It’s Thursday, it must be Seyðisfjörður. A 10 day Iceland road trip
 

Iceland has been in on our radar for a while. We’d hoped to explore it before it became so popular (and so bloody expensive), but as usual, we’re a day late and a króna short.

We prefer to travel off/shoulder season, but off season in Iceland can be challenging (outside of the cities) so back in February we decided we’d better get cracking if we hoped to see Iceland during the shoulder season this year. We figured May would be a good bet, close enough to summer to have decent weather, but early enough to avoid the tourist crush.

We kept hearing about the low airfare deals on Iceland Air, but after much research we discovered that these only seem to apply to 3-7 day Iceland stop-overs. After seven days, the fares increase substantially. We wanted to stay longer than seven days, and we also wanted to incorporate another visit to Switzerland, so we booked three one-way tickets, which was less expensive than booking all flights on one ticket.

We also discovered that Iceland Air gets its fair share of bad reviews, which made us hem and haw quite a bit...but...they offer direct flights to Reykjavik from our closest international airport – Denver - so we decided to find out for ourselves. The cost of our three one-way tickets came to $1,203 each, similar to the cost of a DEN-ZRH flight on UA.

Our routing:

DEN – KEF

KEF-ZRH

ZRH-KEF-DEN

The next step was to come up with an itinerary. This was to be a bit of recon visit, an exploratory jaunt to see if we’d like to return again one day. However, we wanted a taste of the entire island. So we opted to loosely follow a Ring Road itinerary that I found online, tweaking it here and there based on our personal preferences.

As the name suggests, Iceland’s Ring Road loops around the entire country, although it doesn’t cover all the edges, nooks, and crannies. It’s an 800 mile journey on Route 1, most of which is paved.
We mapped out several route options, knowing that the viability of each would be determined upon arrival, and subject to current road conditions and rental car restrictions.

Beyond that, our research was limited to reading articles and trip reports, but honestly, all those indecipherable Icelandic words, were rather confusing, so ‘the plan’ became the ‘no plan’. We would see whatever we came across.

And here I will offer apologies in advance for the inevitable misspellings. These Icelandic words give me a serious head cramp.

Anyone who has read my contributions on the NZ forum over the years knows that I immensely dislike one night stays. So, it might come as a shock that we chose the following fast-paced, almost exclusively one night stay itinerary.

Reykjavik – one night

Reykjavik to Sauðárkrókur one night

Sauðárkrókur to Akureyri – one night

Akureyri to - Húsavík - two nights, base for exploring Mývatn & Krafla

Húsavík to Seyðisfjörður – one night

Seyðisfjörður to Höfn – one night

Höfn to Vik – one night

Vik to Reykjavik – two nights

Fly to Zurich

When I posted my proposed itinerary on Trip Advisor, I was told to book accommodation immediately, as Iceland is very busy these days, even outside the summer season. So I feverishly made reservations on Booking.com for the first reasonably priced (a relative term where Iceland is concerned), logistically sensible accommodation I ran across, most of which were guesthouses with shared bathrooms, all with cancellation dates months out.

Once the initial bookings were made, I continued researching and made a few changes here and there, selecting accommodation with private bathroom facilities and included breakfast when available. With the exception of Vik, I had no trouble finding accommodation.

Departure –

We live about 100 miles from DIA, so we picked up a local one way rental car the night before. We left home 5.5 hours before our flight, leaving plenty of time for the inevitable traffic, smash-ups and bad driving we were sure to encounter. We stopped for lunch, returned the car, took the shuttle to the airport and were at the Iceland Air check in counter more than two hours before our flight..where everything came to a screeching halt.

Iceland Air does not offer online or kiosk check-in at DIA. They have check-in kiosks, but evidently they’re not up and running yet – we tried - all they did was print a faux boarding pass – we still had to stand in line to check-in our bags (45 minutes!), and once there, the agent asked for our passports and went through the whole check-in rigmarole again, so the kiosks were basically useless.
By the time we cleared security and got to our gates, I was rather stressed – we’d hoped to have a glass of wine and chill a bit before boarding, but all that wiggle room was shot thanks to the slow check-in process. Iceland Air failed to impress so far.

Upon boarding we were given a bottle of Icelandic water. Although we were in row 12, the overhead bins were pretty much full as they boarded from the back. We travel light, so we found room for our small day packs…just.

The flight was completely full, the seats typically squishy, but the legroom wasn’t bad. There was no meal service (they sell some food items), so we’d taken our own dinner. The flight attendants offered water throughout the flight, the entertainment system was sufficient (Bjork anyone?). Seven hours and a six hour time difference later, we arrived at KEF (6:35 am).

To be continued...

Arrival:

We picked up some wine in duty free (this in addition to the wine we’d packed in our suitcases, having read that Iceland is expensive, and having checked the duty free allowance in advance (generous).

Note to those who enjoy a tipple – alcohol in Iceland is expensive; it’s only (legally) sold in state owned liquor stores (Vinbudin) and of course bars and restaurants. In other words duty free is the best you’re going to do price-wise. Most Reykjavik bars do offer Happy Hours, some as long as four hours, where house beer and wine is 50% off, but in our experience, Akureyri was the only other city that did.

Knowing we’d be in the sticks and on the road quite a bit, and having read conflicting reports about the quality of food in Iceland, we’d also done something we’ve never done before while traveling…we brought snacks from home, in the form of beef jerky, nuts, dried fruit, cereal bars, crackers and chocolate (and yes it really came in handy). We also brought our own pillows, but only because we had extra space and we’re just weird that way.

