ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Upon Arrival
After we exchanged $300.00 in US money for Icelandic Króna at the airport, which lasted us for the entire trip since we mostly used the credit card for transactions, we headed over to Thrifty Car Rental to pick up our rental via a shuttle. Some car rentals are in the airport but Thrifty was about a quarter mile away. You have to stand outside for the shuttle so if it's cold keep that in mind if you want to rent from Thrifty. They did have the best rating and good prices.
Our chariot for the trip turned out to be a red Peugeot with a manual transmission. The Peugot was the cheapest option and It was great on gas. I've driven plenty of manuals in my day so I didn't think it would be an issue. We drove off and very quickly after making a wrong turn (go figure) I discovered I couldn't figure out how to put it in reverse (LMAO)! Imagine how we looked with Angie pushing the car backwards because she wasn't listed as a driver (who says chivalry is dead?), while I pushed it backwards with one leg out the door while trying steering at the same time. Both of us laughed at the wtf moment. Good thing we had a small car and weren't on any grade. We eventually made it back to the rental agency (only a few blocks away) and it turns out you have to lift the ring on the stick to put it in reverse. Who knew? The agent was only slightly patronizing towards us stupid Americans. I've personally never seen a Peugeot in the US and I don't think there are any dealerships. It's also been a while since I've driven a stick so I'm not sure if that's only a European design or it's made its way to the US in certain manual transmissions here? Anyway, once they told us how to go in reverse though, we were off and running with no issues. The car turned out to be fine for all the destinations we intended to go to. When reading other travel sites it makes it look like you need 4-wheel drive for everywhere you go but that’s not the case at all. I was worried because I imagined ice and snow but we didn't see any on the roads for the time of year we chose to go. The temperature never dropped below freezing. Maybe if you go during the winter you may want to consider a 4-wheel drive, but if you're only going to stay in Reykjavik you should know they are really good at clearing off the roads in Iceland. I understand some roads are even heated with geothermal piping to ensure they are always clear. Many sidewalks are as well. In fact, geothermal energy mostly runs the entire countries electrical grid, which is pretty amazing.
Our first stop after getting our car rental (besides getting a few things at a gas station like drinks and a few munchies) was the first of our two AirBNB bookings, which was in the small town of Akranes in the Western Region of Iceland. We booked there for 3 nights at a total of $245.00 dollars. Akranes goes all the way back to the 9th century. It was actually settled by two brothers from Ireland and at some point turned into a fishing village. The population today is roughly 7000 people and expected to grow thanks to infrastructure improvements like the Hvalfjörður Tunnel which opened in 1998. It is a true engineering marvel. The tunnel is over 5 miles long and is quite an experience by itself to drive through since its one of the worlds longest underwater tunnels. We half expected to see coffee shops along the way or maybe hoped there would be but there wasn't. The tunnel cuts down travel time between Reykjavik and Akranes from about 1 hour 45 minutes to just about 45 minutes if you drive the speed limit (so I made it in 20 minutes - joking - mostly). There was a $1000 Króna fee (about 9 bucks US) on Thursday when we arrived, to drive the tunnel one-way. Friday there was a sign "No fee today! Enjoy!". I just assumed the toll person didn't make it in that day, but discovered during writing this blog, that the tunnel actually went 100% free on that exact day! Lucky us! I understand that the 45-minute ride from Akranes to Reykjavik (or vice versa) may seem like a long drive for some, but unless you only want to spend time in Reykjavik, plan on a lot of driving anyway. It's part of the experience in Iceland so enjoy the scenery. The landscape is breathtaking. We did pick a day to even go the long way around the fjórd instead of taking the tunnel just to enjoy the amazing vistas, but more on that later.
The AirBNB was a private room built into an unattached garage with a fridge and microwave, a comfortable queen sized bed, a large wardrobe and a separate bath and small shower. The place was warm, had the basics and was super clean but did lack any real kitchen facilities. However, as a bonus we had access to the laundry area. We booked kind of late so our options were limited and as much as we tell ourselves we'll cook at the place we are staying to save money, we rarely do. We were able to make coffee and some pre-made foods that we picked up at a local grocery store. It was more than sufficient.
In Akranes or just outside of the town there are several Museums, which we opted out of. Not because it's not our thing but sometimes you have to prioritize what you can do. Sometimes, there simply is not enough time to do everything. There is also the Akranes Lighthouse, Langisandur Beach and Akrafjall Mountain, which is a nice hiking destination. We only managed to get to visit the lighthouse, which was beautiful. There we met a professional photographer from the US that Angie was able to talk into taking a great photograph of us. We did manage to take a few pics of Akrafjall Mountain, including one I got in the side mirror of the Peugeot, which I think is a cool pic (see the media carousel). We opted out of hiking the mountain or visiting the beach since we had other destinations in mind to hike as well as other beaches to visit. There's a shipwreck in town called Hofrungur that people love to photograph but we didn't make it there either. We did visit the friendly staff at the Lesbokin Cafe every morning for our latte fix as well as some breakfast items before we headed out to other destinations. English, by the way, is not an issue in Iceland. We didn't meet anyone who didn't speak English very well even though Icelandic is the official native language.
