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Published: August 22nd 2011
Flash Packers
Feeling slightly hypocritical outside the Hilton in ReykjavikIceland: known as the land of fire and ice. Well, we didn't get to witness any fire and there was a lot less ice or snow than we had expected - it
was summer - but the name does give you certain expectations.
In Icelandic history, the stories of the Vikings are recorded in mammoth accounts known as
The Sagas and in what is fast becoming a common event, our flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Reykjavik, Iceland was not without drama. We would like to think of this as a 'saga' of our own (but we'll make it much shorter...)
We arrived at Zurich airport to check in for our 7.20pm flight and after some confused searching by the attendant were told that we were not on the passenger list for this flight … but had been on the list for the 4pm flight! Our itinerary clearly stated 7.20pm but it also only gave us 25minutes connection for our flight to Iceland which the lady at the desk assured us was impossible. Immediately seeing us having to hand over hundreds of Euros to buy new flights for both legs of the trip, Jo was not at her most relaxed
The Sun Voyager
A modern interpretation of the traditional Viking vessels but we were amazed by the help we received from AirBerlin. After much searching and phone calls (of which we couldn't understand a word but were frantically trying to judge the tone for clues) we were booked onto a new flight with another airline which was timed to allow us to get a new connecting flight to Reykjavik. Then to top it off we were given refreshment vouchers as we were now at the airport too early for our new flight!
The rest of the journey went fairly smoothly (a small incident with a forgotten cutlery set containing a fold-out knife in Jo's hand luggage caused more tense moments but either the knife was deemed safe by the security officer or a stressed-out Jo bursting into tears scared him enough that it was let through) and we landed in Reykjavik about 11pm very glad to have made it.
Loaded up with our packs and sleeping bags we couldn't help feel a little hypocritical jumping off the airport shuttle bus at the Hilton hotel ('flash packing' anyone?) but Iceland, like Switzerland, is an expensive country. So much so that Brett found a better deal online for this nice hotel than
The Harpa, Reykjavik
Iceland's newest conference and concert center with it amazing facade that has the reflective colour of fish-scales or bubbles. he did for the hostels down town and we weren't going to complain.
Reykjavik
Though 75%!o(MISSING)f Iceland's population lives there, the city itself is small. The two main streets of downtown Reykjavik have plenty of character and references to it's Viking past, and are scattered with ample outdoor stores and the usual compulsory tourist shops.
Just out of town we visited the Saga Museum. Similar to York's Viking Centre, the museum does a wonderful job of taking visitors through a showcase of significant 'scenes' in Viking history with life-like wax mannequins modelled on local Icelanders. It's a very interesting, brutal and sometimes violent history – which is just what any good Viking museum should be about.
Along the coastline, a short walk from the city centre, is Harpa ,Reykjavik's new national conference and concert centre. Jo was more than happy to explore some modern Nordic architecture with it's amazing façade of faceted glass that gives the appearance of scales and the coloured reflections of blown bubbles.
Blue Lagoon
For part of our stay in Iceland we had decided to hire a car to allow us to explore away from the capital and provide further flexibility than
Mud Monster, Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik
Brett enjoying the silica mud in the thermal waters of the Blue Lagoon what would be given in a tour. Our first journey in the car lead us out of town to greater - Reykjavik's most popular attraction; the Blue Lagoon.
The landscape of Iceland is dotted with a series of natural geothermal pools of brilliant blues (thus the original name of this one). The attraction itself is in an impressive, state of the art facility that offers spa treatments, massage and fine dining. Having spent all our money on our ritzy hotel, we skipped the fancy stuff and headed straight for the water. Hot on the toes at first, we soon were appreciating the temperature and happily soaking away. The bottom of the pool is covered with a naturally occurring silica mud. The mud is meant to be very good for the skin and the recommendation is to smear it over the face and let it dry. Luckily, clean mud is available in buckets at the side of the pools meaning you don't have to scoop it up off the bottom and take a chance on whatever else you might get from down below! We spent a good couple of hours being 'mud monsters' – though we can't say we look any
Strokkur geysir
Watching the eruption from afar for the best - and driest - view! better for it.
Golden Circle
Off in the car again, we took a day trip to do the Golden Circle, a tourist route to the three big tourist sites of Iceland; Pingvellir National Park, the great geyser 'Geysir' and the Gullfoss waterfall.
Geologically, Iceland marks the boundary between both the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate. Pingvellir is the meeting point of the two tectonic plates. However it is more well known in historical terms as the site of the world's first Parliament. Early in the country's history as more people settled on the island and the population grew, the Vikings recognised a need for a site that was accessible to surrounding tribes to be designated as a meeting place for general assembly. The Vikings established the
Alpingi (Parliament ) in 930AD and it remained on the site until the late 1700's. Today the ruins of some of the stone huts built over time can be seen.
Due to it's volcanic origins, Iceland is now a hotbed (pardon the pun) of thermal activity. One of the more spectator friendly attractions is the geysers; great jets of water released as a vent-type mechanism from the boiling water
Looking over Gulfoss waterfall
The river Hvita flows down a three-step "staircase" and then plunges in two stages into a crevice 32m deep, which in turn runs 2.5km in length. pools below ground. The Golden Circle has two geysers, Geysir and Strokkur. Strokkur erupts every ten minutes or so and puts on a good show for the many tourists circled around. Geysir is a little more shy and has been quiet for a few years now.
Although we could have stood and watched the geysers for the rest of the day, we had one more site to complete the Circle tour; Gullfoss (Golden Falls). We got our first clue that it might be a big waterfall on our approach along the path. The winds coming across the land were almost strong enough to hold Jo at an angle – Brett not so much but we all know why that is – and with all the water spray we were getting wet before we even got near the thing. It was huge - a mass of fast running water that plunged deep into a crevice dividing the earth, it was a very impressive sight to behold.
West Fjords
Part of our planned travels in Iceland was to hit the road and explore some of the north-west fjord lands further afield. Well that was the plan ... but after a
day on the winding coastal roads, we finally arrived in Holmavik - about 3 hours short of our intended destination further north. Luckily Holmavik was a nice seaside town and, more importantly, had rooms available at a local guest house. Happy not to be sleeping in the car we stayed the night and began the journey back down the coast in the morning.
The return journey took us through Snaefellsnes National Park with it's crater scarred landscapes and long-since cooled lava fields of lumpy earth flung from the volcanoes. We drove past distant glacier peaks, waterfalls and mountains and even got to peek into an underground cave formed by lava flow. After another long day of driving we spent the night in a hostel in Borganes, another coastal town, just an hour north of Reykjavik. Here we stayed up to watch a spectacular 10.30pm sunset with bright pink and orange shades that lit up the mountains in front of us.
The next morning it was back to Reykjavik to prepare for the next leg of our North Atlantic journey where we hoped to see more of the ice and snow we had missed in Iceland.
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