Land of Fire and Ice – Iceland Ring Road Adventure on Wheels
Waterfalls
https://photos.smugmug.com/Assets/Ep...erfalls-X2.jpg Glaciers https://photos.smugmug.com/Assets/Ep...rs%2001-X2.jpg Mountains https://photos.smugmug.com/Assets/Ep...ns%2001-X2.jpg Lakes https://photos.smugmug.com/Assets/Ep...ion%202-X2.jpg Aurora Borealis https://photos.smugmug.com/Assets/Ep...e%20G7x-X2.jpg Introduction The silver lining (if there is any) of the pandemic is that I “Shelter in place” and have plenty of time to catch up on my travel journals. Since I have not posted any TR for a while, it is time that I share an incredible photography adventure with you. Known to some as the Land of Fire and Ice, Iceland is a paradise for nature lovers, hikers, trekkers, and outdoor adventurers of all kinds. Landscape photographers are drawn to Iceland by the hundreds. They run photography workshops and flooded their YouTube channels with videos & photos. Their online presence further fuels the already red-hot tourism business in Iceland. My plan is to explore Iceland in 2 weeks with a rental car. I fully anticipate getting a heavy dose of waterfalls, glaciers, geyser, mountains, quaint villages and hopefully Aurora Borealis. We (DW is traveling with me) will circle the Golden Circle and then put a ring around the Ring Road. Here is a multi-part Trip Report that will take you virtually on this adventure without leaving your seat. Enjoy! Due to the significant length of this travel journal, the entire Iceland Ring Road (IRR for short) adventure is written as a series of 17 parts. Despite the fact that we continued additional travel to Warsaw, Riga and Oslo after Iceland, this series will not cover any trip beyond Iceland. That will be reserved for possible future trip reports. Iceland has been on my bucket list to explore and for landscape photography for at least a couple of years. Meanwhile my travel calendar had been very full for the last 2 years. In 2019 American Airlines (AA) announced several new routes to Europe, including Iceland. At the same time I have accumulated quite a stash of AA miles that are faced with diminishing values, I decided to go to Iceland with a one-way redemption ticket. Unfortunately, business class was not available (I doubt AA has ever released any U seat for redemption on this route) and I settled in MCE (which is economy with auto upgrade to Mid Cabin Extra by virtue of my AA EXP Elite status) on a retrofitted Boeing 757. In typical trip planning fashion, I added Warsaw, Riga and Oslo on the tail end of Iceland. So now the flying portion of the itinerary would look like this: SFO-DFW-KEF-WAW-RIX-OSL. With the return soon to be sorted! After some research for the return, we opted to get a "oneworld Alliance" Round the World (RTW) ticket, ex-OSL DONE4.The DONEx products are Business Class (Fare D) across all chosen partner airlines, except where upgrades are cleared (to First Class on AA only). At the time of booking, ex-OSL offered the cheapest fare, in part due to the strength of the US greenback (or the weakness of NOK). With this DONE4 ticket (see the first map below), we can use the first 3 flights to bring us back to LAX. From LAX, a separate ticket will get us home to SFO. Thus, all flights are sorted and booked. For those who are less familiar with the xONEx ticket concept, please consult the oneworld.com web site. Ours consists of 16 flights (maximum allowed) and 4 continents (fares vary by the # of continents and point of first departure) as shown on the flight map below (sequential flights from first to last): OSL-DOH-LHR-LAX-JFK-SCL-BOG-SCL-GRU-DFW-HKG-BOM-KUL-NRT-LHR-DOH-OSL. ROUND THE WORLD ex-OSL DONE4 ITINERARY (only the first 3 flights are used to return to LAX, near home) https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...3g8cwjk-X2.jpg To repeat, the first three DONE4 flights are: OSL-DOH-LHR-LAX. Then added a separate one-way ticket for the short 377 air mile trip back home (our home port is SFO), LAX-SFO. NOTE: We were able to get UG'd to First Class with SWUs (aka System Wide Upgrade) on LHR-LAX on AA 77W metal. So all was well! ITINERARY FLIGHT MAP: TO ICELAND & RETURN (including the first 3 flights from DONE4 ticket) https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...h4X9nNv-XL.jpg Listed below are previously posted Trip Reports, feel free to check them out: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...re-wheels.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...leage-run.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...-sakura-f.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...ga-pixels.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip...dventures.html Up next Part 02: Crossing the Pond (SFO-DFW-KEF) & Reykjavik |
Looking forward to this! Subscribed.