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Mosfellsbar
We traveled to Reykjavik Thursday and Friday night. It's a great city to visit and from the looks of things, a great city to live in. It's by far the largest city in Iceland with about 125,000 people and approximately 215,000 total in the greater Capital Region. The next closest city, Akureyri, has about 19,000 people in the Northeastern Region to give some perspective. The Capital Region alone holds about two-thirds of all of Iceland’s population.
We took a short nap in Akranes before headed back into Reykjavik. We didn't sleep really on the overnight flight and so we needed to try and get at least some sleep. It's obviously better for time management if you can sleep during a plane flight but we all know it just doesn't happen sometimes. Upon awaking we headed back out and headed down Route 1 toward our destination - Reykjavik. We were starving and had no idea where we may eat. I had done some prior research that said the Old Harbour district was an up and coming area so we headed there.
We discovered a Restaurant called Marshall Restaurant & Bar that had a nice view of the Old Harbour. It was a little pricey, but what the hell, you only live once. They had this 5 or 6 course meal we both opted for. Angie, at the time, was a pescatarian and they made sure they adjusted her courses to accommodate her. The servers there were nice and accommodating. Each course that came out wasn't huge but all the courses combined more than filled us up. We were still pretty tired but couldn't believe we were actually in Iceland. The little bit we had seen so far was enough to know our journey was going to be epic.
After we ate we went and met up with some friends that we knew were in Reykjavik. By that time our day was winding down. We drove around Reykjavik somewhat to get a feel for things and to kind of scope out where we'd like to visit the following day. For a Thursday night we noticed that it seemed quite busy out still. It was about 9:30 at night. By the time we got back to our AirBNB we were feeling grateful for a nice clean warm bed to come to and crashed pretty hard. The large window had a black out shade that didn't let much light in which is a necessity in Iceland, especially in the summer months.
Friday, Angie got up and went for a quick run by herself like she likes to do. It was about 55º ƒ out and a beautiful day. After she got back and we showered we hit up the Lesbokin Cafe again for some more lattes and pastries before we headed back down Route 1 toward Reykjavik.
Along the way we passed new areas of reforestation, which is interesting. Iceland, before the Vikings razed the forests, was estimated to be covered in 25% to 40% forest but is now only has about 2%. That’s just up from a whopping 1% in the 1950's. The native species is mostly downy birch, which has failed to thrive when replanted thanks to the new warmer temperatures believed to be cause from climate change. Now, somewhat controversially, they've been forced to introduce non-native species better adapted to the new normal of a warmer climate that are mostly imported from Alaska. The experiment seems to be paying off and the forests are now finally growing better than anyone expected. My only complaint is that they plant the trees all in rows like a bad hair transplant. They'd look better more random but it's still nice to see familiar trees growing on such a strikingly barren landscape. Iceland has two basic climate zones, alpine and tundra. I could be wrong but it appears they are replanting in mostly the more moderate alpine zones.
We decided to stop before we got to Reykjavik in the area called Mosfellsbar, otherwise known as the wool district. There's a beautiful waterfall there named Alafoss and a world famous wool store that goes by the same name. We didn't wind up buying any wool though because it would have been too hard to fit into our already packed luggage even though they can ship it directly home. Besides, we could buy at their online store at our leisure and control better when it got delivered. Angie did manage to pick up a some cool post cards and stamps that she could mail back to family in the US. Of course we also visited the beautiful Alafoss waterfall along with a cool local handmade knife shop just a couple doors up from the wool store. The guy working there was very interested in explaining and showing what they do there in knife handle making and he let us use the back door to exit out to get a great view of the famous waterfall. Out front on the main road from the knife shop there were some interesting artistic artifacts we took some photos of. We then headed on the other side of Route 1 to a local bakery shop in Mosfellbaer for some delicious pastries and a few more lattes (are you seeing a coffee pattern here?). There across the street we spied a post office with a box outside named "pósturinn", which for some reason reminded us to pee before we left the pastry shop. Angie fulfilled the minor goal of filling out the post cards and mailing them back to the US before we continued on to Reykjavik proper.
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Reykjavik
Upon arriving in Reykjavik our first stop was the world famous Hallgrimskirkja Church. It's among the tallest structures in Iceland at 244 ft tall (74.5 meters). The famous landmark is actually a Lutheran Parish and is named after a poet and clergyman. It took 41 years to complete the building of the Church. There is a statue immediately outside facing Skólavörðustígur Street of the famous explorer Leifur Eriksson, who discovered North America almost 500 years earlier than Christopher Columbus. The beautiful statue was made by American sculptor, Alexander Stirling Calder, and donated in 1930 to the Icelandic people to commemorate the 1000-year anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament, which they call Alpingi. It is the oldest Parliament in the world.
