Blogs from Hella, South, Iceland, Europe

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Europe » Iceland » South » Hella June 23rd 2022

This morning we don’t have to get up too early because we are camping very close to our first two visits and we’re not travelling too far today either. We start at the Gullfoss Falls which are amazing. We start on the top viewing decks and then wander down to the lower deck, fully prepared for a good soaking but suitably clad in full waterproofs. Now we retrace our route back to Geysir…which we passed last night but we’re too tired and muddy to care. The bubbling cauldron here erupts about every five minutes…and sometimes there is a follow on blow. It’s a bit different every time. Some folk are climbing a steep hill to view from above but we don’t have the energy. We return to the van for an early lunch then make our ... read more
Geysir
Horses on road
Camp Kitchen

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella May 10th 2019

Welcome back! Where was I? Well, I must tell you, Thingvellir or Þingvellir is an obligated stop for those exploring Iceland's Golden Circle, so I would encourage all of you to visit this incredible national park. The incredible rock formations along the way look like taken out from another planet, but you don't have to go too far. Visit Iceland to enjoy a one of a lifetime experience. Here is today's series quick itinerary: Leaving Þingvellir Lunch at Friðheimar restaurant (tomato farm) Arriving at Geysir Staying at the hotel - The Highland Center Hrauneyjar After spending about an hour and a half surrounded by this beautiful scenery, I must say that I got a bit hungry, so this was my call to get on with my journey to find somewhere nice to have some lunch along ... read more
Tiny tomato
Geysir
Hotel view

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella August 23rd 2017

Blog 6 Our last two days of driving Snaefellsnes Peninsula/Reyjkavik Today is our biggest day of driving – 460 kms on not the best roads. After our amazing breakfast we headed down the road across the bottom of the fjord to Blonduos and onto Pingeyrar. My reason for stopping at Pingeyrar was to do with a book I had read called Burial Rites (thanks to Sue Thompson). The book told the story of the last 2 people to be executed in Iceland in the 1830’s. Amazingly the book was written by a young Australian author Hannah Kent. We found the little marker on the side of the road and just like her story, the historical marker pointed out where the execution of the young man and woman took place. It is amazing to think that Australia’s ... read more
Place of execution - just where the animals are
One of Iceland's longest bays is the Breioafjorour. About 50km wide and dotted with 3000 icelands
There are islands everywhere you look in this beautiful bay

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella July 4th 2017

Drove to the url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Skogafoss+Waterfall/@63.5314751,-19.5135328,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x48d73b9c99ea5019:0xd3774676fcda8b91!8m2!3d63.5314751!4d-19.5113441Skogafoss Waterfall (1 hr 55 min from Reykjavik),url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dyrh%C3%B3laey+Arch/@63.4128032,-19.1510622,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x2725ca255462e772!8m2!3d63.4022069!4d-19.1307163Dyrhólaey Arch lighthouse (30 min from Skogafoss) the black sand beaches at url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Reynisfjara/@63.415255,-19.1495639,12z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sReynisfjara+Beach!3m4!1s0x0:0xe07954a3f4b36bd5!8m2!3d63.4057421!4d-19.0716219Reynisfjara Beach (23 min from the lighthouse), and on to url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fja%C3%B0r%C3%A1rglj%C3%BAfur/@63.771279,-18.1740046,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x48d0e5f0594291dd:0xa420ecc1716... read more

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella July 31st 2014

A quiet day today: most people go on holiday to take R&R; we have R&R days within our holiday. Not that the holiday isn’t a holiday, but if you read our other blogs you will figure it out. Today we checked out the local town Hella, population 810. Our transatlantic cousins may refer to this as a one horse town but as it is surrounded by horse farms a one horse town it definitely isn’t. What’s more, it is full of amenities: petrol station, supermarket, handicraft centre, other shops, hotels, restaurants and bars. We then moved on to Selfoss. One of our guidebooks describes it as “witlessly ugly”; this is rather cruel to the 6570 people that live there. Although it is described as a city, it is basically a town, it serves the local population, ... read more
Church at Selfoss
Urridafoss
Foal