|
Originally Posted by Flywriter
(Post 32252689)
Looking forward to this! Subscribed.
Posting Part 02. |
Part 02: Crossing the Pond (SFO-DFW-KEF) & Reykjavik
On departure eve, we arrived at AA check-in counter in SFO T2. Our luggage was checked all the way to KEF (via DFW). We went through security with TSA-PRE. Stepped inside the AA Admirals Club for some hot soup and cookies before heading to Gate 58A for departure.
At the SFO AA Admirals Club https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...QKMZLdt-X2.jpg AA1004 SFO-DFW boarded around midnight. Our Seats were 5E & 5F. This was a full flight. No one on the UG list got cleared! We flew this red-eye route quite a few times (to make international connections at DFW). I never recall the in-flight experience was ever as bad as this. There was no offer of PDB (pre departure beverage), not even water. After the safety demo, we never saw the FA during the entire flight (given that I slept for about an hour and a half). Arrival Gate at DFW was C15. We hopped on the Skylink train and went straight to D21 where the Flagship First Class Lounge was located. By now it was early morning in Dallas. We knew we had a very long layover. First we grabbed a quick breakfast with coffee and cook-to-order scrambled eggs. Then napped on and off for couple of hours. By now a shower was in order. For the rest of the free time, did some work online and hit the buffet table for some snack. Finally before boarding, we had dinner from the buffet that offered a good selection of hot and cold dishes. At the DFW AA Flagship F Lounge https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...8RrtGc7-X2.jpg At the DFW AA Flagship F Lounge https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...9K3KsVw-X2.jpg At the DFW AA Flagship F Lounge https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...ZMQjG5D-X2.jpg The AA232 DFW-KEF boarded on time at Gate D17. Seats 9E and 9F are in exit row, with lots of leg room. However, these seats are close to the lav. The FA greeted us during boarding, but no offer of PDB. Flight took off on time. I was asleep on and off (thank goodness). AA232 DFW-KEF MCE Service – Not much https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...zKFL7nr-X3.jpg AA232 DFW-KEF MCE Service – Not much https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...8cnmCsG-X2.jpg On time arrival (little bit after 9:00am) at Keflavík Airport (KEF). I noted that luggage was not handled by priority. Hard to believe such slow baggage delivery service for such as small airport. Finally grabbed our bags and headed to the Hertz counter. Arrival @ KEF https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...VXTz3DC-X2.jpg There was a small queue that moved rather slowly. Finally, we received key to a Mercedes GLA. It was easy to locate the car. We did a quick look around the vehicle outside and in for possible damages or scratches. All was well. Arrival @ KEF- Pick up MB GLA https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...tDXC64t-X2.jpg Within the 30-minute drive from airport to the hotel, we encountered 3 different kinds of weathers. From light rain to cloudiness to sun shine with blue skies. Welcome to the Land of Fire and Ice! You don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes! Heading to Hilton Reykjavik Nordica in the City https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...4sFKdgF-X2.jpg By the time we showed up at the Hilton Nordica for check in, it was nearly 10:30am. Not sure if we would be granted early check in since I am only a lowly Hilton Honor Gold member. That turned out to be a non-issue because we accepted a twin room (available now) rather than a queen that we booked (not yet ready). The twin room was on the 7th floor! Executive lounge is on the 8th F. The room was spacious enough by European standard. It was clean and things worked. Hilton Reykjavik Nordica https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...fMSDp74-X2.jpg Hilton Reykjavik Nordica https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...m4q35f2-X2.jpg