Inside the landmark Church, there is a large pipe organ built by the famous German organ builder Johannes Klaise. When we were there James D Hicks, a composer and concert organist from the US, was playing and practicing for his concert that was to follow on the next day. Hick's is a true world-class organist we just got lucky going when we went since this was a completely unadvertised practice session. The pipe organ is almost 50 ft tall and its sound and setting make it seem like listening should only be reserved for royalty or gods, so of course we felt right at home.
Back in the main lobby, an elevator will take you up to the observation deck where you get beautiful views of the city of Reykjavik. We recommend this experience. Some people may not want to spend the 700KR (about $5.70 US) to ride the elevator to see the views... I mean really? Spend a couple bucks. How often do you think you'll be able to visit Iceland and see it from the top of one of the tallest structures in Iceland? Choose to live a little. On a windy day it could be cold up there even though it's mostly enclosed. I wouldn't worry about vertigo since you're not on an open deck or anything. It's basically like looking out a window of any other tall structure except you're in freaking Iceland! Hallgrimskirkja, with its enlightened location on the top of a hill along with its superior height, gave us outstanding 360º views of all the different colored buildings that dot the landscape. The mighty North Atlantic, with its raging white caps, is also there for you to see from a vantage point unlike any other in Reykjavik. Only the mountain next to Reykjavik named Mt. Esja may offer better views. Let us know though if you decide to make the time to climb Mount Esja. If we had had more time we may have opted for that day hike.
After doing the typical "touristy" Hallgrimskirkja tour, which I think is mandatory; we headed down Skólavörðustígur Street to a little place called Street Dogs. Inside the shop there are some interesting pictures and items on the walls where I first discovered Icelanders fetish toward Grace Jones. Angie actually works with a lot of people who have visited Iceland and they all said we had to have a hot dog. Coming from the US, where the hot dog isn't much of a big deal (at least for me, please no hate mail) I was skeptical of how much better an Icelandic hot dog could be than your typical American Coney or similar. I mean, a hot dog is a hot dog right? Wow, was I wrong. Angie, who is mostly vegetarian and the occasional pescatarian (she absolutely doesn't eat any meat), encouraged me to have the hot dog and simply sat back and let me indulge. The hot dogs are fairly inexpensive and make an easy great lunch. They are usually topped with onion and sweet mustard they call Pylsusinnep. The hot dogs are a combo of lamb, pork or beef in natural casings. It's advertised there in Iceland that basically all animals there are free range, drink the cleanest water, eat organic grains and wow the hot dogs sure taste like it. The hot dogs taste way healthier than most American counterparts so don't feel bad having one. Writing this makes me want one right now - seriously, they are that good. Can't wait till they make their way to the US.
Angie, for her part, got addicted to the Icelandic yogurt there called Skyr, which is different than the "Icelandic" or “Skyr” yogurts back here in the States. Again, they are only made with the best ingredients and the dairy (Angie obviously does dairy) is again processed from free-range animals in pristine environments. It's cultured differently than regular yogurt and is half as tart and therefore needs less sugar.
After our small late lunch to tide us over we drove back down the hill from Hallgrimskirkja into Reyvavik closer to where we drove a little the day when we kind of scoped the place out. Upon parking (and paying the meter even late on a Friday night) we discovered our license plate said "ZEN". How appropriate since the journey so far seemed like a spiritual one. We recommend marking your position on your phone with Google maps before wondering around aimlessly. It's easier to find your way back to your vehicle when you need to leave.
Our first stop was a little coffee shop (of course!) combination bookstore called the Ida Zimsen or a.k.a. The IDA Bookstore. It's a quaint little store with lots of interesting things to browse. The lattes were great, as they seem to be everywhere in Iceland. Honestly it was just sort of nice to sit down for 10 minutes and take it all in. Leaving there, we bobbed and weaved in the flat area of Reykjavik close to the bookstore mostly just window shopping and walking into various stores, although we did pick up a few things to take home to my daughters and her son. Expect to find a lot of books and items mentioning elves. Elves are very real to some Icelanders even though us Americans may regulate them to myth and legend. I'm going to go out on a limb and say we Americans may be right on this. You can try and fight me if you disagree.
At some point we headed back to our vehicle to grab a few things before deciding, after gaining confidence, to venture further away from our vehicle. Following the people traffic we discovered what looked like a super popular area that extended up a hill somewhat. The roadway named Bankastraeti, turns into another road named Laugavegur. It's lined with various stores, restaurants and bars.
