Nicole schreibt...

Iceland 2014

If you’ve followed my journeys on these pages, you have probably noticed that most of my destinations share one attribute: They’re warm and sunny places. Neither one an attribute that springs to mind when Iceland is mentioned and yet here I was on Cologne Airport once again, this time with a ticket to Keflavik Airport in my pocket. Why Iceland? Well, various reasons actually: Friends talking about it and introducing me to Icelandic television (well, one sitcom, Næturvakin, starring Jon Gnarr who became mayor of Reykjavik after the big financial crash that had people pissed off with politicians), the gorgeous nature as seen on "Game of Thrones" and last not least - horses. When it comes to fascinating nature, I really enjoy exploring it on horseback and the Icelandic Horse is one of the island's most famous exports, so I really enjoyed the idea of seeing a bit of Iceland this way. And while Iceland is not exactly cheap to visit, it's really quite doable as long as you watch your expenses.
So here I was, not quite as adventurous as Leif Eriksson (the chap on the right side), whose statue now stands in front of Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik, donated by the United States to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of Leif's jaunt from Iceland to what he called Vinland. Deciding it wasn't worth bothering and that that the natives were not a welcoming sort, he turned back, leaving the glory of discovering America properly to Columbus 500 years later.

Germanwings offered a direct flight but at stupid times - arriving in Keflavik only at 0.40 in the night. Since I really couldn't face making my way to Reykjavik that late, I spent the first night in a small but nice B&B in Keflavik, before taking the public bus to the capital next morning. I could even check into my hotel already - the lovely Hotel Fron smack in the middle of Reykjavik's main drag Laugavegur - then went for a first wander around town:

First I walked down to the seaside where this sculpture of a "sunship" greeted me and the lovely Old Harbour, now restored to a touristy little place with shops, restaurants and the departure point for Whale Watching and harbour tours. Then I walked on to Hallgrimskirkja to enjoy the view from the church tower across the city - and admire the church itself, which, despite looking rather bleak from far, has something unique going for it, both the outside and the light airy inside (without the usual church decorations).

Another stop was the Landnamssyningin (The Settlement Exhibition to you and me) which has been constructed around and on top of the excavations of the earliest settlement found in Reykjavik from around AD 871. The "longhouse" itself consists only of the remains of the outer wall and the fireplace in the middle, but they've added a lot of multimedia stuff to bring medieval Iceland back to life and show people how the longhouse would have looked like. It also helped, for me, to have pictures of the TV show "Vikings" in my mind and it was rather thrilling to have fact and fiction blend together in this place.

I didn't do much more that first day after the too-short night on the plane, so I just bought a cheap dinner at the supermarket (and tried the Iceland "Skyr", a yoghurt-like dairy product that's been around for a thousand years apparently) before falling into bed to be ready for the biggie next day.
I was picked up at the hotel at nine and (along with others) was taken to the Eldhestar farm, about half an hour outside Reykjavik for my first horse-riding adventure. Since I had been wary of these tours being aimed at tourists, I had made sure to book one for "experienced riders" that would take us from the farm to the mouth of the Ölfusa River, where we had a splendid view across the surrounding countryside and the Atlantic to Heimaey Island and Surtsey Island which had only risen above the water level in 1967 after a volcanic eruption. Far in the distance (on the right side) is the volcano that all of Europe came to know (and struggled to spell) in 2010: The Eyjafjallajökull:

We came across what must be one of the prettiest graveyards in the world and certainly not the worst place for your final rest, which belongs to a tiny settlement on the riverbank. Otherwise there was just miles and miles of empty countryside under a bright blue sky - a truly magical experience and lots of fun as well. The Icelandic horse is known for the tölt, an unique gait similar to the canter, but surprisingly fast and comfortable and interesting to try.