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella July 30th 2014

Another day on the road, bright sunshine, and warm but windy, and another first for us as we have driven from the American continent to the European, and we walked across it twice as well, no passport control, no customs: nature’s boundaries seem so much simpler then the human ones. This was at Þingvellir where the continental plates from the Americas and Europe meet and they are slowly tearing themselves apart; so as Europe and America get further apart Iceland gets bigger. Not sure I will be around long enough for cartographers to have to redo all of the maps as the movement is somewhere between 1 and 18mm a year. Þingvellir was also the seat of the Icelandic parliament for their republic between 930 and 1798 and is now a national park and a UNESCO ... read more
One of many
Hvalfjordur
Church at Þingvellir

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella September 30th 2013

Rainland today. Not been too bad the weather. Rained the first day, and today, but the rest of the time has been fine. So, easy day. A leisurely drive down the south coast of Rainland to see more volcanoes, more waterfalls, some trolls and a volcanic beach. The land is quite mountainous, but it’s nothing like the Lakes. I guess the difference is that, although the Lakes are volcanic (help me out here Sed), they are old and weathered. The land here is quite new, so the mountains are jagged and sharp. Very uncomfortable to lie on. Anyway, down to business. Testicle Cake. It’s an Icelandic delicacy apparently. They take lamb’s testicles, marinade them in whey, then press them into blocks and, Hey Presticle, Testicle Cake. (I thought it was bollocks when I first heard it, ... read more
Skogarfoss
Behind Skogarfoss
Water Falling

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella September 29th 2013

We met Thor last night !! Honest to Gods. That’s what the hotel manager is called. A lovely guy. Very interested in aurora too. Lots of animated discussion. Ended up hugging him (and yes, I was pissed, but I would probably still have hugged him anyway. In fact, I want to go and hug him now. Maybe later). So, how are we getting on with the Icelandic people ? Well, they’re a hardy race, but they don’t rest on their laurels :-). They are lovely people. Very friendly. Very approachable. You’d like them. And how are we getting on with the Icelandic language? Wellapartfromthefactthatalltheplacenamesseemtobetotallyunprouncablefullsentencesinthemselves, everyone speaks perfect English (even better than what I do isn’t it). Puts us to shame. I can speak some Icelandic though. For example, the Icelandic for “Hi” is . . . ... read more
Glacier Alley
Skidoos
Us With Our Skidoo

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella September 29th 2013

Funnily enough, there is a penis museum in Reykjavic. I haven’t been, but I am thinking of making a donation. Anyway, that’s enough penises (penii?) for now. Today is Golden Circle day. This is a 200km trip around south west Iceland taking in geysers, waterfalls and the Thingvellir National Park where two continental plates meet creating a rift valley. First up, geysers ( or rather geysirs, pronounced gay-zeer ). Geysers get their name from a geyser called Geysir in Geysir (according to some geezer). So this was our first stop. We can’t help being awed by all the geothermal gubbins going on here and Geysir is no exception. There are around thirty geysers and hot pools in the area, the biggest one being Geysir itself. It used to go off quite regularly but has got blocked ... read more
Strokkur - Thar She Blows
Strokkur From A Distance
Gullfoss

Europe » Iceland » South » Hella September 28th 2013

Imagine a doughnut. (Mmm – cream doughnut). No, no cream. Just a big doughnut. (Mmm – big jam doughnut). Sigh – no, no jam. Just a big plain doughnut, with a hole in the middle. No sprinkles. No sugar coating. Just a good ol' fashioned plain doughnut. (Pause). Got it? Now make it bigger. Bigger. Bigger. Tell you what, make it roughly 2500 miles across. (My my young man, now that is a big doughnut). Now, I want you to hold it over the North Pole (actually, the magnetic pole) (Actually, a few degrees off the magnetic pole). Hold it about 25-50 miles above the Earth’s surface (careful not to drop it). The doughnut will actually be over the top of Iceland, top of Alaska, about halfway over Greenland, top of Norway, and Russia. Now then, ... read more
Auroral Oval




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