Right at the beginning of Bankastraeti Street, before heading up the hill, we accidently came upon the amazing Icelandic Punk Museum. It was totally unexpected. Angie and I are big fans of Punk music. At some point while driving we even went on a Social D binge while throwing in the occasional Iggy pop here and there. The museum used to be a public bathroom! How freaking genius is that? The attendant there took a donation and we had fun taking pics. It's an easy place to miss out on so keep your eyes out for it. Make sure you check out Duff from Gun's and Roses autograph. I'm happy it wasn't an Axl Rose autograph or I may have had a hard time getting Angie to leave her childhood crush.
From there we walked up the hill further discovering Iceland’s fetish with Grace Jones as well as Chuck Norris. Seriously, if you pay attention you'll see them everywhere. Along the street there are multitudes of Restaurants and bars and plenty of places to spend your money. Walking by a hostel a guy even asked if wanted to smoke a joint! We didn't but it's ok if you take him up on it... haha. At some point after checking out the menus, often advertised out front of the restaurants, we decided upon a place to grab a bite to eat (but we forgot to take pictures). The food and atmosphere was great albeit a bit pricy and our waiter was actually from somewhere in eastern Europe and spoke several languages including English and said he loved living there with his family.
Even though we forgot to take pictures of the Restaurant I have to remind myself it's ok to not record every moment and I suggest you don't either. Enjoy just being there with whomever you are with - even if you travel alone. Iceland feels like one of the safest places you could ever visit as far as crime goes so solo traveling is a real option. You'd be more in danger of stepping off a cliff there than getting robbed. There are a lot of cliffs so that’s legit.
If we would have continued up the road just a bit more we would have ran into the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Yes, it's a museum filled with dicks ( I mean penis). It's a good thing we didn't make it there since you can fill out a form to donate your penis when you die. Angie had been trying to talk me into it before we left home but I wasn't feeling the idea - no pun intended. I mean, you never know when you might need your penis after you die. I do not want to be separated from my penis for any reason and after the conversations Angie and I had I may need to make that clear in my will. So, after a long day, instead of donating my penis we boringly headed back to Akranes to get some sleep. This was our extent of exploration in Reykjavik - and IT WAS AWESOME!
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Glymur Falls and Krauma
The following day we woke up a tad late and once again hit up the Lesbokin Cafe for the wonderful Icelandic coffee and a few fresh locally made baked goods. Our plan for the day was fairly simple. We wanted to chase down one of Iceland's great waterfalls and we wanted to visit one of the hot springs spas we've read about... all with a late start. I guess we like challengesl. We were kind of up late the night before and were still pretty exhausted from the flight. I'd rather not sleep in on vacation but sometimes you just do. We didn't beat ourselves up about it because after all - we were still in freaking Iceland.
From Akranes we headed west on Route 51, then north on Route 1 for a very short while before making a right. We then followed the winding Route 47 along Hvalfjordur (Whale Fjord) for about 43 KM (27 miles), which only took a little under an hour. The scenery along the way was incredible. The majestic mountains and numerous streams cut deeply down to meet the calm waters of Whale Fjord. The abundant green vegetation and stark lack of many trees mixed with the obvious volcanic rock formations felt like the simple driving experience would etch the Iceland scenery and topography into ones memory forever. The isolated farm houses, with large red barns and grazing horses and sheep, reminded us that someone is lucky enough to see this amazing landscape every day. It made us wonder if they still appreciate it the way we were at that moment. We also wondered if we lived in such a beautiful isolated scenic environment if we would still appreciate it day after day. In Iceland maybe you would, since the seasons are vastly different. Every summer I doubt you could avoid being grateful for the light and warmth since the winters are so dark and cold.
Looking at the waters of the Fjord as we drove along side it you should also be keenly aware that it's been home to a rich but maybe dark history of whale hunts. Even in today's world, it's still very much ingrained in the Icelandic culture and heritage, although that does appear to be changing. For me, I can accept that at one time maybe there was a need for whale blubber back in the day. Every part of the whale back then would not only provide food but much needed heat and light to many people in Iceland and indeed across the world. Even though food from the oceans is a large part of my personal diet, I can't wrap my head around why there would be any need to still hunt whales in today’s modern world. To me they are majestic animals with an intelligence level that may only be only second to us humans, especially those in the Dolphin family, like the Orca. I love the people and culture of Iceland but I'd never condone whale hunting. The Icelandic Government, one of the most progressive on the planet, will still allow about 2000 whales to be hunted up through 2024. Mostly Minke and Fin whales, the latter of which is is considered endangered. Fin whale meat is largely sold to Japan while the Minke whale meat is actually sold in Iceland and as it stands, to a lot of tourists visiting Iceland, a fact we never even considered when we planned our trip. Looking back at this now as I write this, I do not know if any of the places I visited and ate, served whale meat. It's entirely possible. We knowingly would not have supported any restaurant that had whale on the menu. I don't remember seeing any on the any menus, but it's possible we missed it. If you plan on going and don't wish to support the whaling industry, maybe this knowledge will help you pick restaurants that don't encourage the slaughter of endangered species and support a dying industry. It boggles the mind to think tourists would go there and seek out places to eat whale meat but a lot of what people do these days boggles my mind.
