Iceland
As a UNESCO
City of Literature, Reykjavik “Smokey Bay” emphasises the central position of
literature in the city’s and nation’s cultural life, its historical
significance and contemporary value. The capital is full of charming wooden
houses and narrow streets, quirky shops, city bars, cottage businesses and very
tasteful street art. Whilst we were
there every shop window display throughout the whole city celebrated LGBT
demonstrating the modern values of Iceland. We didn’t have much time to explore
this funky city so we agreed to come back one day!
Beyond
Reykjavik we visited the memorable ‘Big Three’ tourist attractions – Gullfoss,
Geysir and Thingvellir. Usually I don’t like to be “a tourist like” traveller
but it was the best way to visit 3 of the many natural wonders for which
Iceland is justly renowned.
Thingvellir
National Park – a UNESCO Wold Heritage Site was surrounded by outstanding
natural beauty, with its stunning lake, lava landscape (a must see), and rugged
chasm walls on the rift where Europe meets America at the Continental Divide.
Iceland actually sits on two different tectonic plates, the European one and
the north American one. Technically we could argue we walked from Europe to north
America while we strolled round the national park.
After the trail walking at the national park we visited the Gullfoss
Waterfall. This waterfall is magnificent and many claim it to be the most
magnificent of the country’s many.... However its proximity to the other
attractions makes it a very busy place. As spectacular as Gullfoss was with its
view of the River Hvita and drops of 96ft in two falls, we preferred other more
secluded glacier wonders that we would see later in the week.
The third
wonder literally took my breath away!!! Geyser, an area where hot springs are
in abundance and the most active one is Stokkur (this is the original geyser that
all other geysers are named after). Every 10 minutes it is spitting out a high
column of boiling water up to 60ft. It was a truly epic scene.
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After
leaving Reykjavik we had Isafjordur and Akureyri.
Isafjordur
with its excellent natural harbour become an important site for the merchants
that traded with the farmers and fishermen in the area during and after the 16th
century. Production and export of
saltfish was the key to the growth of the town and its status as one of
Iceland’s main trading posts. We
strolled through the narrow streets of the old town (Nedstikaupstadur)
surrounded by it’s modest wooden houses dating from the late 18th
century. As we discovered, the town has got lots of walking trails to offer. I
wanted to see the view from above the fjord, so we pecked the highest hill and
walked up to reach the stunning views over the valley.
Akureyri is
most likely one of my favourite stops in Iceland.
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On arrival we made a decision to travel in to
the centre of the high lands. We had about 8 hours, that was plenty to fit in
some kind of crazy adventure. We hired a local company Iceak to take us inland
on the tour. Off road. It was very wet and wild. We travelled miles and miles
across Iceland, we visited places you can only visit by foot or by 4 * 4.
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On the lava
fields, across the desert, baron volcanic lands that stretched for miles and
miles. As you can see from the photo
bellow, Icelandic people can be comedians.
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Despite the
rainy and foggy weather we had an amazing day exploring the High Lands. We saw
several apposing landscapes, from baron volcanic deserts, gorgeous waterfalls,
and glacier streamed idyllic valleys.
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It’s a
fact that it wasn’t the best country I have ever visited. But spooky stories
about trolls and the unique Icelandic landscape made my trip memorable and
unforgettable.
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