Iceland was not on my bucket list until my daughter, Pam, invited me to go with her during the cold month of February 2019. Some of you may know Pam as the owner of a popular barber shop in Jensen Beach, The Family of Hair. Two years before she visited in early September. Now, Pam wanted to see Iceland in its “whiteness,” and possibly see the Northern Lights.
We flew on Icelandair from Liberty Airport in Newark, NJ. Most flights going to Iceland from the west go at night. We were able to see grand New York City.
Icelandair has several gateways like Boston and Liberty. What is neat about this comfortable airline is they allow you to have up to a seven day stay-over in Iceland without penalty. We stayed for five nights.
Most if not all international flights come into “Keflavik,” built by the U.S. Army during WWII. Today, it is ultra-modern airport. Due to the large number of flights, you may have to leave by descending steps on the tarmac to a bus like we did. And it was cold and snowing.
It is a good thirty miles from the capital Reykjavik. A taxi will cost you $100. We took the “Reykjavik Excursion” bus for about $40. The “Reykjavik Excursions” is one of the largest touring companies in Iceland. They have a central headquarters in Reykjavik with daily tours. We took three of their tours.
Reykjavik is the largest Icelandic city and capital. There are over 100,000 people living in this vibrant city with over 300,000 living in this small nation the size of New York State. Reykjavik is fairly centralized to where you can walk to almost everything.
During the winter, there is a good chance you will come across a lost glove or two.
We thoroughly enjoyed going to the Harpa Convention Center. In the large foyer area is a surrealistic sculpture of a hanging “moon.”
This moon does make for good pictures.
There is a popular café, gift shops and even a short video you can see. On a Saturday, we walked into a Children’s Technology Center. Each kiosk was giving away “candy” and even ice cream bars. We can tell these kids love to learn.
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Ice Creams bars! -
Right down the road is the impressive “Sea Voyager” sculpture.
Every tourist stops here and takes a picture. It was close by here that I took the photo of a sailing ship in the bay.
Reykjavik has plenty of “art” and sculptures. One of my favorite pieces is the walking blockhead.
We also enjoyed the Perlan Center. On a hill overlooking Reykjavik are water-towers with a modern building in the center that resembles a “Pearl.” There is a planetarium, exhibits and even restaurants at Perlan. There is a platform that overlooks the city.
Our hotel of choice was the “ Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina.” Not cheap. There are less expensive hotels nearby and even hostels. Our room was on the fourth floor overlooking the marina and the bay.
The room was small but doable.
We found the staff to be quite helpful with reservations and information.
Breakfasts were superb. I enjoyed the small potatoes. Mixed with butter and Kosher Salt, it was delicious. Polish waitresses took care of the restaurant. We found out that three percent of Iceland’s population is Polish.
What I liked most about Iceland? The water is so pure and good tasting.
As for food? Our first morning after the five hour flight was to head to “Iceland’s oldest restaurant,” Kaffivagninn. It was about eight in the morning, still dark. In February the sun does not come up until 10:00 and sets at 5:00. There was a large group of mostly retired men drinking coffee. My daughter, Pam, and I enjoyed scrambled eggs and an omelet. Someday I will go back and have a piece of their chocolate cake.
One night we came across a restaurant called the “Lebowski Bar.”
I don’t know how they get around copy infringement, but this place could easily be liked by” The Dude.” Before you entered, there was a sign that read:
Food in Iceland is expensive. One of the more popular “cheaper” places that seemed to be all over Reykjavik and Iceland is “Subway.”
We did enjoy going to Reykjavik Fish and having genuine “fish and chips.” I had chicken.
We almost never made it to Iceland. Our original three day tour declared “bankruptcy.” We were out of $1800 dollars. Luckily, my American Express Gold card stepped up to the plate and reimbursed us. We had booked eight months prior. American Express was under no obligation as their time limit was sixty days. They paid however.
We took the monies and invested $700 dollars in a one day tour to the ice caves. Eagle Air flew us from the Reykjavik small airport to the southern coast of Hofn. Our plane was new!
Johann Haraldsson picked us up in his new black taxi van and drove us an hour to where another guide would take us up to the “ice caves.”
We had no problem with the snowy and icy conditions as Johann drove extremely carefully. We had no problem with the police either as Johann is an acting policeman in the community. He spoke perfect English, much like most of the people in Iceland.
Our first stop was “Diamond Beach.” On a black beach, icebergs of all sizes sometimes floated on the beach from a short glacier river out to the ocean. This surreal experience made it look like actual “Diamonds on the Beach.” A few weeks after we left a woman climbed on top of an iceberg and it floated out to sea. She was luckily rescued by a nearby boat from the lagoon.
After seeing Diamond Beach, we were coordinated with “Boggi” who took us in his over-sized wheel Jeep to see several ice caves.