Hilton Reykjavik Nordica https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...jNF2pS8-X2.jpg Hilton Reykjavik Nordica – Executive Lounge Food https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...P6fzFcM-X2.jpg After a short rest and some lunch, we drove out to see the city of Reykjavik, in heavy rain. First we stopped by the famed Lutheran church, the Church of Hallgrimur (aka Hallgrimskirkja in local language). Standing at 244 feet (74.5 m), it is the tallest church in Iceland. Got soaking wet by running from the parking lot to the front door of the church. Temperature was around low 40's F. A Wet Welcome to Reykjavik – The Church of Hallgrimur https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...xt3wjg4-X2.jpg The Church of Hallgrimur https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...XGL2nr4-X3.jpg The church features a gargantuan pipe organ that looked impressive (15m high and weighing 25 tons). Designed and constructed by the German organ builder Johannes Klais of Bonn. The Church of Hallgrimur – Impressive Organ https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...87KKSDn-X3.jpg Not getting much luck with the weather, we drove back to the hotel, and had canapes in the executive lounge. The lounge is small but it offers a good view of the harbor & mountains yonder (if clear sky). Surprisingly, the food was good. The soup was hot & delicious, and the chicken wings were good. We also tried some sandwiches to round out our meal. Minutes later, the lounge was packed to capacity (wouldn't take too many guests to do that)! Hilton Reykjavik Nordica – View from Executive Lounge https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...4XgmLps-X2.jpg We left the lounge and drove out to see the Harpa in heavy rain. Thought the weather changes every 5 minutes, so what happens? Served as a concert hall and conference center in Reykjavík waterfront, the building features a distinctive colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland. Credit goes to Henning Larson Architects. At night, the lights would change colors and sweep across in random fashion mimicking the movements of Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Harpa at Night https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...5dqSpGj-X2.jpg Harpa at Night https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...wWsxcNC-X2.jpg Talking about Aurora Borealis, any hope for tonight's viewing (and photo-shooting, despite forecast of KP3) would be crushed due to heavy clouds! What remained on tonight's agenda was to catch up on some sleep. Up next Part 03 – Circle the Golden Circle. |
Part 03 – The Golden Circle
Woke up by the mobile phone alarm. After a hearty breakfast and some strong coffee in the hotel lounge, we packed for a road trip. Doing the Golden Circle today, rain or shine. There were 4 main places to visit. The Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerid Crater.
It took only minutes for us to leave the city behind and immediately greeted by the awesome landscape of Iceland. Driving east was particularly interesting as the rising sun peeked in and out of the clouds, painting the landscape with colors of the rainbow! I loved Iceland already! The Golden Circle – Driving Clockwise https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...jtwZ7vm-XL.jpg The Golden Circle - Amazing landscape https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...Ttj77fR-X2.jpg The Golden Circle - – Pleasant Drive https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...MjX2w6H-X2.jpg The Golden Circle – First stop, Pingvellir National Park https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...JSL88Dc-X2.jpg The Golden Circle - Iceland's Prime Minister's Residence photo: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...Mkwxs8J-X2.jpg Pingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is also where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are located. According to the Park information, the tectonic plates are moving apart almost 1 millimeter