It’s been a busy couple of days.
On Saturday, we rose bright and early for the first of our two driving days. In order to get an early start, we forwent a formal breakfast, packed the suitcases into the car and headed for Þingvellir. I’d bought some skyr and muffins the evening before, so the passengers tucked into those, whilst the poor drive (yeah, moi) had none.
After leaving Reykjavík, we headed down road 36 for an equal number of kilometres until we reached Þingvellir. It was ice-cold at the Alþingi, the site of the ancient parliament. The temperature was down around zero anyway, but with the raging wind that was blasting through there, the wind-chilled temperature was much, much colder.
My hands were burning after removing gloves to take a couple of photos, but they only take a moment and last a lifetime, so obviously it has to be done.
We walked down the slope to the Lögrétta (Law Rock), where matters of importance used to be delivered, and then on to the Öxarárfoss waterfall.
After taking the requisite photos, we returned to the car and then drove on to Geysir, where we paused for a burger lunch before wandering up the path to witness Strokkur spout gloriously into the chilled air. Mercifully, there was much less wind at Geysir, so we were able to comfortably stand around, watch the geysers and take photos.
From there, it was a short drive to Gullfoss, where the wind was gusting again in earnest. It was very, very cold, but we were more or less wearing the right gear for the conditions, so it wasn’t too bad. Nevertheless, it was just too inclement to hang around for long, so we soon returned to the car and continued on our way.
It was quite a long drive down road 30 and then south along road 1 to our final resting place for the day, Country Hotel Anna at Moldnúpur, between Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss. Some sources say this place is located at Hvolsvöllur, but it’s actually about 35 km south of there on road 1. In total, we covered more than 240km this day.
Country Hotel Anna was a breath of fresh air. It’s a cosy little inn in peaceful, quiet surroundings. Our hosts were Eyja Þóra Einarsdóttir and Jóhann Frímannsson, who did a splendid job of looking after us. Dinner was delicious and the main room of the hotel had a big box of toys that Eloïse took delight in.
We’d hoped to see the Northern Lights down here, but it wasn’t to be. We did get to listen to the wind, however, as it tormented the house, howling around and over it at loud volume.
The next day, we had breakfast, packed up and headed on our way. It was a beautiful day: the sun was shining, there was very little wind and the temperature was pleasantly mild. It was unbelievably lucky to have such a glorious day in November for our trip.
We drove further along road 1 to Dyrhólaey and then out to the black sand beach at Reynisdrangar, where Eloïse had a lot of fun, running up and down the beach and throwing stones in the water.
Mike and Florence, too, got a big kick out of the black sand beach. We were all reluctant to leave, but there were other stops on our itinerary today.
From Reynisdrangar, we continued on road 1 to Vík, where we filled up with diesel and food. Then, we turned the car around and started to head back along road 1.
The first afternoon stop was the Sólheimajökull outlet glacier, where one can walk right up to the glacier’s edge (and even onto it, if one so chooses). It was Mike and Florence’s first time at a glacier and they were rather surprised at how it looked, set as it was against a glorious background of verdant mountain walls. When many people hear the word glacier, their minds immediately conjure images of Antarctica.
The next stop was Skógafoss. At first Eloïse didn’t want to leave the car, so Florence stayed behind to look after her, while the rest of us visited the waterfall and then made the long climb up the steps running alongside it. Once we were finally up on top, we were rewarded with grand views down onto the falls and enticing glimpses of the highlands in the distance.
As we came back down, Florence appeared with Eloïse and then it was Florence’s turn to ascend the steps to the top of the falls.
That left us very little time to get to Skógasafn (Skógar Museum), which is still run by its 86 year old founder, Þórður Tómasson. The museum is a treasure trove of Icelandic culture and relics and has been lovingly put together by Þórður. Although the museum officially closes at 16:00, he kindly stayed behind for a while to allow us a chance to view the exhibits. Sarah and I had been there before, but for Mike and Florence, it was the first time, of course.
By the time we left the museum, it was sunset, so we began the drive back along road 1. A glorious sunset followed us on our journey, with Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) poking up out of the cloud, just across the water. It was an otherworldly sight, but very beautiful, and a bright cascade of rich orange and umber hues accompanied our drive.
It was with the last vestiges of daylight in the sky that we arrived at Seljalandsfoss, where we stopped for just a moment to admire the falls in the almost extinguished light of day.
That was the last intermediate stop of the day, leaving only the long drive along road 1 to Reykjavík, where we turned off onto road 41 and headed towards Keflavík, eventually turning left towards Bláa Lonið (Blue Lagoon) before finally turning off yet again, this time into the parking area of the Northern Light Inn, our final stop for the day. With that, over 300km had been covered.
Dinner was excellent and the staff were very friendly. The only complaint was the poor water pressure in the shower, all the sillier for the fact that geothermal plant powering Bláa Lonið was right behind the hotel.
Again, we had hoped to see the Northern Lights here, but again, we were to be disappointed.
This morning, we rose at our leisure and enjoyed a slow breakfast, after which we drove the final kilometre to Bláa Lonið. There were only four other cars in the car park, so we had the place virtually to ourselves.
Florence, Mike and Eloïse all had a blast in the warm pool. We all smeared silica mud onto our bodies and languished in the hot waters. After a while, I went to the bar and came back with a Cola Light for myself, a beer for Mike and Florence, and a mint Magnum for Sarah. What a decadent pleasure!
After a couple of hours spent soaking in the pool, it was time to get out and have a spot of lunch. Then came the sad goodbye, as Florence and Mike took the hotel shuttle to Keflavík airport for the long haul back to Providence, via Boston.
Sarah, Eloïse and I got back into the car and returned to Reykjavík, where we’ll spend Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to Amsterdam on Thursday.
Hótel Borg has been renovated since we were here in January. Gone is its quaint revolving wooden door, which I would aways get stuck in with our large suitcases. It’s been replaced by a sliding glass equivalent, much more practical, but somehow still less appealing. Its old lift has also been replaced with a gleaming modern specimen.
Dinner was at the ultra-hip Sjávarkjallarinn restaurant, where we were lucky to be able to reserve a table at short notice. Although it’s a Monday in November, the restaurant was very busy.
Sjávarkjallarinn was an amazing gastronomic experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who can afford its shockingly expensive dishes. This was easily the most expensive meal we’ve ever eaten, beating even those at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai earlier this year. By way of contrition, we’ll be eating rather more modestly over the next couple of days.
Mike and Florence’s time with us in Iceland was a grand success. We had no rain at all over the last three days; only our first couple of days in Reykjavík were dampened by the weather, but even those were only mildly wet occasions and weren’t washed out by any means.
Anyway, we hope their time here was memorable and that they enjoyed it at least half as much as we did. It was a little cold for them on Saturday, but they soldiered on regardless. Sunday, though, was perhaps the most special day, bathed as we were the entire day in glorious late autumn sunshine.
There’s nothing much on the agenda for tomorrow. I’ve returned the hire car and there’s rain forecast, so we’ll probably just amble about, hang around in the city’s many cafés and do a bit of shopping.
As always, I find myself asking the question, ‘Why is it we don’t live here?’