We were met at the airport by a representative from Lagoon Car Rental, who drove us to their nearby office to collect our manual Renault Clio (considerably less expensive than an automatic), which was advertised as seating five people and holding two large suitcases. HA! The only passengers that would fit into the back of this car would be those without legs. One of our suitcases and our backpacks went in the trunk, the other suitcase claimed the back seat. The price for ten days was 363 Euro, with a 54 Euro deposit (roughly USD $406). Here we also picked up a free Big Map, which would be our best friend over the next 10 days.

I’d originally booked with both Budget and Avis, but after reading some scathing reviews for both, I switched gears and booked with the highly regarded Lagoon at the last minute, which also happened to be less expensive.

Sorted, we were on our way to Reykjavik, which is about a 45 minute drive from the KEF airport (longer if you’ve not slept, it’s been nine years since you last drove a manual and you make a series of wrong turns).

About that sleep deprivation:

We’re not keen on hopping into an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar country after a sleepless overnight flight, but that’s what we did. I’d looked into alternatives, but evidently dayrooms have not yet caught on in Iceland.

Our options were to 1) book accommodation for the night prior to our arrival, 2) drive into Reykjavik and roam the streets until we could check into that night’s accommodation at 3-4 pm, or 3) take a chance that we’d be able to check-in very, very early.

Which is how I came to switch our booking to City Park Hotel – I’d read that they were very responsive to early check-in requests. So I advised them of our early arrival and requested an early check in if at all possible. They were happy to help, if they could. Lucky us, our room was available and good to go when we checked in at 9:30 am!

http://cityparkhotel.is/

When I booked this hotel back in March, Booking.com had quoted $177.00 however, the actual charge for our stay was $188.12. In every instance, we were charged more than the rate we’d been quoted, sometimes significantly. While I understand currency fluctuations as well as any traveler, I found this incredibly aggravating, and in our case, inconsistent. Why not just quote in ISK instead of USD in the first place?

The hotel was perfect for our needs – our room was narrow and small with two twin beds, but it was clean, fresh, well-equipped and quiet. The water in the hotel smelled and tasted like sulfur, but not as badly as was yet to come.

We crawled into bed immediately, and had ourselves a nice 4.5 hour nap, after which we set out to explore downtown Reykjavik, a 20 minute walk from the hotel.

As part of my research I’d compiled a short list of recommended eating establishments for each town we’d be visiting. Enter Sandholt for some nice flat whites, French chocolate cake with hazelnuts and pain au chocolat, and our first taste of Icelandic food prices (2.475, about $25).

It was cold and windy, but the skies were a deep blue - perfect weather for checking out the views from the tower of Hallgrímskirkja, the largest church in Iceland and one of Iceland’s tallest structures. Fabulous views, 900 ISK per adult (about $9).

http://www.hallgrimskirkja.is/

We poked through a Bonus supermarket, spent a few hours aimlessly wandering, took advantage of the long Happy Hour (4-8 pm) at Hlemmur Square’s Pulsa Bar (two rounds of local beer and Italian red wine, 3.100 ISK- about $31) and shared a very spicy pizza at Devito’s (2.250, about $22), then returned to our hotel around 8:30 pm, although it felt more like 3 pm, which would be a recurring theme over the next 10 days. Icelandic summer days are endless. It was still full light when we crawled back into bed at 10 pm. Prior to the trip, we’d bought some nice eyeshades, best $10 purchase ever.

We rather enjoyed our jet-lagged poke around Iceland’s biggest city.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57684919893846

To be continued...

Day 2 –

We woke to another sunny day and the smell of bacon. The breakfast included with our hotel stay was excellent, and although we didn’t know it at the time, the best of the trip - bacon, eggs, Skyr (Icelandic yogurt), cereals, bread, cheese, ham, vegetables and fruit. It really hit the spot.

Today’s plan was to drive to Sauðárkrókur, a drive we’d estimated would take just under four hours, but our car had a warning light, so we wandered around trying to find a petrol station to check the tire pressure, then spent 90 minutes trying to find the Lagoon office in Reykjavik to report the problem. Once found, the young woman manning the desk just made a note in her computer and sent us on our way. We checked the tire pressure every time we gassed up from that day on.

By 11 am, we were on the Ring Road (#1) and on our way, surprised to see so many KFCs, Subways, a Ruby Tuesday and even a Costco.

We went through the six kilometer Hvalfjörður tunnel, paying the 1.000 ISK toll when we came out (about $10), then followed the straight flat road to the town of Borgarnes, speed cameras seemingly everywhere. Were it not for the sea, we could have been in South Dakota.

After a quick stop in windy Borgarnes to admire the red roofed buildings, we forged north, the landscape seeming to change every few kilometers - barren lava fields, then lush green pastures dotted with lambs (two per ewe, I had no idea twin lambs were so common), then back to brown and thirsty with not so much as a tree to duck behind.

Then suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, an N1 petrol station appeared, busy with bus traffic, and as promised, it had the requisite restaurant, as well as a shop and a food counter. We took a wee break and joined the queue for our first (and only) Icelandic hot dog. Not a fan of meat in general and lamb in particular, I was skeptical. I took a small bite. I didn’t die. It tasted like a hot dog. Bill demolished the rest (390 ISK, about $4).

We resumed our drive, the blustery wind blowing our little Clio all over the road. We detoured at 72/711 (gravel) and circled the Vatnsnes Peninsula, which turned out to be a rather long diversion. It was a pretty drive for the most part, light blue skies, distant snow capped mountains, Icelandic horses frolicking in vibrant green pasture falling towards the dark blue sea.

We hoped to find the Hindisvik seal colony, but instead found a gate with a note stating it was closed for bird breeding. We’re still not sure if we were in the right place.

Hvítserkur beckoned, we walked down to the viewing area accompanied by a ferocious cold wind to see the ‘bizarre rock formation’. We thought we were in for a real treat when we saw several photographers lined up with their tripods, but we found it rather underwhelming. The conversation went something like this, ‘Oh, a rock’. I’ve since read that Hvítserkur is a 15 meter high basalt stack with two holes at the base, giving it the appearance of a dragon who is drinking. Huh.