a year. Historically, the world’s first democratically elected parliament that remains functioning, Alþingi, was formed near here in 930 AD. The Goldlen Circle - Pingvellir NP & The Tetonic Plates https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...DxqbBH5-X2.jpg The Golden Circle - Pingvellir NP https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...ScC3CWS-X2.jpg The Golden Circle – Next Stop the Geysir https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...T5BSstb-X2.jpg Next we drove to the famous Geysir. It is a hot spring in the geothermal area of Haukadalur valley. Strokkur is the country’s most famous hot spring, shooting vast jets of boiling water as high as 40 meters (130 feet) high. Strokkur erupts frequently, once every seven to ten minutes. The Goldlen Circle – Geysir in Action https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...JNrCKHH-X2.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...2xnmRpH-X2.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...fFXjnBB-X2.jpg The Golden Circle – Farms and Ranches https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...ddKz6TQ-X2.jpg We passed by some horse ranches. We stopped at one to shoot some photos. According to information that I found online about Icelandic horses. The Icelandic horse is known for its genuine and gentle character. The horses are friendly, adventurous, smart, and quick to learn. They are usually very easy to handle, cooperative both on the ground and while ridden, yet also powerful and with a great will to work. Although their role has changed quite dramatically in the last 100 years, the horses remain an important part of Icelandic culture. For that reason, I captured a few images of horses while driving around the Golden Circle and later at Hafn (in many days later). The Golden Circle – A Horse Ranch https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...WrMMPJQ-X2.jpg A short drive from the Geysir is the Gullfoss (aka Golden Falls), an iconic sight-seeing attraction on the Golden Circle. Gullfoss is found in the Hvítá river canyon. The water in Hvítá river is fed by the glacier Langjökull. The falls consist of two falls. The top one has a short cascade of 11 meters (36 feet), whilst the second drops 21 meters (69 feet) down to a canyon below. The Golden Circle - Gullfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...b29NJPv-X2.jpg The Golden Circle - Gullfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...S2HCzmN-X2.jpg The Golden Circle – Moving On https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...vnCxb7G-X2.jpg Our last planned destination for the day was Kerid Crater. I was hoping to hike up to the rim. Unfortunately by now it was getting late and it had resumed raining again. We decided to skip the Crater and head straight back to Reykjavik and our hotel. The Golden Circle – Driving Back to the City in the rain https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...DKZd9hX-X2.jpg The Golden Circle has a lot more to offer than what we had time for in one day. Each place visited we spent far more time than budgeted due to hiking and exploring, not to mention shooting photos. Per plan, we were not going to visit the overly touristy Blue Lagoon (however, we had plan later on to soak in the Myvatn Nature Baths). The Geothermal Energy Exhibition just off the main road would have been interesting, but for obvious reason, we skipped it as well. Now we were back to the Hilton. After canapes in the executive lounge, we kept on checking local weather for possible Aurora Borealis, but in vain. The entire night will be overcast within 50km radius. Tonight we packed up and got ready for tomorrow's drive to Hellnar, in the Western Region of Iceland. Other nightly routine things to do include charging many batteries, uploading photos to laptop and catching up with emails. Up next Part 04 – Western Region of Iceland |
Gorgeous photos! Iceland is on my shortlist for sure!
|
Originally Posted by Flywriter
(Post 32258643)
Gorgeous photos! Iceland is on my shortlist for sure!
