A new member of the "I Love Iceland" club! Trip Report
Oct 5th, 2004, 10:49 AM
#21
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HI Kay,
I'm glad you had a good time. It is a gorgeous place and I'm looking forward to going back someday--maybe in the winter for the Northern Lights.
Actually I confess I did buy some Skyr from the website you listed. It is shipped from Iceland, not the US. The Skyr itself cost me about $20 and the FedEx charge was $50! I did enjoy it though...
I hope you're going to post a trip report.
Patti
I'm glad you had a good time. It is a gorgeous place and I'm looking forward to going back someday--maybe in the winter for the Northern Lights.
Actually I confess I did buy some Skyr from the website you listed. It is shipped from Iceland, not the US. The Skyr itself cost me about $20 and the FedEx charge was $50! I did enjoy it though...
I hope you're going to post a trip report.
Patti
Oct 20th, 2004, 04:32 AM
#22
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You're gonna regret asking for my postings! This is the first of 3 e-mails I sent home. For this trip I was smart & copied to myself so I wouldn't forget what I wrote to my family!
Greetings from Akureryi. This place is SO awesome! Everything here is to the extreme. When the
wind blows, it bites. When it rains, it rains sideways. When the sun
shines, it is rich, rich, rich as if you could cut it like butter with a
knife. There are so many shades of green and they are all VIBRANT!
Marty had a true life adventure on our first day...a hike that involved
fording an icy glacial stream to get to the final destination (highest
falls in Iceland, Glymur). He crossed it, believe it or not I was too
scared to try. He mentioned that if that were the only cool thing he'd do
the whole trip it was worth it!
Our first hostel was at the Osar farmstead on the Hunafjord. We slept
early and long to make up for over 30 hours without sleep. We spent most
of the day down the hill in front of the hostel watching the seal colony.
Actually, they were as fascinated by us as we were by them. I sat in the
grass beside the black sand beach for a long time hoping to coax one out of
the sea, but they always turned back before getting that close.
Later that evening, I drove alone to the north point of the peninsula to
sit with another seal colony. This area was much more violent with wave
activity. It was a beautiful day...sun shining with views across the fjord
to the left and across the fjord to the right, Artic sea crashing in front
of me. I sat for over an hour there wondering if there is as beautiful a
place in the world that you can enjoy without crowds of people around you.
In fact, the whole time we were at Osar, never saw another person except
our host and his cows. (which wander into the front yard every evening to
be milked!)
Yesterday we arrived at Akureryi, traveling thru the Oxnadelsheidi valley
(VERY BEAUTIFUL!) It was rainy all day with low-laying clouds. We'd had
two clear days previously, so we knew what we were missing! The clouds
were so low that we couldn't see the top of the glacier moutains we were
passing between.
Our hostel in Akureryi was wonderful again. We had a tv in our room so
guess what Marty did all evening? We had the whole floor to ourselves with
two bathrooms and two kitchens. I tried to hike thru the town, but it was
raining hard enough to make it uncomfortable. So I did what the Icelanders do...I went swimming! What a treat to be in a very warm pool (31 celcius) with icy rain falling on my head. There were several hot pots of varying degrees, I sat in one that was 44 celcius (sp?), felt almost scalding at first. Anyone who likes hot tubs would LOVE Iceland. They say the locals don't go to coffee shops to socialize...they meet at the pools!
Morning-noon-night, winter-spring-summer-fall, swimming is the favorite
pastime.
This morning we are leaving Akureryi...heading to Lake Myvatn. Short drive, but much to see along the way. This is the area that looks like a lunar landscape and a volano that could erupt again any day. We may be in the news as part of an evacuation!
Tuesday we'll be hiking in the Jokulsar canyon. This is the place that Randy thinks I'll die because of a show he saw on PBS. I'm not worried
about dying...just hope we have a clear day!
Gotta run...Marty's sitting out in the car watching the activity in the
fjord. Big fishing boats, groups of excursions on their way to who knows
where? (something that would fascinate me - he's probably bored to death).
Greetings from Akureryi. This place is SO awesome! Everything here is to the extreme. When the
wind blows, it bites. When it rains, it rains sideways. When the sun
shines, it is rich, rich, rich as if you could cut it like butter with a
knife. There are so many shades of green and they are all VIBRANT!
Marty had a true life adventure on our first day...a hike that involved
fording an icy glacial stream to get to the final destination (highest
falls in Iceland, Glymur). He crossed it, believe it or not I was too
scared to try. He mentioned that if that were the only cool thing he'd do
the whole trip it was worth it!
Our first hostel was at the Osar farmstead on the Hunafjord. We slept
early and long to make up for over 30 hours without sleep. We spent most
of the day down the hill in front of the hostel watching the seal colony.
Actually, they were as fascinated by us as we were by them. I sat in the
grass beside the black sand beach for a long time hoping to coax one out of
the sea, but they always turned back before getting that close.