We eventually cut back on 74/744, the landscape suddenly dry and brown. We cruised through Sauðárkrókur - which seemed much smaller than its population of 2,635 - and followed our convoluted Google directions to our home for the night, Hofsstadir Farmhouse. Or so we thought. We actually found ourselves at Hofsstadir Guesthouse, owned by the daughter of the proprietors of Hofsstadir Farmhouse. I suspect this happens a lot. So, we drove down the road to mom and pop’s and got settled into our room.

http://www.hofsstadir.is/index.php/en/

Nice place this. Quiet countryside, expansive views, and wafting horse smells, in a good way. Our room was in a wing of the owner’s home, complete with private bathroom facilities (this is indeed a treat in country Iceland). It seemed huge after our room in Reykjavik. It was spotless, comfortable, completely private and the best part – incredibly quiet ($190).

We’d been in the car for seven hours....and we were done.

We broke out a bottle of duty free wine, settled into some chairs on the porch and gazed at our lovely surroundings. We were joined by Miley the cat, who wasted no time curling onto my lap.

We eventually moseyed back over to the guesthouse for dinner, which also houses the only restaurant for miles. I’d read good things about it, and we weren’t disappointed. This is a small family run operation and so the menu is understandably very limited. Today’s offerings consisted of Arctic char, lamb and soup. Bill went for the Arctic char with birch syrup, accompanied with a few small potatoes and salad (4.400 ISK, about $44). The non-fish, non-lamb eater went for the broccoli and birch leaf soup (2.000 ISK, about $20). Yes birch leaves. The owner told us they obtain their birch from the biggest birch tree grower in Iceland, which we found rather amusing, as we’d not yet seen many trees. Dinner with one Viking beer – 7.400 – about $74. We decided to pass on the $20 dessert, returning to our porch for more duty free wine, where we watched the sun refuse to go down.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...h/34449021684/

To be continued...

This is great! Planning our trip right now so Thank You!

Mel, joining you on this fabulous adventure. Love your writing style. Thanks.

Thank you both. I'm long-winded, but that's just how I was made.

"the landscape seeming to change every few kilometers - barren lava fields, then lush green pastures dotted with lambs then back to brown and thirsty with not so much as a tree to duck behind."

That is what we will always remember about Iceland. The contrasting colours - brown, green, black, white, all with the blue ocean not very far away.

I'm loving your trip report. More please :)

I'm heading to Iceland later this summer, so your notes on costs and wine are very helpful. Would love your thoughts on where you would go outside the city if you only had half a day to do a day trip. Cheers!

Enjoying your photos and experiences.
Especially looking forward to your Switzerland report :)

Bostonblondie -

Most would suggest the Golden Circle.

We felt it was over-hyped and underwhelming, but...if it's your only chance to see some of Iceland outside of the city, it might be ideal for you. It would give you the chance to see some landscape, a geysir, Gullfoss waterfall and possibly have lunch in a geothermal greenhouse.

It it were me and I only had half a day, however, I'd spend all of it in Reykjavik. And I don't even like cities:)

The distances are just too vast to to anything else in so little time IMO.

Adelaidean -

If this trip report is any indication, it might be awhile before the Switzerland report is finished. I'm simultaneously planning a December trip back to Germany and Switzerland, so the Swiss report has been nudged aside. I shall do my best though!

Day 3 –

Our stay at the farmhouse included breakfast at the guesthouse – it did the trick, but it was certainly nothing to get excited about.

We left under partly cloudy skies, a chill in the air. After consulting with the owner of the farmhouse regarding the closest place to gas up the Clio, we set out on 76, making the five km detour to Varmahlíð, dodging goats and seeing our first Icelandic cows.

Our little rental didn’t have automatic headlights, and we kept forgetting to turn them on - which is illegal in Iceland - a reminder posted on the dash would have been an incredible help.

A note about petrol stations:

Gas was about ~$2 USD per liter, ~$8 USD per gallon. Most of the stations we used (N1) were unmanned, so the only way to pay was to use a credit card with PIN, an ATM card, or a pre-paid gas card.

We chose the latter, because using our credit card would have resulted in a cash withdrawal charge AND interest would be charged from the moment of the purchase AND we had to know in advance how much we were going to spend filling up the car, as the only options given were set amounts – 10,000 ISK, 20,000 ISK, etc.

The same set amounts applied to ATM cards. We never did figure out what would happen if say, we choose 50,000 ISK and only needed 42,000 ISK to fill the tank. So, we purchased prepaid gas cards as we went, buying smaller amounts later in the trip, so we’d not be left with an unused balance.

We wandered alongside green pastures, surrounded by distant flat-topped, snow-capped mountains. Churches dotted the landscape, but few houses.

Then it was back to the Ring Road. The drive was ever changing, sections reminding me of Lindis Pass in New Zealand, dry, brown and barren with spiky ridged mountains adding relief.

We stopped at Jónasarlundur, a pretty picnic spot alongside a river and the first long drop we’d seen, but unfortunately it was locked.

We’d estimated today’s drive to Akureyri (pronounced ah-koo-rare-ee) at a short 120 km, and we'd hoped to incorporate the two hour return walk to Hraunsvatan mentioned in the itinerary we were loosely following, but alas, my lack of detailed research caught up with us – we couldn’t find it. And so goes the no-plan.

I’ve since found some details that might help others:

http://icelandreview.com/stuff/multi...-mountain-lake

As we approached Akureyri, Iceland’s northern capital and second largest urban area with a population of about 18,000, we turned towards Dalvík, beautiful snow-capped mountains directly in front of us. This section of the drive was gorgeous, and dare I say it, very New Zealandy, complete with a long white cloud hugging the base of the mountains and foals napping in the fields. The only things missing were possum road kill and wineries.