There are many more amazing Fjords across Iceland besides Hvalfjordur, we simply couldn't visit them all but we encourage you to. The journey across from Akranes to the western side of Hvalfjordur was a tremendous ride in our little red chariot. Once we got to the far Western side we needed to make a left toward Vesturland for a few short miles. After another left, then a slight right on a dirt road we then arrived in a gravel parking lot with maybe 10 vehicles. Some definitely looked like tour vehicles for tourists. At the far end of the parking lot appeared to be the beginning of the trailhead leading up to Glymur falls. We were a little tight on time since we got a late start. We had reservations for our next destination, which meant we needed to get moving if we wanted to try and see the falls.
The hike up to the falls is not a bad one. On a challenge level between 1-10 I'd give it a 3-4 up until the point we made it. We are in good shape though and the only reason I don't give it a 2-3 is that some of the trail can maybe be too steep for some folks. No we didn't make it the entire way to the falls so the difficulty could have increased past the point we stopped as well. I know, that makes us terrible guides but let me explain and maybe you won't make the same mistake. You have to cross a raging stream of freezing cold water to do it right and we didn't know that going into the hike. I'm sure other sites talk about this little fact but we missed it apparently. We were also tight on time. We could have went up the left side of the stream without crossing but its not the best vantage point to see the falls so we turned back when we felt we had gone far enough to make sure we made our next destination on time. We could see the mist from the falls from where we stopped and still had an amazing hike. For us it was more about the journey than the destination. In order to cross the stream we either would have had to try and cross barefoot, which seemed like a terrible idea, or have brought waders of some sort. We didn't pack with the idea of crossing a stream. You may decide its worth it to complete the hike and figure out your own solution to reaching the falls. Let me know if you do. On the way back to the car we enjoyed some more stunning primordial vistas that you really can't see anywhere else on the planet. We also noticed when we got back to the parking lot that the back of the sign at the trailhead was covered with stickers from all over the world. The hike proved to be, even just to the point we made it, completely incredible. From there we headed to our hot springs spa destination. We had dinner reservations at 7 pm and didn't want to miss out. We were pretty hungry after our hike and still about an hour drive away.
Everyone it seems has heard about the Blue Lagoon of Iceland, which is close to the main airport, but we decided to try a relatively new, way out of the way place, called Krauma. The Blue Lagoon, from our research, seemed more like a fancy overpriced pool that was basically fed from the water of the local geo thermal plant, and while all the pictures of the place looked cool, we wanted to go someplace that was fed directly from the earth. Krauma fit the bill and seemed more authentic and less touristy. Yes, you can argue that the Blue Lagoon water goes from the earth to the geo thermal plant and then to the Blue Lagoon but we still wanted to cut out the middleman. Having the water go to the geothermal plant and then to the "pool" just seemed too sterile and fake. Plus we wanted to eat dinner in a less touristy place and Krauma looked like hit all the wishes on our wish list. Links to both the Blue Lagoon and Krauma are here so feel free to make up your own mind. Krauma was way cheaper as well and the journey getting there from Glymur Falls is something we'll always cherish. Long dirt roads and epic scenery - who wouldn’t want that? Krauma had decent vegetarian options for Angie while I had some sort of fish. Our 8 to 9 pm time slot, wound up making the thermal spa part of the visit, feel really private and mostly to ourselves. The staff was very friendly and the scenery that appears in front of you from the outdoor spa only needs dinosaurs to complete the picture. The steam vents create an otherworldly fog in the landscape and surround you. Obviously, almost the entire island is geologically active but it's still a bit unnerving, exciting and oddly relaxing to see it in action right in front of you.
I had booked the late spa spot at Krauma in hopes of seeing the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) while soaking in the outdoor hot springs but we didn't see them while we were there. Unfortunately it was too cloudy. On the way back to our AirBNB we took somewhat the long way home. We went as far north as the town as Borgarbyggd just above Akranes. We had spotted the town lights across another fjord and wanted to see if there was anything open where we could get a few snacks. On the way back from there the sky magically cleared while we were on a very dark patch of highway. We began to notice cars pulled off to the side out in the middle of nowhere and then it dawned on us. The NORTHERN LIGHTS! We quickly pulled over and there it was, one of our bucket list items, the dancing greenish colors of the Aurora Borealis. Seeing it for the first time can make you forget to breath.
By the time we got back to our AirBNB, we were tired and ready for bed. We had a big day ahead since we planned on moving our home location to a completely different part of the island the next day. It's all about the adventure.