Later that evening, I drove alone to the north point of the peninsula to
sit with another seal colony. This area was much more violent with wave
activity. It was a beautiful day...sun shining with views across the fjord
to the left and across the fjord to the right, Artic sea crashing in front
of me. I sat for over an hour there wondering if there is as beautiful a
place in the world that you can enjoy without crowds of people around you.
In fact, the whole time we were at Osar, never saw another person except
our host and his cows. (which wander into the front yard every evening to
be milked!)
Yesterday we arrived at Akureryi, traveling thru the Oxnadelsheidi valley
(VERY BEAUTIFUL!) It was rainy all day with low-laying clouds. We'd had
two clear days previously, so we knew what we were missing! The clouds
were so low that we couldn't see the top of the glacier moutains we were
passing between.
Our hostel in Akureryi was wonderful again. We had a tv in our room so
guess what Marty did all evening? We had the whole floor to ourselves with
two bathrooms and two kitchens. I tried to hike thru the town, but it was
raining hard enough to make it uncomfortable. So I did what the Icelanders do...I went swimming! What a treat to be in a very warm pool (31 celcius) with icy rain falling on my head. There were several hot pots of varying degrees, I sat in one that was 44 celcius (sp?), felt almost scalding at first. Anyone who likes hot tubs would LOVE Iceland. They say the locals don't go to coffee shops to socialize...they meet at the pools!
Morning-noon-night, winter-spring-summer-fall, swimming is the favorite
pastime.
This morning we are leaving Akureryi...heading to Lake Myvatn. Short drive, but much to see along the way. This is the area that looks like a lunar landscape and a volano that could erupt again any day. We may be in the news as part of an evacuation!
Tuesday we'll be hiking in the Jokulsar canyon. This is the place that Randy thinks I'll die because of a show he saw on PBS. I'm not worried
about dying...just hope we have a clear day!
Gotta run...Marty's sitting out in the car watching the activity in the
fjord. Big fishing boats, groups of excursions on their way to who knows
where? (something that would fascinate me - he's probably bored to death).
Nov 23rd, 2004, 08:05 AM
#24
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Looking to stay at Room With A View in early June. Would excursion shuttles/buses pick me up there or would I have to taxi to meet tour groups. Would I be better off in one of the larger hotels? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Nov 23rd, 2004, 09:55 AM
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HI Rickm,
Room with a View was within walking distance of where the tour buses make pickups at the bottom of Laugavegur street. (Actually it was convenient to just about everything.) As I recall, we walked to the pick up point, but the bus driver dropped us off right where we asked him to (this was for the transport/admission deal to the Blue Lagoon.)
I liked Room with a View very much--it was clean and modern andyou'll be happy you have a kitchen once you see the restaurant prices!
Have fun!
Patti
Patti
Room with a View was within walking distance of where the tour buses make pickups at the bottom of Laugavegur street. (Actually it was convenient to just about everything.) As I recall, we walked to the pick up point, but the bus driver dropped us off right where we asked him to (this was for the transport/admission deal to the Blue Lagoon.)
I liked Room with a View very much--it was clean and modern andyou'll be happy you have a kitchen once you see the restaurant prices!
Have fun!
Patti
Patti
Nov 24th, 2004, 09:18 AM
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Patti -- You have inspired me to plan a trip to Iceland in '05. My fiance is fond of that type of atmosphere so I think he (and I) would LOVE it. If i may ask, how my was your room at A Room with a View? Also, where did you fly from -- East Coast?
Nov 24th, 2004, 09:40 AM
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Hi MichelleNYC,
I liked Room with a View very much. Our room was good sized. It was a studio but well laid-out. The kitchenette was along the entry hall when you came into the apartment, so separated a bit from the main living room/bedroom area. The "living room" was separated from the "bedroom" by a decorative screen. The living room area had a sofa, a couple small chairs, coffee table and a television. I realized at some point that the coffee table converted into a dining table. There was a large built-in wardrobe and a full bath. Our room also had a balcony that looked down onto the building terrace (with hot tub) and over the rooftops to Reykjavik harbor. They've got a nice website with lots of pictures: www.roomwithaview.is. We styed in room 513.
Iceland was fabulous and I can't wait to go back there someday. You'll have a great time!
Patti
I liked Room with a View very much. Our room was good sized. It was a studio but well laid-out. The kitchenette was along the entry hall when you came into the apartment, so separated a bit from the main living room/bedroom area. The "living room" was separated from the "bedroom" by a decorative screen. The living room area had a sofa, a couple small chairs, coffee table and a television. I realized at some point that the coffee table converted into a dining table. There was a large built-in wardrobe and a full bath. Our room also had a balcony that looked down onto the building terrace (with hot tub) and over the rooftops to Reykjavik harbor. They've got a nice website with lots of pictures: www.roomwithaview.is. We styed in room 513.
