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Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Ísafjördur August 15th 2018

This morning it wasn’t quite as hectic getting to the Lido and then onto our tour. We didn’t even bother with an alarm. Today’s tour was just 4 Hours, so it wasn’t going to be a terribly exhausting day either. Sharon mentioned that the tour cost $300, and that seemed a bit high for a half-day tour. In the back of my mind I hear the cautionary words that things are more expensive in Iceland. But still! Our tour group wasn’t the first tour group called as we waited in the Showroom. When they announced the “Kayaking in Isafjordur” tour, participants got a rousing applause for their bravado (all six of them). As we left the ship I noticed the two on our deck getting their bicycles ready for another ride. We got on the bus, ... read more
Recreated Viking Village
Recreated Viking Village
Church

Europe » Iceland » Northwest August 14th 2018

The trip from Helissandur to Flokalundur is roughly 300km by road. You can take a short cut across the water by taking a ferry from Stykkisholmur to Flokalundur. The difference in time between the two options is just 23 minutes but you do cut 200 kilometres of the trip. We decided to take the road. We didn't want to cross the water. We were here to travel across the country. We wanted to see that, not water. Google Maps was insistent that we take the ferry from Stykkisholmur and went to some lengths, including subterfuge, to convince us but we overcame its directions. We were punished immediately for our transgression. The lovely bitumen was replaced by gravel, not bad gravel but gravel nonetheless, and it continued to just outside Budardalur. We did have the option of ... read more
Little House on the Hill
Happy Hay Bales
Boat Lost on the Fjord

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Snæfellsnes August 9th 2018

Leaving Stockholm for Reykjavik the temperature was 29 degrees C at noon. On arrival on Icelandic Air it was13 degrees - which was actually the continuation of the European heat wave, Iceland style. All things are relative. Our plan is to travel around Iceland for 3 weeks before returning to the Netherlands and then on to France. We had considered taking a tour, thought about using guides in some places, staying in hotels, hiring a car and running around the Ring Road that is all nicely sealed. In the end we reverted to type and opted for the hire of 4WD with a camper back that would allow us to take some roads that are not widely travelled, could be a little more challenging and that apparently provide access to some of the most spectacular scenery ... read more
Outer Reykjavik
Borganes Area

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Ísafjördur August 7th 2018

Ordered in breakfast again today, as I needed to be ready to leave for my Sudureyri Food Trail tour this morning at 8:15am. At 6:30 this morning the ship docked in Ísafjödur so that tends to be your wake up call - if you do manage to sleep through this then usually Skulk will be on the loudspeaker around 7am to announce we have docked and to get everyone up and moving. Ísafjödur Is the largest town in the Westfjords peninsula, with some 2,600 inhabitants. The old town has wooden houses with corrugated tin roofs, built by fishing merchants in the 18th and 19th centuries. The growth of the town was triggered by salt fish production and ever since then the fishing industry has been vital for the community. The town is surrounded by rugged and ... read more
Not sure this boat will go far!
The picturesque fjord
Fish drying house

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Snæfellsnes August 4th 2018

Rano se ukazalo, ze i Island vi, ze se nam blizi konec dovolene. Bylo nadherne, azuro, modro, bez mracku a skoro az neprijemne teplo. Rano jsme vylezli na kopec nad kempem. Před 14 dny bychom byli nadseni, dneska to uz bylo jen takove to nemastne neslane „blah“. Ale mohli jsme si odškrtnout dnesni policko v Modrem zivote, ze jsme měli nejaky pohyb. Po navratu jsme vlezli do mistniho bazenu a poradne se odmocili. Pak jsme snedli citronovy chlebíček k obedu (mnam) a vyrazili na cestu. Nejdriv jsme si jeli zajistit splneni nasich 3 prani. Mají tu kopecek Helgafellssveit, u kterého je pohrbena Guðrún (znate z včerejšího dne) a když vyjdete od jejího nahrobku az nahoru na kopec, neotocite se a nepromluvite, tak se vam urcite splni 3 prani. Uprimne, je to trochu prehnana inflace splenych prani, ... read more
Kostel
Mistni ledovec
Plaz

