Blogs from Southwest, Iceland, Europe - page 13

Dear Blog Readers, I knew three things about Iceland before visiting: 1. It's bloody expensive 2. It has an unpronounceable volcano that exploded in 2010 meaning we 'annoyingly' had to extend our stay in the south of France by two weeks on holiday 3. Their football team puts ours to shame So I suppose it was time to find out more about this place. The flights were cheap (£200 for both of us) but forgot about getting a checked bag included...there gone £50. Number 1 above already coming to fruition. We landed in Keflavik just before midnight and found our hire car place (Green Motion) and soon settled into our Ford Fiesta which would become our second home for the next few days. Just outside the capital city, Reykjavik, sat our hotel (Kieunes) which we managed ... read more

Again up & out in the pre-dawn light to drive the Golden Circle… Or rather the Golden triangle as we missing out the Reykjavík half of the route. We decided to go around it anticlockwise in the hope that as most tour groups go clockwise we might miss at least some of the rush. We started by visiting Keriđ – a stunning red & sienna crater complete with green lagoon. Although we did accidentally drive past it but the gateway we turned in had Icelandic horses that came to say hello which was nice. There were a few other tourists around even this early but it was a beautiful, even though the sun was too low to shine down onto the lagoon. Oh we also stopped at view point to admire the sunrise over the river ... read more

We got up early, planning to leave the hotel by 8. We made it out at ten after, which I think is pretty good! We drove out of Reykjavik towards Thingvellir national park with wonderful sunny weather. Now, one thing to remember about Thingvellir national park (and some other attractions in Iceland) is that the entrance is free. Great. Parking, however, is not! Thingvellir national park is very interesting. First, it's where two tectonic plates meet (namely the European and American), leaving a large rift between them with lots of cracks and fissures. So there's loads of geological activity going on there. Cliffs, narrow gulleys, long, narrow lakes and more. We walked around a bit, Gilat, the kids and I took a longer walk to Silfra lake, where you can go scuba diving in the frigid ... read more

This entry needs a little background……in 2012 we were fortunate enough to spend more than two weeks in Iceland. Iceland is an amazing country that offers lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls, hot springs, tundra and all sorts of geological wonders. We think of it with fond, fond memories and dreamed of going back. It is a truly an incredibly unique spot in the world and frankly….there is no other place quite like it. When sitting with friends who ask what is our favorite country we visited, Iceland is one of the countries at the top of our list. Family and friends often ask why we don’t return to some of these wonderful locations that we have experienced and told them about…. our standard answer has been…… there is a big world out there and we want to ... read more

Our quick but beautiful layover in Iceland. We rented a car and travelled to Reykjavik where we found the most delicious croissant and espresso to be found anywhere at Braud and co. So delicious! We then drove through lava fields and moss covered craggy rocks and steaming geysers to find the lost lagoon. Hot springs in a farm field with cool rain. Please go here if you ever get a chance. So beautiful. Beautiful country and people. 48+ hours awake is tough, tough, tough, but so worth it.... read more