Here comes Part 04. |
Part 04 Iceland Ring Road - to the Western Region of Iceland
Hit the Road – The Iceland Ring Road
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...mnjvxZG-X2.jpg The top down road map of the Ring Road adventure is shown below: Hit the Road – The Iceland Ring Road https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...pgSPZrV-XL.jpg Today's plan is to take it easy driving from Reykjavik to Hellnar in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We will be staying at the Fosshotel Hellnar. We will make some unplanned stops anywhere along the way as we wish. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...GHhP82f-XL.jpg The drive on the Ring Road (Route 1) was relaxing and the scenery amazing. We had the weather to match (at least for now). We came to Iceland with an expectation to see plenty of incredible landscapes: waterfalls, colorful farms, varying mountains, glaciers, black sand beaches and hopefully Aurora Borealis Hit the Road - First gas up the car. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...KXXxtnc-X2.jpg As navigator and front seat passenger, My mobile phone served double duty, as GPS navigator and as camera. Apologize in advance for the blurry images. They were all taken from inside the moving car, with some exceptions. Twenty minutes north of the Reykjavik, the scenery unfolded right in front of me, and on both sides. Wow, I had no words to describe what I saw. I will post a couple of photo collages from my phone for your reference. Hit the Road – Majestic Mountains https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...kSRn8fm-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Tunnel ahead https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...bDrtbHp-X2.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...m3qCdTX-X2.jpg During pre-trip research, I noted there are 2 lighthouses in a small fishing village named Akranes. After the six-kilometer tunnel beneath the fjord of Hvalfjörður, we followed GPS direction with a left turn onto Route 51. In less than 1 hour drive from Reykjavik, we parked on an unpaved parking lot near the 2 lighthouses. According to the local official web site, Akranes claims to be the largest municipality in the Western Region of Iceland, with a population 7,500. Akranesviti (built in 1947) is the only lighthouse in Iceland that is regularly open to tourists. The lighthouse has become so popular that a tourist information center is now based there. The lighthouse keeper welcomes guests and gives an overview of the history of the building. The smaller lighthouse, built in 1918, is one of the oldest concrete lighthouses in Iceland. It served the fishing town until it was deactivated in 1947, in favor of a larger structure. Hit the Road - Akranes https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...6qMVTJC-X2.jpg Hit the Road - – Akranes Old Lighthouse https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...Pxcrg2L-X2.jpg Not much else in Akranes other than the two lighthouses. This village is going through some "urban" improvement at the lighthouse location. The village intends to make it a year round event venue such as concerts etc. I would love to shoot Aurora Borealis here as it offers several interesting subjects as foreground. Next we moved on to Borgarnes to visit a small church (Borgarneskirkja). Borgarnes is a small town of 2,000, located north of Akranes on Route 1. Didn't expect too much from Borgarnes except to visit the church and do lunch here. As soon as we approached the second longest bridge in Iceland, Borgarnes was not far away. Hit the Roaod – Approaching Borgarnes https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...fqQKKBH-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Village of Borgarnes https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...CxdqPLk-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Village of Borgarnes https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...dvhTZpH-X2.jpg Hot the Road – Borgarneskirkja https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...rdbprq5-X3.jpg When it was time for lunch, we went to a rather convenient place on the main road. We found Grill 66 which was part of a service station by the name of Olis. Later on we realized that this is quite common all over the Ring Road. Many are called N1. Beef burger with bacon and roast beef sandwich were ordered, both came with fries. US issued credit card happily accepted. So far we had not used the ATM for local cash. Hit the Road – Road Side Lunch at Borgarnes https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...pd9NNt9-X2.jpg Now that lunch was behind us, we had a rather long stretch ahead from Borgarnes to Hellnar. Hellnar is directly south of the Snaefelljokull National Park. We departed from Route 1 (Ring Road) and drove west onto Route 54. Good road and flat land dotted with many farms and ranches. Our perfect timing with the autumn colors made everything look particularly more beautiful. There was a hilly incline only at the last stretch near Hellnar. Beautiful drive all the way! Hot the Road – From Borgarnes to Budir. Straight on Route 54 toward Olasfsvik. