From Akureyri to Reykjavik in four and a half hours

I have one more story to share from my short Icelandic trip…the last segment of road from the popular Ring Road; last part: from Akureyri to Reykjavik. As I said in the last post. Akureyri is not one of my favorite type of cities but, it it still has its charm, especially when the weather is very nice, as it was in the morning of our day of departure. Actually the weather was a determinant factor that made us book a whale watching tour with Ambassador. The tour takes three hours and it takes you along the longest fjord in Iceland. Beside whales during this tour we got the chance to enjoy the sights; however, we were lucky enough to see four whales swimming very close to our ship. Awesome experience that worth the money. However, after the whale watching tour there was no time left for anything else but jumping into the car and drive to Reykjavik to meet some friends at 18:00. The clock was 13:00 when we left Akureyri.

The road down to Iceland’s capital is not as interesting as there were all the other segments of road until there. Thus, we made very few stops and very few pictures. This was also the first and the only time we had sausages at a gas station as lunch; those sausages everyone talks about on the YouTube videos about Iceland, sausages presented as being delicious and affordable…which indeed are, but I would still choose to have real meals.

As I said no to much activity, just an awesome traffic tunnel some about 50 km to Reykjavik, for which you have to pay to drive through, else you have to make a huge turn to get to the capital.

All in all there were about 290 km which we did in about four and a half hours, arriving in Reykjavik at around 17:30, just in time to find a parking spot and to meet my friends. Keep in mind though that on this route between Akureyri and Reykjavik there are several speed camera, so drive carefully.

This was it my roadtrip in Iceland. Next, in two days actually, I will travel to Nice, in France for a four days relaxation, with no car but lots of chilling moments and good food.

Stay close and enjoy everything you do!

Dettifoss, Goðafoss and great weather…

Yesterday I arrived in Seyðisfjörður, and after a cozy evening in that charming little town, this morning I continued my journey on the Ring Road towards Akureiry.

As it happened also the last days the weather today was very beautiful, with sun and temperature up to 12-13 degrees Celsius, but in the car the reflection if the sun was more powerful thus I was driving in just a t-shirt.

The segment of road to Egilsstaðir, and even further for some kilometers, was kind of average in offerings, with no very attractive views. However, alter a while I was pleasantly surprised to see an old shelter for sheep; the kind of building built up in the ground. Then we climb up the mountains and drove on top of them for many kilometers through a white carpet set by snow of the just recently gone Icelandic winter. The views were great and the traffic was not busy at all.

The first serious stop of the day was at the Dettifoss waterfall; from the Ring Road one should drive 25 more kilometers on an additional road, on a way that takes you right to the waterfall. However, at the end of the road is not exactly the waterfall; there is one more kilometer to walk through snow…at least at this time of the year there was a lot of snow, and for one like me unprepared for winter it might be a good idea to have an extra pair of shoes with you. The walk through the snow is worth it because the view is amazing, with a reach waterfall falling in a big canyon.

After Dettifoss, the next planned stop was the lagoon from Mytvan. It is not as big as the Blue Lagoon from the South, but apart from the size everything is there: color, smell, warm, pleasure…! For two persons with student cards, the renting of towels, bathrobe and entrance fee rose up to about 9000 ISK.

Although there is possible to eat at the lagoon, we decided to drive further and eat on the way. Not after long time we just saw a farm with a restaurant offering local food and so we stopped. I swear that the food there and the whole experience at the farm was exceptional. Beside the fact that there was possible to pet cows and sheep, the food included raw smoked lamb, artic char, geyser bread and cheese from made at that farm.

Full, we continued driving towards Akueiry. The last stop on the way was another great waterfall…I would say the greatest waterfall I have seen so far in Iceland and generally in the world; it is Goðafoss waterfall. The view of it and the great weather made us feel satisfied with the day so we just kept driving to Akureiry hoping for a good dinner and good rest. At a first impression, even though Akureiry is the second biggest city in Iceland, it has not impressed me yet; there is not much to do or to see.

However, I am really looking forward to tomorrow when I will go in a whale watching tour.

So, if everything goes right tomorrow night I will be able to write about the experience we had with the whales.

From Höfn to Seyðisfjörður

As planned from yesterday evening, today it has been the day to drive to Seyðisfjörður. The day started in the best possible way, with a lot of sun which gave us positive attitude and joy for the rest of the day.

As soon as we took the breakfast in Höfn, we went to the tourist information office to ask for suggestions about what to do around Höfn. However, we left from the information office with no so many options since the lady working there said she didn’t know much about the whole area, but she suggested we visit the glaciers in the direction to Vik, and do the one hour walk around Höfn’s coast; for more info about the attractions towards Seyðisfjörður she suggested we have to ask at info office in Djopivogur. We decided to do the walk, which proved to be refreshing with nice views.

After the walk we decided to go take off to our destination for today, Seyðisfjörður. We set the info in the GPS and there we drove. Although the route is neither very short but nor too long, just about 220 km, without detours, there are a lot of beautiful sights, that made us stop many times to take pictures or just to stare at the beautiful display of the nature.

The first stop we made in Djopivogur, a town in one of the stunning fjords on the southern coast of Iceland. There we went to the information office to ask about what can be done/seen from there up to Seyðisfjörður. There we got lots of booklets with info about the whole region. However, first we had lunch at a very nice restaurant inside a hotel called Hotel Framtid. The food is not the cheapest in the town but is very good and the place looks great. I highly recommend it.

We visited also the birds’ eggs expo but we were not impress. Yet, the whole town is very picturesque and worth a visit.

Then we decided to drive further, having in mind to stop also in the other towns from the other fjords on our way. Yet, the planned changed because the other town are very small and we didn’t see it was worth stopping; so the next and last stop was at the destination in Seyðisfjörður. Nevertheless we still stopped many times to take pictures.

