Back to Archive

Home
About Us
Join the SIG
Join In
Newsletter
News & Events
Gallery
Links

Copyright ©
2004-2012 British
Mensa. The Mensa logo
is a registered
trademark of Mensa International Limited,
all rights reserved.
Mensa does
not hold any opinion
or have or express
any political or
religious views.

Iceland in midsummer
by Hilary Davidson

I spent many hours reading books and information on the internet to plan the trip. Flights did not seem a problem, as British Airways had reasonable prices. However, weeks after we booked, they cancelled the flights and, as we had booked everything else, we had to take what we could find. This turned out to be Iceland Express at nearly twice the price.

I had thought of circumnavigating Iceland over two weeks and stopping at various places on the way round. However, I found very little accommodation outside Reykjavik and Akureyri, so decided to stay for a week in Reykjavik and explore the south of the island which is more accessible.
I found a site offering self-catering accommodation in the centre of Reykjavik. We booked a studio and were not asked to pay at the time, only to give our credit card number. This turned out to be very lucky, as the Icelandic kroner dropped so much in the interim that it reduced the price by more than £200!

The studio was lovely in a very modern style, with top quality furniture and appliances. The décor was black and white with a splash of red. The one disadvantage was a night club opposite our window. At the weekend it did not close until after 4am (weekdays 1am). After a short lull, there was noise from the staff stacking beer bottles, and after that extremely noisy dustmen. Even with earplugs, it was still noisy.

Through www.roomwithaview.is where we found the studio, we also booked the car hire, which was a much cheaper deal than I could find anywhere else. Many of Iceland’s roads are not asphalted, especially in the interior. Four wheel drive vehicle hire is an option, but costs approximately twice as much as a car. We opted for a car and the insurance does not allow you to take it to the interior. However, much of the interior requires specialist vehicles with huge wheels, and often a guide to be safe from the dangerous terrain.

On arrival in Iceland, after an irritating wait for the car, we drove to the capital, and on the way to the apartment, decided to pick up some food supplies. The supermarket in the main street was small, and most products did not have the ingredients listed in English, so we struggled to know what we were buying! The biggest surprise came when buying cold cabinet products. The shopper had to enter a cold room, which in a cool country sent you scurrying out again, picking up what you could on the way! Fruit and vegetables were similarly placed in a cold room, and were of poor quality. Prices were very high and I was grateful I had bought some supplies with us, as well as picnic things which we used each day for lunch when we were out exploring.

On arrival at the apartments, we were surprised to find the lift had no door. It was like the ones Spain used to have, where it is possible to get caught between the lift and the wall of the building. After settling in, we went for a walk in the old town. Many of the buildings are made of corrugated iron, including some of the newer ones. I can only imagine they are well insulated.

The next day we thought we would ease our way into exploring, so visited the Pearl. This sits on top of a hill with views over the city. It is a dome sitting on top of six water tanks holding the hot geothermal water piped round the city, including under the pavements. On the fifth floor is a very expensive restaurant, and the fourth floor a coffee shop. Outside this is a walkway around the dome with good views. On the ground floor there is a small museum and an artificial geyser, which erupts every five minutes and spouts up to the fourth floor. Outside in the grounds is another artificial geyser. It is genuine hot geothermal water, but a pump is on between 1pm-5pm every Saturday and Sunday, when it erupts every five to ten minutes. It is quite spectacular and rises high in the sky. We returned in the afternoon to see it.

From there we went onto Nautholswik beach. Iceland does not have many beaches and some are black volcanic sand. Nautholswik has been created for the people of Reykjavik. Not only does it sport the golden sand brought in (not uncommon in Spain), but the hot geothermal water has been piped to the beach. There is a small pool for children, a hot tub in the middle of the beach and rocks form a semi-circle to help keep the warm water on the beach. It was a chilly day when we were there, but is apparently packed when it is warm. I put my hands in the water and it is indeed quite warm. It was a charming beach with a shop and changing facilities. We went on to the botanical gardens. It was quite difficult to find the entrance, but the effort was worth it. Bearing in mind the poor soil (where there is any), the gardens were a triumph. There were extensive waterways with lots of ducks and masses of flowers and vegetation. It was easy to imagine you were in an English garden on one of the great estates.

In the afternoon we went to Hafnarfjörour, where the Icelandics believe many little people live (elves etc). They even re-route roads around where they are believed to be! Needless to say we did not see any, but we did find a Viking Festival going on. People were dressed as Vikings and demonstrating the original skills the Vikings had. This included archery, fire-eating, music making, wool dying and carpentry.

The following day we decided to do the typical tourist trail i.e. the Golden Circle. We stopped at Eden, where we had read much produce is grown under glass with the heat from geothermal energy. I was looking forward to buying some fresh produce. However, all we found was a coach stop with a greenhouse and souvenirs, no produce for sale. We carried on to Kerio volcanic crater. There is water at the base and we were able to walk around the outer edge.

On to Geysir. This is the name given to all other geysers in the world, named after this original one. Sadly, Geysir is now only steaming not spouting. A few days before we arrived there had been an earthquake and Geyser had been bubbling a bit more, but had not blown. Strokkur is a geyser nearby which does erupt high into the sky, and is a spectacular sight. All around, there is bubbling mud and steaming vents.

