Getting Into Hot Water

After collecting our hire car from central Reykjavik - a Kia Rio with the registration number FYF 04 - which, to my horror, Mrs B. named 'Fifi', I set off towards our first destination in the 'Golden Circle' - so named because it provides an opportunity to see three of Iceland's popular attractions that are linked by a 190 mile circular route. Navigating out of Reykjavik was straight forward and within 20 minutes we were out in open countryside, crossing moorland with hills and mountains surrounding us. It was also a dry day with some sunshine - pleasantly warm - for Iceland.

Our first stop was Þingvellir National Park, site of the "Althing" the Icelandic Parliament, established in 930 by the Viking settlers. The Icelandic Parliament remained there until 1798. Clans gathered annually to make laws and dispense (often harsh) justice. Þingvellir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is sited in a rift valley where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet - and are moving apart. 

Lots of well marked footpaths provided plenty of opportunity to walk and explore. We walked through a rocky canyon (where the continents divide) and make our way down to the pretty little church - which was surprisingly quiet despite the crowds of visitors elsewhere.

The church was locked but Mrs B. couldn't resist peeking through the windows....

Our walk continued passing small streams, crossing bridges and open land where graylag geese and their young goslings nestled in the tussocks of grass and with views of snow capped mountains in the distance. 

We spotted a waterfall, Öxarárfoss, and took the hiking trail to get a closer view. By Icelandic standards Öxarárfoss is a minnow in waterfall terms but it was still impressive and I spent some time taking far too many photographs!

We worked our way back to the car park and ate our picnic lunch before deciding what was needed next after all that scenery was an ice cream. Now Iceland is sparsely populated, so unlike the UK visitor attractions and national parks don't provide an abundance of places to eat and drink. The nearest ice cream place - but one with an excellent reputation - was 27 miles away, with nothing much apart from the odd farm house between where we were and its location at Efstidalur. The scenic drive was however worth it for the changing views of the landscape. The ice cream farm was surprisingly quiet - and the ice cream was as good as expected. The ice cream parlour has been built next to the barn so you can see the source of the cream that's gone into your ice cream before you buy it. We treated ourselves to two scoops and sat outside soaking up the unexpected sunshine whilst making appreciative noises as we took small mouthfuls trying to make it last.

The dairy cattle at Efstidalur

One happy customer

Our next stop was a short drive away at Geysir. This small settlement has given its name to geysers worldwide and although the original Geysir has been inactive for some time its near neighbour Strokkur erupts every 8 - 10 minutes sending plumes of hot water and steam 20 metres or more high. Around Strokkur there were bubbling pools of water, steam venting from the earth and signs telling you the water was between 80 and 100 degrees celcius. A bit too hot for a paddle! If you want to see what is looks like they have Strokkur live web cam that constantly films it - from a safe distance. Strokkur Live Web Cam

After walking around the pools of Geysir, climbing a small hill and watching Strokkur do its stuff several times we decided to find our accommodation for the next couple of nights. We'd booked a cabin through the Airbnb website and the owner had given excellent directions so after another 45 minutes of driving, negotiating barrier access to a private road and driving another half a kilometre we found ourselves in a secluded spot, surrounded by trees - a lovely place that exceeded our expectations.

As we were self catering I cooked some Icelandic lamb - very tasty - and opened a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon bought at the duty free. This was forward planning as alcohol is very expensive in Iceland. 

We woke up reasonably early the next morning to continue our adventures. We drove to the third big attraction in the Golden Circle; Gullfoss. The advantage of getting ahead of the crowds was that when we arrived at Gullfoss there was hardly anyone else around. The car park gives no real hint of what you are about to see. A walkway leads to a viewing area and there are steps down to see the water from the Hvítá river crashing down with phenomenal power. Getting closer the noise was deafening and a constant mist made keeping dry somewhat challenging. Gulfoss falls about 32 metres in two stages from a wide river into a narrow canyon discharging 140 m³/s in the summer months.