On the way there were also two tunnels, and a unpleasant paved segment of the road (on the Ring Road) which is not possible to avoid; it has a length of few kilometers. Moreover, the last part of the trip, after exiting from the second tunnel, the road takes drivers up the mountains where at this time of the year is a lot of snow (not on the road though).

Furthermore the 25 km segment from Egilsstadir to Seyðisfjörður is a curved road up the mountain, after which is the down the mountain drive to the fjord. The view is amazing, though we caught a cloudy weather.

Seyðisfjörður is a small village but is has its charm. It is not much to do here but, a nice walk and very beautiful scenery justify such an choice. In Seyðisfjörður we are hosted at the old post house which is now transformed in accommodation under the name of  Hotel Snæfell.

Because we have already walk around all the village, we plan that tomorrow we are leaving early further towards the second biggest city of Iceland, Akureyri.

Lets sleep well and get ready for some more action waiting for us tomorrow.

The Icelandic show goes on!

495 km…this is what we needed to drive in the second day from the Blue Lagoon to Hofn. I know I said in the previous post that we head to Vik, but after a lazy and relaxing morning at Silica Hotel, at the Blue Lagoon (where we enjoyed the atmosphere with the thought that we have a short drive to Vik) when we got at our car we realized that our next reservation is in Hofn actually, not in Vik! So from that moment our day was kind of a race, because we had to arrive at our accommodation before 21, time when the reception closes.

Between Reykjavik and Vik there are a number of natural attractions that must not be missed. So, we stopped at two amazing waterfalls: Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. A repeat they are amazing! We got a great sunny day and so the view and the conditions for enjoyment were all there. At both waterfalls there could be spotted rainbows, though not so clear that the camera could catch them. Moreover, both of them are very close to the Road one, so there is not needed to make a detour or to think about the quality of the road.

Close to Vik, there is another great attraction: the Black Sand Beach! It is a great view to enjoy, although at the point we enter to see it it was not possible to walk on it; actually there could not be seen anyone on the beach, so I guess it is not possible to walk or sunbath on it ;-)!

I had in mind that Vik in itself is an attraction; and it is a fancy little village with great sights, but dont think about it as it is a big town with a lot going on. Actually the whole village can be catch in one photo, this is how big it is.

So, we didn’t spent much time there (just refuel and eat something at N1 petrol station) and the continue driving.

Next stop was at the National Park. The views are stunning, with big mountains topped with snow. However, we dint have time to walk around, since we were late and the shortest walk supposed to take about on hour. The regrets of not having time to walk around, all vanished when we got to see the glaciers at Vatnajokull! This is definitely one of the greatest things I have ever seen; and again the weather had a great contribution because the rays of the sun made everything shine.

Satisfied we drove further the remained segment to Hofn, where we arrived at around 08:30, just in time to make the check in and to have dinner at Humarhofnin Gastronomy Langoustine.

After such a day we remain with the memorable sights we saw and the great weather we had and we had not expect.

Today, we are heading north to Seydisfjördur, and hope to have a fantastic day as well.

A fantastic day that I wish to everybody!

 

First impressions from first time in Iceland.

I have just stepped on Icelandic land for the first time in my life. It was kind of a dream to visit this destination, since many talk about it using euphoric words and descriptions in regards to its nature in special. So, I managed to set together a couple of free days from work and study, and I took off from Copenhagen direction Reykjavik. I landed last night at midnight, although it looked more like a late evening, because there was quite much natural light outside, which surprised me in some degree…in a positive way because it means that there is more time to enjoy the attractions Iceland has to offer.

Then, there was not so cold…I was expecting to be cold, but even at midnight it was like seven degrees Celsius, with no wind, which for my skin trained in the Danish weather felt not so bad!

This morning me and my wife woke up around half past six planning to have breakfast in Reykjavik and then to do the Golden Circle, with arrival and spending the night at Blue Lagoon, Silica Hotel. However, to find a place where to grab a coffee and something for breakfast seems to be difficult in Reykjavik, even in a Friday. In the end we discovered a cozy place -C is for cookie- and enjoyed a cappuccino with almond milk in a friendly and warm atmosphere.

After consulting the barista from this cafe, but also someone from tourist office, we learned that to do the Golden Circle by ourselves, won’t take more than five or six hours, so we decided to spend a bit more time in Reykjavik and got in top of Hallgrimskirjka to enjoy the view over the city.

At around 11:30 we lest the city heading to Pingvellir’s National Park, from where we drove to Strokkur Geyser and Godafoss. All these attractions are great, especially the geyser and the waterfall. The geyser erupts very often and the eruptions are very exciting and powerful. Godafoss waterfall is also very attractive. We were lucky to get very nice weather and we even had the chance to see a rainbow over the waterfall (although not a big one) which made the sight even more exciting.

As a negative thing I can mention the roads, which on some segments were not very good, but having holes.

The drive took as we expected but, for instance at Pingvellir National Park is nice to have time and walk around the tectonic platforms, so I would recommend to allow more then five hours for driving the Golden Circle, with return to Reykjavik.

At around six in the evening we were at Silica Hotel ready to check in. This hotel is very expensive but I can say it worth every penny. It have  very cool surroundings, great rooms and its own blue lagoon, which is open from 09:00 to 00:00 for its guests.

In top of all these, the weather was great with a lot of sun, no rain and no wind.

We are no looking forward for tomorrow when we plan to drive to Vik and spend the night there.

If you have done this segment (Reykjavik – Vik) and have any tips for things to do, I would be more than happy to hear them, so I won’t miss to much from the amazing Iceland.