sit in the sun on the beach. The overall route was obtained from the travel agency based on our requests (certain landmarks we wanted to visit). The final plan, as shown above, took quite some preparation and research to find out what was possible to do within a single day.

    Now that you're all prepped up about the journey we're going to take: let's go!
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