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...C75dR36-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...8MWWG98-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...mbGbLtj-X2.jpg Kept on heading west on Route 54, we came upon many private waterfalls next to ranches and farm houses. Sometimes we stopped the car at the gate and tried to shoot a photo or 2 with a long lens. Then all of a sudden, we came upon Bjarnarfoss (Cascading Falls) that had a nice paved parking lot. We enjoy the short hike up to the falls and captured a bunch of images Hit the Road – Bjarnarfoss in Panorama https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...zcJ6PZn-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...4c8Fbwj-X3.jpg Hit the Road - Bjarnarfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...cx43LWF-X2.jpg After the Biarnarfoss, we detour south toward the Budir Black Church. Just to scout it out as a possible venue for shooting Aurora Borealis. This small lone church is quite famous among pro photographers and wannabes alike. Good thing that we did this. Knowing the lay of the land paid off when we returned here after an Aurora alert hit my phone 2 days later Hot the Road – Budir Black Church https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...WSsnVHM-X2.jpg The church door was locked, as expected. So we continued on toward the hotel by returning back to Route 54 & westward. So far the weather had been good, cloudy but no rain! Here we were, finally Fosshotel Hellnar. The hotel is located in a very isolated area with only a dozen buildings scattered around, including the Hellnar Church. We liked the environment. The Snaefellsjokull National Park is located to the north, and is visible from the hotel. Fosshotel Hellnar https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...g2wzCTv-X2.jpg Fosshotel Hellnar https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...rK96Jsq-X2.jpg Fosshotel Hellnar https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...B99ctrJ-X2.jpg While the sun was setting, we rushed over to Arnarspati for dinner at the Monsvagninn Fish & Chips. This little "food truck" was made famous by the internet. People from all over the world know about it (so I think), according to the owners (owned by a family whom we met & chatted briefly). They told us they get their fish from a fishing village 50 km away every morning. The food was good though simple and a bit expensive. Not complaining when I put it in Icelandic perspective. Here out in nowhere, we felt lucky we have a couple of choices for dinner! There was a "buffet" restaurant a stone throw away. Since we were there near closing time, we had an opportunity to converse a bit more with the family. They work from May 1 to September 31. I asked them, “the rest of the year are you in the south of France?”. They chuckled! Hit the Road – Monsvagninn Fish & Chips Food Truck https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...tsXmhsV-X2.jpg Hit the Road – Arnarstapi, Mount Stapafell & Monument. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...rfb9LCK-X2.jpg Hit the Road - Rock Arch at Arnarstapi https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...c672Lzh-X2.jpg Hellar Church https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...PJLXpSF-X2.jpg Up next: Part 05 – More of Western Region of Iceland |
Part 05 – More on Western Region of Iceland
Hit the Road – Intra Western Region
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...p3KfNMs-X2.jpg Not so early in the morning, we moved on to the next village. Grundarfjordur that is on the north side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Since the driving distance will be short, we chose to take the Route 56 and the mountain pass for ease of driving, but longer in distance (still only 100 km, and about 1 hour) and time. The shorter option involved a dirt road (the extension of Route 54 going north linking the village of Olafsvik). That section of the road was under construction at the time we were there. We were cautious not to damage the car. Unbeknown to us then, we actually had to use that dirt road 2 nights later. More on that later. Hit the Road – Route Map of Hellnar to Grundardfjordur https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...PNq4sB7-XL.jpg Hit the Road – Hellnar to Grundardfjordur. On Route 54 Heading East. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...JbWWLH5-X2.jpg Hit the Road - Road side snack, veggie burger. https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...jL4r65j-X2.jpg NOTE: this joint could be the only place to get something to eat on today's drive. It is located at the junction of Route 54 & Route 56. Hit the Road - Gradual ascend on a mountain pass https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...JtznBrq-X2.jpg Grundardfjordur – Many farms and ranches just outside of the village center https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...wTCWf2Q-X2.jpg Grundardfjordur – Many farms and ranches just outside of the village center https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...dKwxsgZ-X2.jpg Grundardfjordur has a population of about 600. The surge in tourism in recent years has stressed the limited infrastructure in this village. This was felt during hotel booking. I found it almost impossible to find a room (any room) 1 month prior to our arrival. Finally we reserved a room with The Old