Since I was back in Reykjavik in the early afternoon already, I decided to hop the public bus to Laugardalslaug, the biggest public swimming pool of Reykjavik in the "Laugar Valley", where hot springs bubble from the earth and the women of Reykjavik used to go to do their laundry (=laugar). Now the hot springs are used to feed the hotpots, which are like big jacuzzis minus the artifical bubbles - perfect after the long ride. It was also warm enough to lie outside on a sunlounger in a bikini - about the very last thing I had expected in Iceland, even in August. Thus fortified, I had a bigger dinner of Icelandic lamb that evening, before the second day of my riding adventure at Eldhestar.
This one, unfortunately, was more of the tourist circus I had feared with two pairs of people that had obviously never been on a horse before, so we couldn't make much speed. And in fact I ended up leading the group while the actual guide hung behind to keep those horses moving whose riders were absolutely clueless how to nudge them into a canter. I really do wish they'd offer special tours for clueless tourists rather than lump them in with people who can tell a horse's head from its tail. Nonetheless, here are two more pictures from that ride:

This tour was a combination of a morning ride and an afternoon tour of the Golden Circle - so I guess I should have expected this to be popular with the tourists. After lunch on the farm we were picked up by a regular tour bus and taken to the three "main sights" in the Reykjavik area that form the golden circle, our first stop being the famous geysirs:

Above is "Strokkur" which erupts like clock-work every ten minutes or so and when it does, it really IS quite spectacular. Though don't stand downwind, or you get a nice very hot shower as the water is around 80 C hot when it comes out! The actual "Great Geysir" after whom all other geysirs in the world are named is quiet these days (below), apparently because idiotic tourists some decades ago tossed stones into it to "make it erupt" and thus blocked it. These days it only erupts rarely when little earthquakes dislodge the stones. Still, there's something fascinating in these geysirs and looking into them feels a little like looking into hell.

From the smoking geysir fields it was only a short drive to the next attraction of the golden circle, the gorgeous Gullfoss waterfall, one of Europe's biggest waterfalls and certainly a sight to behold. I was incredibly lucky with the weather all along in Iceland, not least here where I could take the iconic photo of a rainbow spanning across the waterfall.

Last stop was the Þingvellir world heritage site - where the Icelandic parliament first came together in 930 and then every year until 1798 when some bright spark said "Hey, how about building a house in Reykjavik for the parliament instead?" The site benefits from the proximity of Lake Þingvallavatn supplying the assembly with fish and from the tall ridge protecting it from the worst of winds. This ridge, incidentally forms the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that divides the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates and is basically the longest mountain range in the world (which is also the reason for Iceland's volcanos and earthquakes). Sadly we didn't have a lot of time to explore here as I think it was truly amazing that these people made the trek here from all over the (not exactly small) island to come together here year after year for hundreds of years. Instead we were ferried back to Reykjavik where I ended the day with trying the traditional 'plokkfiskur' dish, a rather questionable fish stew.

I still had some time on my hands the next morning and while neither time, nor money or interest stretched to a big "Whale Watching" tour, I decided to do a boat tour of the Bay of Reykjavik. It gave me a good chance to see Reykjavik's pride, the new Harpa concert hall, from the sea side, a truly beautiful building that catches and reflects the sunlight in its hundreds of little windows.

The main reason though was the island of Engey in the bay that plays host to hundreds of seabirds, including the cute puffin that comes here to breed in the summer. We were given binoculars to watch the birds more closely on the island and in the water, but my photos weren't really all that great.

Lastly we also passed Videy with the "Imagine Peace Tower" (the white thing), that has been put there by Yoko Ono in honor of John Lennon and sends a beam of light into the sky every year from 9 October (his birthday) to 8 December (day of his assassination). Underneath the base are 500,000 written wishes from people all over the world buried. Quite sappy, but I love it.

In the afternoon it was time to leave Reykjavik and head for that other big tourist to-do in the area - the Blue Lagoon near Grindavik. It's basically the biggest bath tub of the world, set in a lava field and filled with mineral-rich water that's super healthy for the skin. Sadly, the amazingly good weather had come to an end at last, so it was rather cold and windy outside and not very nice to linger.
Still, it was a perfect end for a surprisingly great trip. I know it could have gone wildly different if the weather hadn't been so lovely, but this way I can safely say I enjoyed Iceland a lot more than I had expected and would have loved to stay longer and explore more. Will I be back? I doubt that, but it sure is a place I can wholeheartedly recommend.

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