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Þingvellir National Park
The next day Angie went to wash a load of laundry before we headed off so we could have some back up clothes for our journey. For some reason the clothes were taking forever to dry so Angie and I took off and once again went to grab some coffee from our favorite Akranes coffee shop. I really wanted my jeans to dry before we left but when we got back the jeans were still really wet. Angie wanted to leave to get on the road while I on the other hand wasn’t comfortable wearing my only pair of jeans and laying out my wet jeans somewhere in the vehicle for them to presumably dry over the course of the day. It caused a bit of an argument. We were supposed to check out by 11-noon and we were now once again running late to get our day started. We had almost finished our coffee and were arguing over whether or not to let the jeans dry when I decided to jump back in the car and that's when it happened. My only pair of dry jeans split completely up my backside. So i guess I de facto scored the walkover victory as we then both sat in silence, besides her almost unnoticeable chuckle, waiting for my jeans to dry. I sat stubbornly angry because Angie had tried to push me to leave. I imagined in my head how my life would have been the rest of that day if we had left without drying the jeans, while also simultaneously sitting embarrassed my butt was completely hanging out. Angie mostly just sat looking agitated because after all, it was left up to her to keep checking (at least 4 times) if the pants were dry as well as explain to our host why we still were not out of their life. Angie's inability to control her occasional quiet laugh only made me madder. Eventually, our AirBNB host came out also sporting a grin. Glancing at me sitting sheepishly in the car, she handed Angie my dry jeans and then waved to me laughing. I unsuccessfully tried to act cool in waving back. Then they both laughed before Angie turned and gave me a more serious look trying to wipe the smile off her face while also trying to pretend she didn't in fact tell the host I couldn’t get up to thank her because my ass cheeks were hanging out. Right now as I type this, I'm fairly certain the entire small town of Akranes, Iceland has by now heard the story about the Americans who once stayed at her place while one gallivanted the neighborhood with his ass bared for all to see. Angie later admitted I was right to want to stay till our clothes were dry since I would have likely wound up in 50 degree weather with a cold ass because either it would be hanging out or stuffed in cold wet jeans. Even still, she’s definitely the one who felt victorious since I had the deal with the humiliation of my unfortunate situation. That in and of itself was a win for her. She gets to tell the story for life. We were probably several miles away before conversation started to return to normal. The Icelandic scenery makes you forget about any petty squabbles. It was so much bigger than us. We made up quickly as we always do and resumed our magnificent tour of Southwestern Iceland.
Our destination objective was a hostel in the middle of what is called the Golden Circle just north of the town of Selfoss. The Golden Circle is a 186-mile (300 k) route in an area that takes up the southwestern corner of Iceland and encompasses many natural attractions. With our little red chariot down for the task, we headed back out of Akranes and down to Route 1 again and then west along the unexplored Route 36. We didn't stop until we hit the Þingvellir (Thingvellir) tourist information center. After some needed sustenance (soup and sandwiches) we drove a short distance south into the Þingvellir National Park to a parking area and climbed up the walkway to see the magnificent Öxaráfoss waterfall. The more important journey, to me, was getting to see the extreme geologic process surrounding us. One could argue that Þingvellirs true fame comes from the fact that it sits in a geologically active rift valley where the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates are literally splitting apart. There are so little places in the world where you can witness this earthly process on land. Others could argue that it also happens to be the historic site of the original Alþingi (Althing). The Alþingi, the oldest Parliament in the world, was set in Þingvellir National Park from the 10th Century until the 1800's after which it moved to Rekjavik. We also took a trip to the main Visitor Centre to cap off our visit. By this point we wanted to check out our new digs at the Ljosafosskoli Hostel we had found on AirBNB. For me it would be my first Hostel experience while Angela had had several experiences before that were not really that great and yet, not terrible enough to say never again. We had read the reviews and had high hopes for this place though and when we got there we were not disappointed. The place was great. It was just south of the National Park and north of the town of Selfoss in an old schoolhouse. It was incredibly clean and only cost $172 bucks for two-nights, which is cheap for Iceland. The room we got was entirely private and extremely clean. Sharing the super clean bathroom was a non-issue as well since the old schoolhouse had several on each floor.
After we got unpacked we decided to head out to check out the town of Selfoss, which was about 20 minutes south of the hostel (the hostel actually had a Selfoss address). We needed to try and grab a bite to eat and actually found a little Thai place called the Restaurant Menam. We loved the atmosphere, the food and the affordable menu. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the restaurant appears to be permanently closed or I would have posted a link. There are several other Thai restaurants in the small town though as well as various other options. The good thing is that with all the options you won't have a problem getting a bite to eat as long as you get to town at a reasonable hour. Everything seemed to shut down fairly early. Also appeared to be a great little town to go shopping in for items to bring home if you get there early enough.
Before headed back to the hostel we decided to pick up some breakfast items that we could cook back at the hostel for our two-night stay. After all, it boasted a full kitchen and large dining area. I was told that sometimes they may be light on silverware there since people travel the all over the island camping and hostel jumping and tend to "borrow" the silverware permanently so it may be prudent to pick up some plastic silverware along your journey just in case.