Post Office Guesthouse. This guesthouse maybe ideal for budget conscious tourists (perhaps backpackers) for its relative low price and lacking in modern facilities. It has a common kitchen where guests can cook their meals and make coffee etc. That said, our tiny room has a private shower, and a great view of the Mount Kirkjufell. We had 2 nights here. Since we were out most of the time, we could endure the lack of amenities. Something we have to do without. Not a problem! The manager was very friendly and his family lives right across the street from the property. Grundardfjordur – Where sheep outnumbers people https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...9bvbsTS-X2.jpg Grundardfjordur – Lamb Chop https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...FKsVSTQ-X3.jpg Grundardfjordur Church – Perched on top of a hill https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...bcvC8tT-X2.jpg The main attractions here are the Mount Kirkjufell and the Kirkjufellfoss. I was counting on shooting Aurora Borealis near these 2 main sights. Prayed for clear skies. During the day, we popped in to scout out the environment. This is one hell of a popular attraction. The dirt parking lot was loaded with small vans (tours) and cars. The combination of the mountain and the waterfalls make for perfect photo-ops. So far, I noticed most of the tourists were Asians (of which most were Chinese). So the Chinese are fueling the Iceland Tour industry! Ditto pretty much everywhere. Mount Kirkjufell https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...4TZKzpC-X2.jpg Mount Kirkjufell & Kirkjufellsfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...XjG4c9J-X2.jpg Kirkjufellsfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...MK8nmZX-X2.jpg Kirkjufellsfoss https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...J9Lk6Vf-X2.jpg Tonight, we dined in Bjargarsteinn Restuarant, a place known for fresh seafood. We ordered a cod fish as main dish, and a dinner size seafood supa. Seafood is known to be good all over Iceland. My supa was loaded with fish and other seafood, more than a meal. The cod was also fresh and delicious. I do recommend this place. Grundardfjordur – Excellent Dinner at Bjargarsteinn https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...J9Lk6Vf-X2.jpg Grundardfjordur – Excellent Dinner at Bjargarsteinn https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...DHzLKfQ-X2.jpg Tonight we had clear sky. But where was the Aurora Borealis? Checking 50 km radius to no avail. Another night of not seeing the Northern Lights! Ignoring the forecast, we drove out to the Kirkjufellfoss area in total darkness. Surprisingly, there were many cars and vans parked there. People with torch lights moving about trying to find their way up to the falls. Many people were chasing BA tonight! By 23:00, it was cold and no sight of Northern Lights. Bumped into a photographer from Utah. He said he had to leave for KEF to catch a flight back to the US tonight. He had been in Iceland for 3 nights still hadn't seen any Northern Lights. I wished him good luck on the way to the airport. Told him about the Black Church and the lighthouses in Akranes as locations of possibilities. It was a blessing that we managed a small room with a private shower & a great view of Kirkjufell. OPO Guesthouse – Room with a great view https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...8X6bfwj-X2.jpg OPO Guesthouse https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...2ZX4vT6-X2.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...P4H5RrF-X2.jpg Up next Part 06 – Day Trip to Stykkissholmur |
Great TR so far! Your photos are exceptional — high definition and excellent use of filters.
|
Originally Posted by 1P
(Post 32266364)
Great TR so far! Your photos are exceptional — high definition and excellent use of filters.
Credit also goes to the natural settings found in Iceland. I shall post the next installment soon. Now in edit. |
fabulous
Thank you for sharing this trip report with us, locked down.
It makes me itchy to hop a on a plane. Beautiful pictures. |
Loving your photos. We did a 4 day Iceland trip 3 years back, we really want to do the ring road next. We managed the Golden Circle and Kerid crater, then an overnight at Hofn to see the lagoon and the crystal beach. Simply stunning country.
|
Originally Posted by zip10001
(Post 32267568)
Thank you for sharing this trip report with us, locked down.
It makes me itchy to hop a on a plane. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for coming along! |
Originally Posted by Bogwoppit
(Post 32267622)
Loving your photos. We did a 4 day Iceland trip 3 years back, we really want to do the ring road next. We managed the Golden Circle and Kerid crater, then an overnight at Hofn to see the lagoon and the crystal beach. Simply stunning country.
Hofn is by far the best little fishing village that we visited. Loved the harbor and the food! If and when we come back to Iceland, we would spend 4 to 5 days here and day trip to everywhere in the Eastern Region. Fosshotel Vatnajokull would be a great place to stay. I do recommend it. As you will read it here much later in the report. |
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:57 am. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.