The next sight was Gullfoss waterfall. We were lucky with the weather as it was quite sunny, but very windy, requiring a coat. At the top of the falls the wind was quite frightening but the views beautiful. Steps lead to the bottom, where there is a walkway along to a rocky platform. Here you can really feel the force of the water. When the sun comes out, beautiful rainbows are formed.

Our last port of call was Þingvellir, the place of Iceland’s ancient parliament. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site as there is a gorge formed by the European and American Tectonic plates pulling apart at 2-4 cm a year. The ground has dropped forty metres. It is also a national park, with a large lake containing islands. Having walked the gorge, our feet were giving out, so we returned to the accommodation to prepare a meal.

17 June is Iceland’s National Day. There were to be celebrations but, as nothing was written in English, we were not able to find when or where. We decided on an easier day after the day before. We went to Kleifarvatn Lake. This was our first taste of non-asphalt roads, though it was an area allowed by the car insurance There was a very steep hill which we stopped at as we couldn’t see the road ahead but, after safely negotiating it, the road was much easier. The lake had lost all its water a few years ago, after earthquake activity. It now has water, though not as much as before, leaving a lovely black sand beach and interesting rock formations.

Beyond the lake was an area of geothermal activity. No spouting here, but lots of bubbling water and grey mud, with the pervading smell of sulphur. The area was very colourful, caused by the various minerals dried out on the ground. We went on to Sandvíkur, where there is a bridge spanning the gorge created by the continental plates pulling apart. Not really very exciting, but fun to stand on one side in Europe and the other in the USA.

Next, to the famous Blue Lagoon. This was created by the overspill water from the nearby power plant, pumped out to soak away over the lava. However it did not disappear and formed a pool, now the most visited place in Iceland. It costs £15-16 to go into the pool, though you can enter the building and use the café at no charge. Before entering the pool you are required to soap and shower without swimwear being worn, in view of others. A difficult concept for us English! In the pool you are walking on lava which is smoothed by the mineral layers, but still lumps stick up, so watch your toes! The water is warm and milky blue, and the pool is vast with a number of bridges. Two girls were walking through the water selling drinks from a tray held above the water. The wristband from the locker is swiped in a machine and payment is made when leaving the pool.

For our evening stroll we found the place buzzing, still celebrating their national day. There were three separate stages in the centre of the city with various groups playing. We found the music very good and enjoyed listening to them.

On the Wednesday we decided to make a big effort to go and see Jökulsárlón Lake. One book said it was 200 miles, but it turned out to be 280 miles each way. We had seen the pictures of a lake filled with icebergs. As we had missed seeing glaciers on an Alaskan cruise, we decided we would see them in Iceland. One thing we did not have to worry about was driving in the dark. The sun set was approximately at midnight and rose again at 3am, but in fact it never got dark. I woke many times at night because of the noise, and looked out of the window at different times. Between 12 – 3 am there was a red glow in the sky but it was still bright as day.

We loaded the car with food, water and layers of clothes and set off. On the way we stopped at Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Skógafoss waterfall. At the latter we saw a wedding party taking photos. As we continued there were few villages and we crossed plains of lupins and deserts. The lupins are beautiful, grow in great profusion and have flowers which are blue and white. As we drove alongside the largest ice cap in Europe, Vantnajokull, we crossed many bridges over rivers created by the glaciers, which sloped towards the costal plain.

Finally arriving at the lake at 3.30pm, the sight was breathtaking: icebergs of all shapes and sizes, some transparent like glass, some blue others bubbly. The glacier in the background sloped down to the lake. I would have liked to have seen it calving, but it was not to be. However, a wonderful consolation was the seals looking for the fish. As the icebergs flowed out to sea the tide was coming in, making the icebergs crash into each other, making strange noises. Eventually we tore ourselves away and started back, stopping at two more waterfalls and strange rock formations at Vik. We finally arrived back at the apartment at 11.30pm with the sun streaming in through the window.

A quiet day was needed after the day before. We went to an estuary to see some birds, but not many species there. There was a lovely restaurant with a sheltered spot overlooking the sea, so we enjoyed a pot of coffee while admiring the scenery. We visited two small villages and were surprised by the poor housing. They were much the same as holiday chalets such as those in Norfolk.

As we had always wanted to visit an Ice Hotel, we thought the ice bar in Reykjavik would be a substitute. It costs £10 just to enter and a small drink. While waiting to be ushered in, we looked through the window and decided not to bother. Basically it is a refrigerated unit with ice blocks for a chair, table and bar. There were wooden folding chairs and a fake beam. Only two people were in there.

On our final day, we travelled north to see some waterfalls and a fjord famous for whales. On the way out, we took the tunnel under the fjord and, on the way back, we drove right round the fjord. It was beautiful, with quite a lot of birds, but sadly no whales. The waterfalls were lovely. The first ones poured out of the banks of a river for a kilometre. There were walkways and a beautiful place to have our picnic. Nearby was Barnfoss, named because children died there many years ago. The water is forced through a small gap in the rocks creating a cauldron beneath. We considered continuing on the road, but it was banned on the car insurance, and we could soon see why as there were large boulders everywhere.

We had no meals out as they were so expensive for food we could have at home, so sadly we did not have any Icelandic food. Although Iceland is expensive (petrol about the same as here), all the national parks are completely free. There are usually car parks and often a shop and toilets. Information boards are common and in English as well as in Icelandic. It is a really beautiful, unique country if you are prepared to explore.

First published in VISA 81 (Oct 2008)