The seaside town of Dalvik sent me into a photo snapping frenzy, the boats rocking in the blue water against a backdrop of snow covered mountains – beautiful.

We popped into the Vinbudin (state run liquor store) just because it was there and so were we, gasping a bit as we took in the prices.

Public toilets in Iceland are thin on the ground; I had to tuck into a whale watching tour office to use the loo. It wasn’t the first, or the last time I’d wish for a pay toilet in remote and sparsely treed Iceland.

https://www.icelandtravel.is/about-i...-guide/dalvik/

We continued along skinny and winding 82 towards Ólafsfjörður, reminding us once again of NZ, this time Milford Road, with its waterfalls and one lane tunnel, this one feeling much longer than its 3.5 km, and wee bit unsettling.

Ólafsfjörður is yet another lovely fishing village, which led us through yet another tunnel (7 km), and another, (4 km), where we encountered a very large truck spraying water on the ceilings headed directly towards us.

Soon we were in Siglufjörður, on the northern coast of Iceland, and, we’d learn later, the filming location for the series Trapped, which we watched in its entirety on our return flights to the US.

This pretty little village is home to a few turf-roofed houses (complete with dandelions), brightly painted buildings, and weirdly, a hostel flying a giant American flag.

It occurred to us that had we not been following the itinerary that promised the two hour walk we never found, we probably could have driven north from the farmhouse and looped down to Siglufjörður, Ólafsfjörður, Dalvik and Akureyri without backtracking, Oh well.

We detoured to the nearby ski area, the highest point of which is a whopping 650 meters (we’re from 14er packed Colorado, we’re hard to impress).

Then we retraced our steps, a few cars in the one way tunnels playing chicken, not yielding to those of us with the right of way. Soon we were back on the Ring Road, and some 5.5 hours after leaving Hofsstadir Farmhouse, we were looking for our accommodation in Akureyri, the red street lights of which are shaped like hearts.

We’d booked an apartment with sea views, within walking distance to town. What we got was a spacious apartment overlooking a construction site in the process of obliterating that sea view... and the sound of moving rock from 8 am until well after 9 pm.

http://www.visitakureyri.is/en/accom...r-guesthouse-1

Our apartment, room 7, had some very good points, but was disappointing none-the-less ($166). Pros – space, space, space, generally well equipped, large bathroom, comfortable bed, huge TV for those inclined. Cons – noise, noise, noise – construction, traffic, bad acoustics - we could hear the conversation of our neighbors as if they were in the room with us.

There’s not much to Akureyri, but we walked through town, walked up to the church, had drinks at Hotel Kea (Happy Hour! 1.300 for one drink each, about $13). Bill was chuffed to learn the town had an Indian restaurant, and then bitterly disappointed when we rocked up for dinner to find it seemingly abandoned.

So, we walked up to Kaffi Ilmur on a hill overlooking town and had paninis instead – tasty, basic nourishment (2.300, about $23).

It had been a pretty drive day, but Akureyri wasn’t rocking our world.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57682252722332

To be continued...

Great pictures, I am enjoying following along. Thanks for your response above, to clarify my question, I have 3 full days in Iceland, but am looking for manageable, not too difficult day trips. I think I'll probably do 2 days in Reykjavik and then one day or half day out. Maybe we'll just stick to the trusty Blue Lagoon...

Interesting landscape

(... where are you going in December?)

...I meant to ask, where in Switzerland are you going in December?

Adelaidean -

That's up for discussion. In June we spent five nights in Ilanz and five nights in Kandersteg. Loved the area around Ilanz and want to return.

We're seriously considering renting a car this time (first time ever in Switzerland) and driving to/from Munich and into Austria and beyond.

Contenders for Switzerland at this moment are Ilanz, Locarno, and Sils Maria, but we change our minds every five minutes.

We're also considering a few nights in Kitzbuhel, Austria, but nothing engraved in stone yet.

Bostonblondie -

In that case, you might want to get yourself on a tour that incorporates Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon (if possible, it's a bit of a trek).

It was probably the highlight of our 10 days in Iceland, all the more so because we were there on a spectacular sunny day.

Can't speak to the Blue Lagoon experience, we didn't visit, not our thing.

Clever title!

Thanks Peg. I had to check the spelling about four times:)

Day 4 –

With a short drive day ahead, we walked into town for breakfast at Kaffi Ilmur – eggs, toast, meat and cheese for Bill (1.470 ISK, about $15), a Belgian waffle with jam and whipped cream (890 ISK, about $9) and a huge latte (580 ISK, about $6) for me. It was good, and decent value by Icelandic standards.

We spent the morning walking through town, meandering up and down residential streets, taking in the colorful houses and the healthiest dandelions I’ve ever seen. We eventually wandered down to the waterfront where we poked around and watched the whale watching boats depart.

Akureyri seemed a nice enough town with a heck of a lot of construction...and excellent tap water.

Back on the Ring Road, we left Akureyri behind, passing field after field of blooming lupines and one red roofed church after another. Before long we were working our way along the opposite side of the Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in Iceland, surrounded by rolling pastures, grazing sheep and snow covered mountains.

We made the 22 km detour on 83 to Grenivik...just because. As we stopped to take in the views, I wondered, for the gazillionth time, what bird we kept hearing. Well, I’ve just this minute figured it out – it was the common snipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImGcEaQ7As4

We backtracked to the Ring Road and forged on, amused by frolicking horses and lambs, and eventually found our way to our first real Icelandic waterfall – Goðafoss - “waterfall of the gods”, known as one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland.

http://www.edgeofthearctic.is/places...oss-waterfall/

It was certainly impressive, I’ll give you that. All the more so because it just appeared in the midst of a lot of nothingness. As a bonus, the nearby shop offered a pay toilet; lucky me, because as usual, I needed one.

