Lainey's Travels

Winter in Iceland

March in Colorado wasn't snowy enough (ha ha!) so my friend, Linda, and I decided to adventure up to Iceland for a week in search of the Aurora Borealis and other mysteries this island/country holds. Icelandair offers some very tempting packages for those who are curious. A seven hour flight from Denver to Keflavik Airport, then a 45 minute bus drive to the capitol city of Reykjavik

Reykjavik

Viking Sculpture in the Bay

Glacial rocks

Arriving in Reykjavik, our first stroll was by the sea wall.

Hotel Natura - home away from home

On the harbor front we discovered the amazing new Harpa Concert Hall, a miracle in glass, designed by the Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson,

This postcard evening illumination does not begin to show the amazing moving "aurora" simulation displayed across the entire face of the building!

Colorful corrugated siding

Oldest house in the Civic Center

Walking the city brings us to Old Town.

Old Town Book Store

In the old harbor neighborhood, which is slowly being gentrified, we discovered this book store, crammed with everything paper, the proprietor lost behind the counter! Don't think "Fahrenheit 451"!

Hallgrimskirkja

Organ recital

Hallgrimskirkja is Iceland's Lutheran cathedral, designed to resemble the basalt of the volcanic land. It houses a magnificent pipe organ. We rested our tired feet and listened to the rehearsal for Ash Wednesday services.

Hot!!!

Nearby, Linda and I enjoying an authentic Iceland lunch at Cafe Loki.

Akureyri

A 45 minute flight took us to Akureyri, 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle, a fishing village located at the end of a 40 mile fjord. It boasts Iceland's only ski slope (no trees!). There to greet us at the Icelandic Hotel was one of our wood planked friends.

Welcome to Akurayri

Day Trippin'

A special day included our 12 hour trip in our "super jeep" out into the Winter Wilds.

Godafoss

Lake Myvatn

First stop was a brief, but snowy walk to the Waterfall Godafoss, or "God's Waterfall". This is where the officials, in the 900's, threw the statues of the pagan gods over the falls and declared Christianity the new religion of Iceland.

Lake Myvatn, partially frozen over now, is surrounded by wetlands and is the 4th largest lake in Iceland. It is a favorite fishing lake, though licenses are very expensive, running as high as $1000 US for the honor! AND only "catch and release". At this point we were beginning to see a wide spread of lava and old volcanic landform. Not far away is the Krafla Volcano.

The Iceland horse is a compact and wooly little fellow. But don't call him a pony - it hurts his feelings.

Dimmuborgir Troll Garden

This mysterious "garden of lava" depicts a story of the 13 naughty trolls who live here. Travel the path to find them!

Tectonic Gap

The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates show a narrow gap here. Iceland is splitting apart at 2 cm. a year.

Geothermal conduit

Hot water reservoir

Geothermal water runs beneath the earth and is released or carried through piping to the surface to be transformed into electrical energy or to be piped into homes.

Whiteout!

Driving to the thermal power plant we finally ran into a "dead end" hill of snow. Had to back down the road. Good thing we had studded tires!

Mud pots and steam vents

Earth's ovens

This is an example of using the hot earth as an oven. Bread dough wrapped and buried in the earth for 24 hours, dug up, transformed into a sweet brown bread - to die for!

Cow Shed Restaurant

Our evening gourmet dinner was quite a surprise. The Cow Shed Restaurant was just that - a barn on one side of the glass (very clean!), and the restaurant on the other (also very clean!). A great place to taste the organic foods produced by this farm family.

First course

Main course

First course: smoked lamb and brown (thermal) bread. Main course: braised lamb or fresh Chubb (fish). Dessert: creme fraiche

Our excellent adventure concluded with a dip in a natural hot springs pool in the middle of nowhere, then the long ride home, searching for the Northern Lights. While this past month has produced peak activity, our search beyond the clouds only brought us a vague sighting, lacking in color. The crescent moon and Milky Way were our "constellation" prize! So I've thrown in a picture to remind us of what we should have seen!

Meanwhile, back in Akureyri ...

Breakfasts are always plentiful at our hotels, including my wild hair for herring. Ash Wednesday found our dining room hostess dressed in native Icelandic costume. We learned that the Icelanders have adopted our custom of Trick or Treating in Halloween costumes on this holiday. The children coming in teams to businesses, singing in competition for a prize pizza.Our staff of elves "treated" them with juice and cookies.

A song for a treat

Serving cheer

Our day was free to explore this charming seaside town. Down the steep hill (sidewalks poorly shoveled!) we broused through book stores, art galleries, tourist venues, lunching with new-found friends. We returned in the afternoon to soak our bods in the city spa, just across from our hotel.

The Curry Hut

This curious little shop stirred up delicious take-away Indian Curries. We stood outside for pure "aroma therapy".l

Icelandic Sweaters

Scandinavian architecture

A country influenced by Norway and Denmark, and finding its own style, Iceland sports an eclectic look in its architecture. Not much wood here to build on.

No scarcity of water here, though down in the harbor the fishing boats await warmer weather. This fjord goes 40 miles out to meet the sea. The pipeline extends 7 kilometers through the city to supply the homes with natural hot water. And snow removal is, in itself, a winter sport.

Fishing boat

Geothermal pipeline

Mountains out of molehills?

Back to Reykjavic

Iceland looks particularly lonely and isolated in the winter from our prop plane as we head back to the "big" city!

Another trek from Reykjavik, this time out to the Golden Circle. First destination was Thingvellir National Park, in a whiteout. A walk down through the wider tectonic split was impressive.

Thingvellir N.P.

One of the most impressive waterfalls on the Golden Circle is Gullfoss, the Golden Waterfall!

It is HUGE! There is something magic in seeing it with its "winter coat" on. And we're here with ours on!

Not far away is Geysir, with boiling cauldron next to it. There's a nice gift store nearby.

Our final day brings us to the famous Blue Lagoon, halfway to the airport. Temperatures in the original part of this hot water pool became too hot for bathers, so a modern new structure and pool now offer the healing waters - complete with scoops of silica to apply to the face for a "beauty and health" treatment. Sorry I couldn't take pictures of that! This is now "upscale" and pricey. Note the lava pathway, setting the mood. As we soaked our bodies in warm "milky"water sleet pelted us from above! Then sun, then clouds, then...and so on.