First couple of days in Iceland…

We arrived in Reykjavik in the afternoon after a flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen and another to Reykjavik.

We left our bags at the hotel and set out for a walk. First impression: cold!

Down the Main Street a wind cut through like needles. Every shop sold things to keep your its warm. Justified.

Reykjavik seems cool, but more is revealed in the light and with some visibility. Mountains overlook everything here. This becomes more apparent during the trip.

The top photo is the view from the (nautically themed!) hotel room. Cold. Moody. Mountains. The only theme not set yet is this photo is wind.

The next day we set off on a drive south east to Vik where we have cottages on a dairy farm awaiting our arrival. But there are a few things to do along the way. Primarily: be in awe of a country still being made.

This is the thing that (as Wayne pointed out) sets Iceland apart from Norway: Norway has a feeling that it’s ancient, the mountains and the valleys have stood again the same wind and rain and sun forever, the rhythm is set and the views are cast in stone; Iceland feels like it’s being made as you go and it hasn’t quite figured out how it’s all going to end up. And in some ways that is true. It is still very active and is still being made.

The drive is about 3 hours of actual driving, but it takes us all day as we stop along the way. Each stop reinforcing the Iceland motto: “It’s windy, I’m cold”.

We stop at the location of the first Icelandic parliament (I have no idea how they could speak to one another if the wind was like this while in session!). It is also where two tectonic ages meet and make their own decisions. There is one hell of a view off he viewing platform, but it is so incredibly windy that the thought of taking photos is quickly replaced with an attempt to stay upright at all…hence no photos.

We stop next at to geysers. The first reliably shoots 120 degree water about 20m into the air, the second very rarely shoots water 80m into the air. We stop long enough to see the first go off a few times, to the enjoyment of the group watching. Even better are the people who decide to stand down-wind for the show and end up completely soaked!

I think next was our first waterfall. And one that you can walk behind. Wet, loud and noisy. So much fun. And starting to get used to the cold and the wind and just enjoy it. I’m sure we’ll find
Some warmth even if it’s not until we get back to Australia.

This place is incredible. It’s very hard to describe. Extreme and awe-inspiring I suppose.

Right now it’s after bedtime but I’ve missed updating this due to busy-tiredness and lack of regular wifi. There are some more fun stories to add to catch up. Tomorrow we head back to Reykjavik for a couple more days before flying to the UK for Anna’s graduation and the halfway point of the trip. But I’ll write more on Iceland before then!