We then backtracked 4 km to the Ring Road and worked our way to Húsavík, wondering what was growing in the fields, and cracking up every time we saw a horse rubbing its head and/or butt on whatever it could find.

Some three hours after leaving Akureyri, we were cooling our heels on the pretty wharf in Húsavík, our nostrils assaulted by the overpowering odor of fish gone bad, sipping full price drinks (no Happy Hour here) while waiting for a respectable time to check into our accommodation.

On our drive through town, we’d unsuccessfully looked for the Phallological Museum, which my (evidently very dated) borrowed itinerary indicated was in Húsavík. Suddenly, that advert for the Penis Museum we saw while wandering the streets of Reykjavik came into focus. As it turns out, the museum had moved back to Reykjavik...in 2012. Oops.

The itinerary had also suggested two nights at Lake Mývatn as a base for exploring it, Krafla and Húsavík. But we tweaked, and chose Húsavík instead, a decision that we’re glad we made, although it didn’t knock our socks off (and it smelled pretty bad).

Which brings me to apartment #2, Skjálfandi, where we occupied Floi, a king studio situated above an old pharmacy, next to the owner’s apartment, walking distance to the waterfront (as are most places in Húsavík).

Ours was the smaller of two units for rent as holiday accommodation (steep at $407 for two nights) and was accessed via an exterior narrow spiral staircase that proved a challenge where our old knees and luggage was concerned.

It was compact, clean, comfortable and well equipped. The patio was large and had a fill-as-you-go hot tub, which we didn’t use. The views were of neighboring buildings. Fortunately, our room had room darkening shades, which encouraged sleep in this land of the midnight sun.

The shower was wonderful, but a bit of a waste, because the water smelled (and tasted) so overpoweringly of sulfur that we took very quick showers (and purchased bottled water). The immediate neighborhood was a bit noisy, but we slept fine once it quieted down around 10 pm.

When we asked about a fridge, our lovely host went next door and brought us a cooling unit that she had just purchased for the unit, but not yet installed. Our white wine would now be cool!

https://www.booking.com/hotel/is/skjalfandi.html

Dinner that evening was at Salka on the waterfront. Bill said his baked cod was excellent (3.100, about $31). Too bad I don’t eat seafood because my margarita pizza was pretty darn bad (1.500, about $15).

We just chilled in our room that night, content to relax and listen to the rain.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57682711131693

To be continued...

Stunning photos, Mel.

Why thank you Adelaidean. And here I was cursing the bad light:)

Thanks for your suggestion -- very helpful!

Continuing to enjoy your report. And the photos are great! :)

Day 5 –

We woke to more rain and gloom and news from the owner that we’d missed quite a sight the evening before – whales right in the harbor. Arrgh...

After lattes, ham and cheese rolls at Heimabakari (2.300, about $23) we popped into the Netto grocery store so that I could pick up some of my favorite Icelandic protein and report back to annhig that yes, grocery stores in the sticks of Iceland do sell produce, and while not beautiful, it looked okay, if rather limited.

We backtracked on 85 and joined 87 to Reykjahlíð to explore ‘the geological marvels’ of Mývatn and Krafla. We saw a sign for Hveravellir, so we drove in to investigate, but only found a geothermal greenhouse that didn’t appear to be open to the public.

I’ve since seen references to Hveravellir, Nature Reserve but I can’t reconcile what we saw with what appears online. Perhaps there’s another entrance?

The road turned to rather rough gravel; soon we were crossing an incredibly ugly, stark, completely flat stretch of brown nothingness that seemed to go on forever.

Things improved ever so slightly as we drove through Reykjahlíð and approached the volcanic Lake Mývatn, enveloped in a dark gloom and ringed by distant mountains. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was our moods, but neither of us understood the attraction of this area.

We briefly considered walking the rim of one of the craters, but the tracks were completely exposed, it was cold, wet and windy, and honestly, we just couldn’t garner the interest – what can I say, volcanologists we’re not.

We continued towards Krafla, stopping at the Mývatn Nature Baths en route. The powerful smell of sulfur just about knocked us over – the water temps of the nature baths range from 36-40 Celsius, admission is steep (4.300 ISK, about $43 per person during summer, 3.800, about $38 from Jan-May). Note: The Blue Lagoon and the Nature Baths weren’t of particular interest to us. We live in a state with hot springs...and they don’t smell.

The smell of sulfur became overwhelming as we approached the Krafla geothermal station. Bill would have loved to visit, but it wasn’t yet open for the season (the visitor center is open every day from 10-5 from June 1 to Sept 17).

Next up was Viti, the Crater Lake; it’s probably lovely on a sunny day; today not-so-much, the blue muted, the sky grey. Hverir, the nearby geothermal area, was mildly interesting, but selfie-central and a muddy mess. For anyone who has been to Yellowstone, it’s all rather underwhelming, or at least it was to us.

We backtracked and circled Lake Mývatn, hoping for better views, but not finding them. East of the lake we explored Dimmuborgir, a large area of bizarre lava fields and rock formations. Now this was interesting...we love to hike, but somehow it loses its appeal in a cold rain, so our walk was short.

We then sought out the Vogafjos Cowshed Café, where we lunched while gazing at the views of the farm, amazed at the sheer number of black flies clinging to the inside of the restaurant windows and swarming outside. We felt like we were back in Australia, but fortunately these flies (midges?) didn’t try to climb into every orifice.