These Jeeps can be massive with spikes in their tires. Boggi actually had to deflate the tires to provide a smoother ride on top of the glacier. This was all done electronically with a push of a button.
Boggi was once a master fisherman on large haulers that fished off of Russia. A line broke and hit him in the face putting him out of action for a good while.
Boggi decided to change jobs and started his own company, “IceCaveInIceland.” There are 18 different companies that actually do this. Boggi owns his own company and advertises that he “is the cheapest” company around. He was quite entertaining, particularly when Pam was in the front seat.
Black ice surrounded us inside this large cave.
A few places were the famous “blue ice.” We had to wear a “mining hat with a light,” and crampons to walk on the ice. Being on a glacier, going through an actual ice cave, walking between blue ice crevices and having to endure that ride are memories we will never forget.
Our second tour, this time with “Reykjavik Excursions” was a ten hour journey along the South Coast. There are 130 “Volcanic Mountains” in Iceland which are clustered into 32 “volcanic systems.” As many of these mountains came through glaciated ice, the mountains have “table tops” and not peaks.
Highway number “1” is the major road around the entire island. The road is over 800 miles around Iceland.
We were brought to a glacier area, Solheimajikull, and walked close to the beginning or the end of the glacier. Our tour guide said, “The glacier today is where it was in 1200 AD. Regardless, I still think we have contributed to global warming.
There were a number of beautiful waterfalls along Highway One. The walkway around Seljalandsfoss was closed due to all the snow.
We did not have time to walk up the 500 steps to the top of Skolgafoss falls, famous for the rainbow.
The two hundred foot waterfalls, nevertheless, are quite stunning.
I did photograph this young Chinese Woman who was admiring herself in front of Slogafoss.
We went as far as the village of Vik. It was there we saw these massive wave.
In Iceland you will see plenty of red Lutheran churches.
This tour brought us to the famous “Black Beach.” The basalt rocks and caves made ideal photography opportunities.
In the distance we could easily see the Dyrholaey area where rocks jut out to sea. My daughter on her last visit made a trip to see this point. Our tour did not take us there. Having your own vehicle does provide access and time to explore many of these sites
You really have to be careful about not getting close to the ocean. These waves were powerful.
Our second tour with “Reykjavik Excursions” was the following day along the famous route known as “The Golden Circle.” We saw some geysers, nowhere near the strength of Old Faithful.
The Gullfoss Waterfall was quite impressive. It reminded of a smaller Niagara Falls, frozen.
Along the way we did stop at a hydroponics farm, Fridheimar. The tomatoes produced made the best tomato soup.
Adjacent to the greenhouses was a horse farm. Horses have played an important role in Iceland’s history. More like large ponies, they not only provided transportation, but also food. They have a special gate known as a “tolt”which produces an even ride. It is illegal to import any horses into Iceland. The horses in Iceland are a special breed. The Icelandic horse has double-layer skin for protection and has existed for nearly a thousand years on this island.
Our last stop on the Gold Circle Tour is both a cultural and geographical important area for Iceland. Pingvellir was the central gathering point for all Icelandic leaders before and after 1000AD. It was where they discussed the rules of the land. It was their Constitutional Hall without the building. Then, too, Pingvellier is the area where the North American and Eurasia tectonic plates separate. To actually see this is quite rare.
It was on this journey that we experienced our first “white out.” Winds can blow fiercely in Iceland and mixed with snow can make the roads dangerous.
Half an hour later, we witnessed a beautiful sunset sky. Weather in Iceland can change literally in a few minutes.
Our final tour was at night to see the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. I found out that there are even “lights” in the Southern Hemisphere. From September thru April, the famous Northern Lights can be seen when the conditions are right. Luckily, the night we chose for the tour, we saw them!
We were taken miles out from Reykjavik where the city lights could not be seen. The Milky Way was beautiful. It was bitterly cold too. The Northern Lights we saw looked white. As for most cameras you need to overexpose to acquire the lights. Thus, the pictures come out “green.” In some rare occasions, you may even see other colors.
Our last full day in Reykjavik we visited the tallest church in Iceland, the Hallgrimskinkja. Built circa 1944, this Lutheran church is eight stories up. Beautiful views can be had in the tower.
On our last early morning walk, we made it to the famous home where President Reagan and Mikel Gorbachev would help end the “Cold War” back in 1986.
Five days was not enough to see all of Iceland. Someday, I hope to bring my wife, Kathie, to see Iceland in the “summer time.” It was a fun winter’s trip to “bond” with my daughter. We were lucky, though, to have had four days of sun. Usually there is plenty of rain. In the final analysis, there is plenty to like about Iceland. I can see why so many people rave about its splendid beauty and unique people.