A double rainbow created by the mist

There was a hypnotic quality to Gullfoss and we found it hard to tear ourselves away but more water related adventures awaited. Iceland has an abundance of hot water. Almost 90% of domestic hot water comes from geothermal energy and every small town has hot water baths. We opted for something a bit more swish but nowhere near as pricey as the Blue Lagoon - which would have cost c£150 for both of us! The Fontana Spa at Laugarvatn was more reasonably priced and less busy. Before entering a bathing pool it's custom in Iceland to shower naked and then put on your bathing costume. Mrs B. was relieved the changing rooms were not unisex! Once showered and dressed you have a choice of different pools and three steam rooms all at different temperatures, all geothermally heated. The lake is also naturally warm and you can swim in it too. We spent well over an hour luxuriating in the warm water, sweating it out in the steam rooms and looking at the views of the lake. It would have been easy to stay much, much longer but as we were a) getting wrinkly and b) hungry so reluctantly left the pools to shower and get dressed.  

Relaxing at Fontana

 We'd prepared a picnic so headed for an interesting spot, Kerið a crater lake formed by a volcano 3000 years ago with bright blue waters surrounded by dark reds and black volcanic soils. After eating our picnic we walked around the top of the crater getting panoramic views and came across a very tame curlew that seemed completely unphased by our presence.

Kerið

For the last part of the day we drove to a small town, searching in vain for a farmers market that had been recommended as a place to visit by Lonely Planet. What we found instead was a small sleepy village, a tiny supermarket and some locals who seemed unsure why we'd travelled to their out of the way place. This part of Iceland has lots of vegetable growers who take advantage of the geothermal energy are able to grow fruits and vegetables all year round in greenhouses. Seeing greenhouses aplenty but no market we abandoned this plan and headed back towards our cabin and then, unexpectedly arrived at Skálholt. This was one of the most important religious places in Iceland after the Viking settlers converted to Christianity and has been a place of worship for more than 800 years. What's there now is a striking white modern church and a reconstruction of a traditional grass roofed building. Beyond the church are the remains of the original monastic settlement and open views of the landscape.

We returned to our cabin (Iceland were playing in the Euro 2016 tournament) and cooked another meal, finished the wine and prepared ourselves for the next part of of journey, which would take us 250 miles eastwards along Iceland's south coast.

 

Fine dining in Reykjavik

I can now add visiting the most southerly capital city in the world (Wellington in New Zealand), and the most northerly to my list of experiences, because Reykjavik lays claim to the latter title. The bus from Keflavik airport dropped us off at our apartment - located just 15 minutes walk from the city centre - although in truth Reykjavik feels less like a city and more like a small harbour town. It was late afternoon and we were hungry so it was time to seek out one of the finest dining experiences on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wellington offered some good restaurants - but it lacked a world famous hot dog stall. Tucked in a corner, near the harbour in central Reykjavik, is Baejarins Betzu Pylsu, a tiny stall that's been going since 1938, selling internationally renowned hot hogs. The former US President Bill Clinton dined here and its been visited by many stars including the heavy metal band Metallica. This was where I decided we should head to after arriving in Reykjavik after a trouble free flight from Manchester and bus transfer from the airport. I'm not sure Mrs B was too enamoured with my proposed 'fine dining' choice but one bite into her first hot dog, complete with crispy onions, tomato sauce and a lemon mayonnaise seemed to change her mind. With views of mountains across the harbour , still with snow patches, it made for a fantastic introduction to Reykjavik... and the hot dogs were tremendous.

Hot dog heaven!

In many ways this first taste of Reykjavik epitomised the quirky feel of the place. Modern contemporary architecture mingle with some traditional Scandinavian to convey a sense of a youthful arty city, confident about its identity and proud of its culture . There were striking similarities in this respect to Wellington in New Zealand and this impression was reinforced by the abundance of street art in evidence.

We only had a day to explore Reykjavik, so next morning despite persistent rain we headed out aiming for Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland's largest church and tallest building. Its a modern, striking, concrete building, completed in the 1970's that has columns that echo the basalt formations to be found across Iceland. 