Bill tried the Artic char on Geysir bread appetizer, which smelled suspiciously like single malt scotch (99O ISK, about $10). I went for the Vogel Sandwich with fresh mozzarella, leek sauce and vegetables on homemade bread – it was good, but drippy – more like leak sauce:) - 19 ISK, about $19.

http://www.vogafjos.is/en/restaurant

We backtracked across the vast otherworldly nothingness, detoured to a hydroelectric dam on 854 (it was seriously green back here), made another detour to Grenjaðarstaður, the site of a church, and ‘one of the most famous turf farms in Iceland’. Huh.

We continued, turning onto to 852 - we have a habit of following roads to their very end, for no other reason than we’re curious. Here we found a sign that read Sandur – I’m not sure if that’s the name of the area or a reference to an outwash plain, which are common in Iceland. There was nothing else back here except for a hostel.

Then it was back to Húsavík to breathe more of that fish scented air – I’ll admit that I have a certain intolerance for the smell of fish, especially the rotten kind, but even Bill seemed put off by it.

It’d been a cold, gloomy, underwhelming day.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57685539620895

To be continued...

Day 6 –

Bill was hankering for a hot breakfast on this cold gloomy morning, but we couldn’t find a place that offered one, so it was back to Heimabakari for another round of ham rolls and lattes (2.360, about $24) and a nip into Netto for a cup of Baked Apple Skyr (152 ISK, about $1.50) to round out the protein.

We gassed up with the remainder of our 100,000 ISK (about $100) pre-paid gas card, and left Húsavík via 85, heading north through rolling countryside with red and green roofed farmhouses, fringed by the light blue sea. Soon the landscape changed; we were now driving alongside brooding cliffs, surrounded by rocks, rocks and more rocks.

A pretty drive this, even in the gloom. We crossed over at 861, a sign announcing that we’d arrived at Vatnajokulspjodgardur National Park, which I’d love to know how to pronounce. We popped into the rather nice Visitor’s Center, where Bill had the presence of mind to enquire about the route ahead, 862 and 864, which we’d planned to take around the tip of the peninsula and back down, incorporating Dettifoss into today’s drive to Seyðisfjörður. Ummm...no. We were told both roads were closed until June 1, due to water on the road. Oops, best laid plans and all that.

http://www.vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is...an-your-visit/

So, we followed the road into the park and to its end, admired the fabulous canyon and wished we had time to explore some of the many hiking trails.

The mountains we faced as we retreated to Húsavík were spectacular; snow-covered with a long white cloud at their base and the pale blue sea in the foreground – a beautiful scene I found impossible to adequately capture with my camera. And the bird life, incredible.

This little detour added about two hours to an already long drive day, but we thoroughly enjoyed it - both times.

Back in Húsavík, we re-gassed the Clio at N1 and retraced our steps of the previous day. As we rumbled across the 16 km of ugly barren moonscape for the third time in two days, I had to wonder if this is what the rental car companies had in mind when they offered to sell us ‘gravel damage coverage’.

Lake Mývatn was considerably more inviting today in the sunshine; and because my photographer bits go all atwitter with good light, we detoured to Krafla again for another shot of Crater Lake...what a difference a day makes.

Our borrowed itinerary (which we now knew was rather stale) indicated that we should take 864 from the Ring Road to Dettifoss, but when we stopped to consult the roadside information board, 864 had a big black X through it, so we took 862 instead (and it was paved, woo-hoo!).

The 24 km trek to Dettifoss reminded us of the Australian Outback - albeit the black dirt and rock version - a vast stretch of desolate, barren, flat nothingness.

Although we’d seen few people on the drive in, the unpaved, water filled pot-holed parking lot was almost full. Happy to see facilities, I made a beeline to the row of ten porta-loos. Big mistake. They were the most foul, disgusting, gag-inducing toilets I’d ever encountered. Virtually every single one was overflowing. The stench was overwhelming. I watched person after person approach, open one door and move to the next, trying to choose the best of the worst; eventually giving up. It was truly shameful, a prime example of Iceland’s inability to keep up with its tourism boom. Here was a large captive audience - without decent facilities to do its business.

We walked the path to Dettifoss, reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe, futilely swatting the annoying midges. It was rather spectacular, all the more so with the rainbow dancing above.

https://www.northiceland.is/en/place...foss-waterfall

We also walked to Selfoss, located one km south of Dettifoss, which while not high, was still mighty impressive, although I actually preferred the views away from the waterfall and down through the valley – photo nirvana.

Back on the Ring Road we forged on towards Egilsstaðir, through the barren starkness that we began referring to as the ‘Brown Center’. It was seriously desolate out here; our eyes hungry for something...anything...to make the drive more interesting.

During our six days in Iceland, we’d learned that roads outside of the cities don’t have shoulders; they’re narrow and built-up (presumably to prevent flooding), with steep ditches on both sides, and more often than not, surrounded by lava fields. It feels as if you’re driving along a narrow ledge. In other words, these are not roads you want to stray from. All of those warnings about winter driving in Iceland began to make perfect sense. I would definitely not want to be stranded out here in the middle of NoWheresVille, with the ferocious Icelandic wind whipping snow across the road and obscuring visibility. Thanks, but no.

Then, finally, something to look at; we began to descend into a valley alongside a river. Swaths of green suddenly appeared with ewes and their ubiquitous twin lambs, and most surprisingly, one impressive waterfall after another cascaded into the valley from above. The views continued to improve dramatically, a mountain range now lay before us, flat topped and snow capped. As we finally approached Egilsstaðir, buildings suddenly appeared, looking weirdly highrise-like.

We gassed the Clio (for the third time that day) and picked up some Skyr at N1 – by now I was determined to try every flavor – this stuff is seriously good.

We eventually found 92/93 and began the final push to Seyðisfjörður, surprised at the sudden abundance of trees and blooming lupines. The drive became progressively more interesting as we ascended the hill above Egilsstaðir with its expansive views of green valley below.