On the way back to the hostel the clouds showed some clearing and once again we spotted the northern lights. We pulled over and enjoyed the show for a time. When we got back to the hostel we took some time to explore it a bit. It had a great reading room as well as a large gymnasium that they left intact from when it was a school. We marked and put away our groceries and hit the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. The place was very quiet and we had no problem sleeping but you may want to remember to pull the blackout blind down if you plan on sleeping past when the sun comes up. The huge window in our room would have left in an incredible about of light otherwise.
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Geysir, Reynisfjara and Vik
Waking up the next day we were able to get hot showers and make a decent breakfast with our supplies. We became even happier that we had booked the hostel because all around us in the dining area we could hear the different languages being spoken. We could pick out some German, Scandinavian, Irish and Spanish. You couldn't help but wonder what everyone’s stories were. What had brought them here? Knowing only English we mostly just sat back and listened to all the colors of the languages echoing off the hostel walls. It was a reminder that we were officially sitting on the Eurasian tectonic plate. This is why we came. This is why we love to travel.
After breakfast we headed out to our first destination - Geysir. It was East of where we were. I had packed and downloaded maps for my Garmin and it worked great in Iceland. It was about an hour drive of more great scenery. Of course Geysir is a true basic tourist destination but it's also still a really cool destination. Neither Angie nor I had ever seen a geyser before (in Iceland it's spelled Geysir). We hadn't yet made it out to Yellowstone. At Geysir you'll find a restaurant, hotel and souvenir shop. I guess that’s standard for most of the major tourist locations in Iceland. The rawness of the geological landscape is incredible. I read this is the first geyser known to modern Europeans. Eruptions can go as high as 230 ft. At times the eruptions can be infrequent, so they are not like old faithful but when we were there they seemed to happen every 10-15 minutes. Geysir is also of particular historical significance because it's believed to be the first one known to be described in written text going back millennia. We thought our visit to Geysir was well worth it although it was in stark contrast to the next location we planned to visit.
Leaving Geysir, we had decided to bypass Gulfoss waterfall due to time constraints. If you have time though you may want to check it out since it's not far from Geysir. There are so many wonderful waterfalls in Iceland you could probably spend an entire month or more exploring them all. Instead, we headed south on a two-hour epic journey passing through extreme landscapes and the small town of Flúðir(Fludir). There in Flúðir, there are natural Hot Spring pools you may want to visit they call the Secret Lagoon. Since we had already done the Hot Springs thing we did not visit these particular hot springs. From the research online though they do seem like another good option if you're trying to avoid the more “touristy” Blue Lagoon. Also, If you look online, there are hotels in the town of Flúðir. An overnight stay could give you more time to check out the immediate area more thoroughly than we did. We were just passers by...
Eventually we once again reached Route 1. By this time I finally realized that Route 1 basically does a large circle around most of the entire island nation of Iceland so if you're going to spend much time traveling Iceland you'll get to know Route 1 fairly intimately. It will be like an old friend every time you meander back onto it. Eventually, as we drove further south, it started bordering the ocean. It took us past where you'd want to turn down to get to the Western Islands. Honestly my biggest regret is not making time to take the ferry over to the Westman Islands and the town of Vestmannaøerne. It looks like it would have been an amazing addition to our journey. It would have taken the better part of an entire day but I bet it would have been worth it.
A little past the Westman Islands turnoff is about where you can view the Seljalansfoss waterfall from the road. Angie got out in her blue Versace leggings to take pictures while I got out and took pictures of her in her blue Versace leggings AND the waterfall. From my standpoint it’s hard not to appreciate both with an edge going to the leggings. (A little side story here. She refused to buy Groupon leggings for the trip when I suggested she should since she could get a lot for little. I guess she didn't like the possibility of getting poor quality and she found the Versace ones right before we left. I was wrong and I further plan on staying away from and out of the legging/Groupon debate from now on. Now, back to the story) Continuing the drive toward our destination we also got to see Skógafosswaterfall also from the road. Both waterfalls are worth a look.