View of Hallgrímskirkja

Sadly we couldn't go in to look around - there was a funeral taking place and the church was closed to visitors for the morning. I was disappointed that it appeared to be a traditional church funeral too, not a traditional viking one! 



We wandered through Reykjavik exploring the streets, shops and public art - admiring the viking boat sculpture called the 'Sun Voyager' on the waterside before arriving at Harpa, Reykjavik's version of the Sydney Opera House.

Harpa is a striking modern glass and steel concert hall overlooking the harbour. The colour scheme perfectly matched the Icelandic weather but inside the vast glass windows provided wonderful views of the harbour and distant mountains.

Harpa - in the rain

One of the characteristics of Reykjavik is a vibrant coffee and cafe bar culture. The main street is peppered with individual bars and coffee shops all different in character and appearance. We took refuge from the rain in 'Laundromat' a book filled cafe bar - a warm and welcome refuge from the weather.

After drying off we headed out towards the old harbour area - pleasant enough but mainly filled with companies offering whale watching tours. Mrs B was feeling peckish after all our walking and we'd spotted 'Icelandic Fish and Chips' near the harbour so decided on stopping for lunch. It was clearly a popular choice with tourists and locals alike and we both ordered 'battered cod' and chips - but with a twist. The batter was a deliciously light, made from spelt and the 'chips' were salt and herb coated oven baked potatoes. The cod was fresh and superb, up there amongst the best I've ever tasted and complimented by a refreshing light Icelandic beer.

Suitably fortified we carried on exploring on foot, passing the modern (and very ugly) City Hall and the 'Pond' an ornamental lake (by contrast very beautiful) before heading back uphill towards Hallgrímskirkja. An unplanned diversion to a sculpture garden containing some striking works by a notable Icelandic artist, Einar Jonsson, delayed our arrival back at the concrete church. By now the rain had disappeared, the funeral had finished and we were able to go inside. We bought tickets to take the elevator to the top of the tower - a bit of a queue as it only took 6 at a time, to get a fresh perspective on Iceland's capital city. 

Reykjavik from above

The late afternoon views from the tower were excellent. The inside of the church itself was light and airy but quite austere. An organist was giving it 'full throttle' filling the space with fabulous sound. It made for a good end to our meanders through this interesting city. After clocking up over 7 miles of walking we headed back to our apartment for food and sleep - although as it was midsummer, darkness didn't fall. It was still light at midnight. This would take some getting used to!

The next morning we'd embark on the next stage of our adventure. I'd booked a hire car and we were off to stay in a cabin in the 'Golden Circle' for a couple of nights, away from the bustle of city life. If the guidebooks were to be believed we are in for some spectacular views of the natural world and plenty of hot and cold water!

A Journey North....or to the Centre of the Earth?

Why Iceland? That's a question some people have asked me, including Mrs B. 

Its quite hard to offer a precise answer. I've never been to Iceland, so part of the attraction is that of visiting a new country. There's also a little mystery to Iceland - despite it having grown in popularity as a tourist destination in recent years. It has spectacular geology and geography - with hot thermal pools, glaciers and active volcanoes all packed into a island that's only slightly smaller than England but with a population about the size of Coventry.

My earliest memories of Iceland date back to childhood when I read Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth. In the book the exploration to the centre of the earth began in Iceland at the Snæfellsjökull volcano.....and finished in Italy - so if I follow the travel notes left by Mr Verne I could go quite far off the beaten track! 

Not this Iceland!
 

This One!

Our trip (at the height of midsummer - so 24 hour daylight) will include a short road trip travelling along the South Coast, with a few detours, after an initial couple of days exploring Reykjavik. The plan (such as it is) is to experience some of the unique geology, landscape and culture and I've got a few walking trails downloaded for reference.


On the list of places to visit are Geysir, (from which geysers take their name) Pingvellir National Park and the waterfalls at Gulfoss and Skógafoss, but no doubt there will many more remarkable things to see.

So - a fascinating country , full of dramatic scenery and a rich heritage give plenty of reasons to want to visit this remarkable country - but there is of course one further and very important reason. I want to message our daughters with the simple statement: 

'Mum's gone to Iceland'