Then suddenly, we're crossing an area of black rock covered in snow, with the occasional glimpse of glacial blue lake. We head upwards again, and then begin the steep and unsettling descent (thanks to our Clio’s lack of compression brakes) into the tiny settlement of Seyðisfjörður, passing yet another lovely waterfall en route.

We didn’t know it at the time, but we’d just crossed the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass, which connects Seyðisfjörður to the rest of Iceland.

Eight and a half hours since leaving Húsavík (the first time), we were in East Iceland, greeted with more pungent fish scented air; making me wonder if the inhabitants of Iceland’s many fishing villages even notice it.

Seyðisfjörður has a population of about 700, and not a whole lot of accommodation options, but I was rather intrigued at the prospect of staying in an historic former hospital that had been converted into a hostel, not to mention, it seemed to be the best option in town.

http://www.visitseydisfjordur.com/pr...jordur-hostel/

Neither of us had ever stayed in a hostel before, and we weren’t sure what to expect. After being asked to remove our shoes, we were led upstairs our tiny double room, which came with an even tinier sink (Room #23, 12.140 ISK, about $121).

The hostel offers a variety of rooms – those next to us were quad dorm rooms. We figured we were in for a noisy night in a house full of young backpackers, but we were pleasantly surprised. Our night was fairly peaceful. Like us, most of the other guests crept around quietly, and were very respectful of one another.

The internet was pitiful – we were never able to connect – probably too many people trying to use it at the same time.
The bathrooms were scattered over three floors, and the showers, three of them, were downstairs. Evidently there was a shower on our floor too, but it was out of commission.

Fortunately, the hostel wasn’t full, so there were no queues for the loo or showers. There was a large communal kitchen and dining area, which looked rather nice, but other than boiling water for coffee, we didn’t use it.

It’d been a long day without much food, so we headed over to a place I’d scoped out in advance for dinner – Skaftell Bistro, which the proprietor of our hostel also recommended. There didn’t appear to be any other food options in town, so we got a little worried when we walked up and the place looked deserted.

We entered, and were surprised to find the tiny space packed to the gills. It took a very long time to get our spicy pepperoni pizza, but it was pretty good, and typically Icelandic expensive – 3.650 for a pizza and one bottle of beer – the beer was 1.300, $13), no wonder our hostel was so quiet, no one could afford to drink, although the water in Seyðisfjörður was very good:)

http://skaftfell.is/bistro/

It was well after 9pm, but bright as mid-day as we walked back to the hostel, admiring the colorfully painted wooden buildings along the way.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57682768184143

To be continued...

Day 7 –

Once again, we were thankful we’d brought eye shades; a very thin curtain was the only thing that came between us and the Icelandic summer light. It was light when we went to bed at 11 pm, light when I woke up at 3 am and light again when I woke up at 5 am. I like long days, but Icelandic summer days are a wee bit too long.

After showers in the basement, stripping our beds and depositing our used linen and towels into the laundry basket as instructed, we left the hostel and walked out into a spectacular clear day. Our stay had been short, but interesting.

We drove through town and along the edges of the fjord, trying to understand the draw of this little village. There didn’t seem to be much to it, other than several tiny art galleries, brightly painted buildings and some nice fjord views.

I’d read that the ferry from Denmark docked here, but there was no evidence of any activity – I’ve since learned that the ferry only comes in once a week, and the journey from Denmark takes 48 hours (!) I’ve also since learned that Seyðisfjörður has two cinemas, the only two in all of East Iceland.

There did appear to be some hiking options, which we’d have loved to explore, but our tightly orchestrated driving itinerary prevented it. I suspect that if we’d had more time, we’d have uncovered a wealth of interesting bits and bobs.

We looked for a place to eat breakfast, and finding none, retraced our steps up the hill, over the Fjarðarheiði mountain pass, and down into the green oasis of Egilsstaðir, which just begged to be photographed from above.

We popped into the first café we found, Salt Café and Bistro, but they weren’t serving food until 11:30, so we had lattes instead (1.150, about $11, very good, the dark chocolate square a nice bonus). Our waiter suggested we seek out sustenance at the Netto (grocery store), so we obliged, finding tables and a microwave at the front of the store where customers could heat and eat what they’d just purchased. We noshed on cheese rolls and Skyr, our cheapest meal so far - .879 ISK, about $9).

We left Egilsstaðir via the longer more scenic route, 92 towards Reyðarfjörður surrounded by trees eye-popping in their greenness; it was the warmest it’d been since we arrived, 14c – 57F.

As we motored on, we both agreed that the east side of the island with its plentiful streams, waterfalls and mountains, was far more spectacular than what we’d seen of the west.

We turned on 96 toward Höfn (pronounced Hup), drove through the six kilometer long Fáskrúðsfjörður Tunnel and skirted around the edges of the Eastfjords, the low cloud clinging between the fjord and the rocks sending me into a photo snapping frenzy.

Before long we were driving through thick fog; we knew the sea was somewhere to our left but it was impossible to see. It cleared a bit as we reached Stöðvarfjörður, where we drove down to the wharf to poke around; it was much colder here along the coast. Our itinerary mentioned Steinasafn Petru, ‘a local granny’s magnificent rock collection’ - we saw a bus parked outside the front of a house and figured that must be it, but the allure was lost on us.

We rejoined the Ring Road at Breiðdalsvík and worked our way through the startlingly green landscape with its rugged mountain fringe – gorgeous – the asphalt soon turned to gravel.

We detoured to Djúpivogur, a pretty little seaside town located on a peninsula, and an obvious tour bus stop. We walked to the top of a rock cropping for some nice views over town, then popped into the bright red Langabúð for a latte, beer and a lovely slice of French Chocolate cake (2.300, about $23). When we left town around 2:45, it was deserted – the buses were long gone.