Soon enough after Skógafoss and a pee break we finally ended up at the world famous destination of Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. There are warning signs all around the beach about rogue waves and apparently they're legit. People have been washed out to sea and drowned because of these unexpected waves. They suggest you don't venture too close to the ocean, but people do. That said, this by far is a destination you cannot miss out on if you are visiting Iceland. When the members of Led Zeppelin wrote the Immigrant Song after their visit to Iceland in 1970 I'd like to imagine that it was this location in particular that inspired the line "Hammer of the Gods'. There's a video somewhere of me driving through Iceland with the song blaring loudly in the background. It's here, in this spot where you can experience the power of the ocean, the power of the air and the power of the earth all in one place and if you bring someone you love and can mix love into all that - well then that’s what they call magic. The dark forbidding purplish haze only added to the almost spiritual experience. Angie would tell you it absolutely was spiritual. The cliff faces carved into geometric patterns are actually created by a known geologic process. A thousand years ago though when the Vikings first set eyes on the cliffs they likely imagined giants or Gods carving out the landscape with mighty hammers. It's truly a site to behold. While we were there it was incredibly windy. So windy in fact that it felt like it could blow you over. The spray off the ocean got us pretty wet. Luckily we prepared for this by bringing a set of dry clothes just in case. There's also a small restaurant at the beach entrance that serves food and hot Icelandic coffee, which Angie and I obviously partook in since we rarely pass up a good cup of java. We used it afterwards to change into dryer clothes and warm up. The wind combined with the mist goes right through you on the beach, so come prepared.
From Black Sand Beach we drove another couple miles to check out the small seaside village of Vik, also known as Vík í Mýrdal. We first checked out the view from a fantastic church you'll find there that sits up on the hill overlooking the town then we headed down into the town to explore and find some grub. We settled on Smiðjan Brugghús, an interesting little restaurant with decent food at a decent price. The atmosphere there was great and the wait staff was very attentive and friendly. It's basically a brew house with a craft brewery in the background that you can see through the paned glass. Angie and I enjoyed the meal and watching and listening to the people surrounding us. We were both pretty hungry after a long day and now we got to have a meal in a great location in a small fishing village of less than 300 people far off in the North Atlantic. You couldn't ask for better than that really. Something about eating and interacting where the locals eat that makes you feel more appreciative of the world around you.
At the end of the night we embarked on the two-hour journey back to our Hostel to get some rest. At night, in Iceland, there's not much to see if there's cloud cover like there was that night. No dramatic Northern Lights and no amazing geological landscapes. Just quiet driving in the company of my best friend. This would be our final night in Iceland.
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
Hammer of the Gods
Between Two Continents
Leaving the hostel the following morning was hard. It was such a pleasant stay. We again made ourselves some morning breakfast and coffee while listening to the chitter-chatter of some of the world’s languages. We checked out on time and had one more destination in mind before checking in at the airport. I had wanted to drive straight south and completely along the southern coast along route 427 which is supposed to be spectacular but I somehow got distracted and missed my turn. That’s actually really unlike me but we were too far past where I should have turned before I realized it and I wasn't going back since ultimately we had one more destination and still a plane to catch.
Along the route we did take we stopped at one location where there were numerous crosses by a large mound. The image was striking and we took some pictures. Our friend Kristján, whom we had met up with while in Reykjavik, later told us the crosses represented the people who had died in Icelandic highways and was meant to serve as a warning to be careful and pay attention while you were driving. A sobering memory now that I look back. There were still plenty of stunning vistas along our route to the final destination even though we missed the turn south.
Eventually drove through the City of Kópavogur on our way to our final destination before departing. The city sits just south of Rekjavik in the same region and is modern and clean. While Reykjavik by the inner Harbour seems like the destination you'd want to go to to have a good time, Kópavogur is a reminder that real people live here and live and work in real communities.
Since we had missed our turn a while back our new route actually took us past the airport. and then south again. It was a location I had read about and it clearly seemed like it could be the only destination in the world like it. I know of no other. The Bridge Between Two Continents sits just south of the airport in the middle of a lava field that looks like it cooled a month ago. The barrenness and the rocky formations along with steam vents rising up nearly everywhere we looked really drove home that we were visiting a land that is sometimes dangerous, sometimes volatile but always beautiful.
When we finally arrived at the bridge we were the only ones there (although at some point a couple others showed up). Each end of the small bridge sits upon two tectonic plates with a small black sand volcanic rift in-between. One side is North America, while the other side is Eurasia. Where else on the planet can you see this? The experience, while not as dramatic as Black Sand Beach, Þingvellir or Geysir or even Rekjavik or Krauma, was still every bit as unique. It was actually probably the most unique place I've ever been too. There are other Black Sand Beaches and other geysers. Þingvellir even has the plates there as well except spread apart by miles instead of feet. There are also plenty of cool cities and natural hot springs... but this place? There is only one location like this that I know of - at least one so striking where two of the world's most active geologic plates are nearly close enough to touch with each hand. This was a great way to cap off our trip. I wish I had not missed the turn to go south and then head up to the Bridge that spans Two Continents but hey, no trip can be perfect. Even the master rug makers in India put an intentional flaw into their masterpieces because nothing should be 100% perfect. What makes it perfect is that it reminds us that maybe there's something to come back to someday for yet more adventure in the "land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow".
Oh ya, we flew over Greenland on the way back. Huge bonus - Beautiful! (pics in media carousel)
~ Hammer of the Gods
ALL PHOTOS BY: Angela Erdmann and Thomas Lonero