Iceland was fabulous and I can't wait to go back there someday. You'll have a great time!
Patti
Nov 24th, 2004, 10:04 AM
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WOW! FANTASTIC! Just visited their website and the apartments look GREAT! Prices are also very reasonable. I will certainly be looking into this more carefully and closely over the next couple of months. Do you feel that June (end of) would be too early in the season to visit?
Nov 24th, 2004, 10:22 AM
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Michelle
I would have said the end of June would be an excellent time of year to visit. At that time of year it will be light practically all day and night and the weather will be good then as well (relative to the rest of the year in Iceland).
The end of June will certainly not be too early in the year to go. I went there at the beginning of May and it stayed light until late at night even then. The weather was good with some sunny, clear days and a couple of overcast days.
Enjoy Iceland - it's an incredible place to visit.
I would have said the end of June would be an excellent time of year to visit. At that time of year it will be light practically all day and night and the weather will be good then as well (relative to the rest of the year in Iceland).
The end of June will certainly not be too early in the year to go. I went there at the beginning of May and it stayed light until late at night even then. The weather was good with some sunny, clear days and a couple of overcast days.
Enjoy Iceland - it's an incredible place to visit.
Nov 24th, 2004, 10:35 AM
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Hi Michelle,
End of June is just after the solstice so you'll have non-stop daylight. You'll be amazed how much you can squeeze into a day when it never gets dark!
We paid $145 per night.
Patti
End of June is just after the solstice so you'll have non-stop daylight. You'll be amazed how much you can squeeze into a day when it never gets dark!
We paid $145 per night.
Patti
Dec 7th, 2004, 01:02 PM
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Patti and Kay
I enjoyed the trip reports. I was in Iceland this past March and April. An amazing place. Since it snowed virtually everyday I was there (an incredible winter wonderland) I want to go back in the summer. I also enjoyed flying Iceland Air. I had wanted to go to Iceland for a long time and I defintely was not disappointed.
I enjoyed the trip reports. I was in Iceland this past March and April. An amazing place. Since it snowed virtually everyday I was there (an incredible winter wonderland) I want to go back in the summer. I also enjoyed flying Iceland Air. I had wanted to go to Iceland for a long time and I defintely was not disappointed.
Dec 15th, 2004, 01:29 PM
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Hope it's not too late to post to this thread. What is the Golden Circle? Is it a road around the entire circumference of the country? How long does it take to drive it? Many say reservations are needed for stops around the country. Can this be done upon arrival in Iceland, or must the reservations be made before leaving home?
Dec 16th, 2004, 04:19 AM
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HI PaulH,
The "Golden Circle" is a term probably invented by the Iceland tourism board. What it refers to is the area around greater Reykjavik with a high concentration of tourist sights--Gullfoss (Golden Falls), Thingvellir, Geysir. There is a road that goes the circumference of the island, I think called the Ring Road. Because we stayed in Reykjavik and made day trips, and didn't venture too far east, I can't answer your questions about reservations.
Iceland is an amazing place. You'll love it!
Have fun!
Patti
The "Golden Circle" is a term probably invented by the Iceland tourism board. What it refers to is the area around greater Reykjavik with a high concentration of tourist sights--Gullfoss (Golden Falls), Thingvellir, Geysir. There is a road that goes the circumference of the island, I think called the Ring Road. Because we stayed in Reykjavik and made day trips, and didn't venture too far east, I can't answer your questions about reservations.
Iceland is an amazing place. You'll love it!
Have fun!
Patti
Dec 30th, 2004, 04:39 AM
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PaulH,
I travelled the ring road in 12 days. It was an incredible journey...I can't wait to go back! My favorite parts of Iceland were the North (Akureryi area) and the East fjords. If at all possible, take more time for this trip (2 weeks+, a month would be heaven!). It was wonderful, but it broke my heart in some places to have to move on to keep our schedule. I LOVE talking about my trip...feel free to contact me at my email if you'd like... [email protected]
kay6213132
I travelled the ring road in 12 days. It was an incredible journey...I can't wait to go back! My favorite parts of Iceland were the North (Akureryi area) and the East fjords. If at all possible, take more time for this trip (2 weeks+, a month would be heaven!). It was wonderful, but it broke my heart in some places to have to move on to keep our schedule. I LOVE talking about my trip...feel free to contact me at my email if you'd like... [email protected]
kay6213132
Dec 31st, 2004, 03:06 PM
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Kay - I am planning a trip to Iceland over July 4th (8 days there) 2005. I was debating going to Akureryi, staying for 5 days, then flying to Reykjavik for 3 days, on the one hand, or travelling the Ring Road for all 8 days on the other. Any thoughts? How hard is the Ring Road driving? Did you take any "super-jeep" tours? What were your highlights.