Europe » Iceland » Northwest August 3rd 2018

Znate pocit, když nad vámi leta a porvava několik cejek? To jsou takovi vetsi holubove, které mají na pohled fakt ostry zobak. Není to uplne prijemne, protože nekdy se rozhodnou vas postrasit a udelaji nalet. Nastesti při nem neshazuji zadne bomby (jako jejich maročtí kamaradi), ale na obavy o cistotu vašeho spodního pradla to celkem staci. I kvůli nim jsme prochazku po mistni piscite plazi zkratili – další faktory bylo, ze byla zima, foukalo, měli jsme hlad a more bylo samozrejme studene. Zkusili jsme tedy prejet na druhou stranu poloostrova, kde se nachazi nadherna plaz Rauðisandur Beach. Alespon to psali v pruvodci. Doporucujeme budoucim navstevnikum zkontrolovat, kdy ze ma nastat priliv. Za prilivu totiž plaz uplne není videt. Ale jako spravni Cechoslovaci jsme navlekli pohorky a bundy a vyrazili se podivat na jeji začátek/konec. Nejaky dest ... read more

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Ísafjördur August 2nd 2018

V Drangnesu mají svého kamenného trola, takze jsme se na nej sli podivat. Mno, uplne impozantni teda uz není, takze popojedeme. Dostal jsem opet vysadu ridit, coz ukazuje Katcinu odvahu. Ono ale jezdit kolem fjordu je k fsteku. Jedete 15 minut jednim smerem, pak udelate otocku o skoro 180 stupnu a jedete 15 minut zpatky, abyste se dostali o cca 2 km jinam nez na zacatku. A to opakujte několikrát. Kdyby to slo alespoň prebrodit, ale na to jsme nemeli pojistku ani ponornou hloubku… Fjordy samotne takove mirne cajk, ale nic moc speciálního necekejte. Ale turista tu muze trefit jackpot (obrazne… fyzicky trefite maximalne ovci nebo jiného turistu, coz není zadna velka vyhra) – semtam se v fjordu skryvaji ryby, velryby a jiné lochnesky. A pak uz jenom staci mit oka na stopkách. Coz je mirne ... read more
Vodopad jak z cukrarny
Zaparkovana lod
2 papuchalci

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Borgarnes August 1st 2018

Kdyz vidite na Islandu ovci, tak je to uplne normalni. Kdyz vidite islandana nebo kone, je to trochu vetsi udalost, ale stejne zadneho bludistaka nedostanete. Ale videt tulene? To uz za zaznamenani stoji. Velrybu? Taky. Stado delfinu? Urcite! Slona? Ze vahas... Dinosaura? To uz musite prestat hulit marjanku. Ale pekne poporade. Rano jsme znovu prosli Hveravellirskou geotermalni oblast, protoze bylo vice svetla a hlavne Katka si tentokrat uz vzala fotak. Pak jsme absolvovali zdejsi turisticky okruh k jeskyni (=mensi dira v zemi) a kopecku (=prekvapive polokulovita vec, ked se lave taktak nepodarilo prorazit povrchovou vrstvu). Obtiznost byla, ze by to zvladla i batolata, takze to jako sportovni vykon nemuzeme uplne pocitat. Pak jsme vyrazili zpet na sever. A konecne doslo k te zlomove udalosti, ktera zasadne ovlivnila bezpecnost na islandskych silnicich. Katka me pustila za volan ... read more
Foukajici kopecek
Skala ve vode
Tulenici

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Snæfellsnes July 8th 2018

Snaefellsnes is a peninsula near Reykjavik that they describe as a "mini-Iceland", having small versions of the wide range of the island's various features in one place. I think the weather (24 hour grey most days) was really starting to get to me at this point and it rained fairly consistently both of the days I was here, so I'm not sure I experienced it's full potential...but it did have quite a range packed into a fairly small space. One night I woke up around midnight, the clouds were gone, and there was a beautiful sunset (or sunrise?) which was quite a nice surprise (the rain was back by morning though...if I didn't have pictures I'd swear I dreamed it).... read more
Random steaming hillside
Snaefellsnes
Volcano hiding in the clouds

Europe » Iceland » Northwest » Ísafjördur July 6th 2018

The Westfjords are supposed to be beautiful and not touristy...but I think the word must be out, because they felt equally busy to the East/North when I was there. They are slow and tedious to navigate around (gravel roads over mountain passes, fjords where you drive for an hour and end up 1-2 kms across from where you started, cliffs), but definitely beautiful. My second day there the sun really came out! All day! It was gone by the next day, but everyone was reeeaaal excited.... read more
Drangsnes hot pots - loved the location on the water
Drangsnes hot pots
Vatnsfjordur




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