We returned to the Ring Road under overcast skies and were soon surrounded by hills of black scree for as far as the eyes could see. We passed a car that had gone off the road - the driver couldn’t have picked a worse place if he’d tried – his front tire was completely buried in deep black sand. Two other cars had stopped to help, and because there was no shoulder, the caravan was blocking the entire lane.

A short time later we saw another car stopped in the middle of the opposite lane, the occupants looking frantically about as if they’d just hit something, while a ewe and her two lambs trotted down the embankment.

The tourists have arrived! I can certainly see how these little rental cars get put through their paces.

We forged on, across numerous wide river crossings, the mountains now just sheets of loose black rock. We began to wonder if this drive would ever end. It was raining, the clouds low, visibility poor.

We finally turned left on 99 and drove the final four kilometers to wet and foggy Höfn, “the lobster capital of Northern Europe” arriving seven hours after leaving Seyðisfjörður. We located and checked into Guesthouse Dyngja, where our host Cyrus informed us that it had been raining in Höfn for the last six days.

http://dyngja.com/

Nice place this. We were chuffed to have so much space, not to mention a refrigerator! The room was clean, fresh and modern and had a large bathroom, an open living area, and a breakfast bar which worked perfectly for setting up our laptop. Our stay included breakfast, which had been left in our refrigerator, although the very strong smell of pink salami was a bit off-putting.

That, and the lack of curtains dark enough to keep out the endless sun, were the only drawbacks of our stay here. Oh yeah, and the people who kept coming to our door and trying to walk in – evidently other guests who kept forgetting which room they were in (18,000 ISK, about $180).

We asked Cyrus for dinner recommendations, and he pointed across the street to Pakkhaus, which also happened to be on my list. He said it was the best restaurant in town.

We’d read that food options were non-existent between Höfn and our next stop, Vik ( this turned out to be inaccurate), and Cyrus confirmed that the only grocery store in town (Netto) didn’t open until 10 am the following day, so we high-tailed it over there to pick up some provisions for tomorrow’s drive before they closed (1.800, about $18 for a large bottle of water, two croissants, a couple of rolls, a few pats of butter and some Skyr).

Our dinner at the Pakkhaus (overlooking the completely socked in harbor) was indeed good – a fried feta starter for the non-seafood eater (1.890, about $19), an Einstock white beer (1.000, about $10) and the fish of the day, Lingcod in a cream sauce (3.790, about $38) for Bill, which he said was excellent. The restaurant was full when we left, and it was still early.

http://www.pakkhus.is/

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...h/35487964361/

To be continued...

Day 8 -

We ate our Skyr, used our breakfast provisions to make a packed lunch, and left our accommodation. It was still foggy and wet. We drove around town, but never did see the harbor or Europe’s biggest glacier, Vatnajökull, which is said to dominate the town.

Unable to find a place for a proper coffee (filter coffee was available at the gas station, thanks but no), we left Höfn, feeling let down and a bit depressed.

Our itinerary had promised a nonstop procession of stunning scenery on today’s drive from Höfn to Vik.

We retraced our steps on 99, joined the Ring Road, and within minutes the fog lifted. We worked our way south, the tops of the surrounding mountains cut off by low cloud. Views of distant glaciers began to appear to our right, and then abundant outcroppings of moss covered black rock. The landscape kept changing, flat green pasture turned to dry ochre tussocks, fields of blooming purple Lupines followed dark grey mudflats. It was a feast for the eyes, all the more so when the sun finally came out.

The further south we drove, the more traffic we encountered, and the more we understood the popularity of this side of the island. Here vibrant green pushed up against a backdrop of inhospitable black; simultaneously moody, weird and wonderful.

Mt. Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland’s highest peak came into view (2,110 meters, 6,900 feet) and soon we were pulling into the car park of Jökulsárlón, a glacial lagoon bordering Vatnajökull National Park.

Wow. Now this was something. I don’t know what excited me more, the lagoon or the brilliant light with which to photograph it. It was stunning. As we walked from one end to the other, I overheard a woman tell someone that she had been here five times and had never seen it like this, making us feel pretty lucky.

Other than at the waterfalls, we’d not seen a large concentration of tourists, but Jökulsárlón was hopping; its car park an obstacle course of deep pot holes, rough gravel and pools of standing water.

Ten kilometers west of Jökulsárlón, we found Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon, where we walked around a bit in the seriously fierce cold wind, reminding me that Iceland is not a good place to have long hair.

We continued our drive, the fog and wind moving back in. We took a break at Foss Hotel at Glacier Lagoon, where we settled in for caffeine (tasty AND pretty, 1.200 ISK, about $12) and a chat with the barista, who told us that a few weeks prior to our visit the Ring Road had closed due to poor weather; no one could get in or out. The hotel is located in Hnappavellir, Iceland´s most popular climbing area, and while open year round, we were told that it’s busier in the winter months, and like today, fogged in more often than not. The view from the hotel might be pretty on a clear day, but today there wasn’t much to look at.

We continued our drive south, the atmosphere a bit otherworldly; rugged mountains barely discernible in the eerie fog. So many glaciers, so little time.

Next came Skatafell, now part of Vatnajökull National Park. The parking lot was heaving, so we parked in the overflow lot (it must be a complete zoo in the high season), poked through the visitor’s center and then walked the 5.3 km trail to Svartifoss, swatting midges en route. We were a bit underwhelmed with the views of the barren flood plain from the top, and even less impressed with the masses of people, so we retreated to the car and high-tailed it out of there.

At this point we realized we’d only driven half the 272 kilometers from Höfn to Vik, yet it was already mid-afternoon.

We forged on, crossing a very long one way bridge over a river (complete with several passing zones), the landscape becoming flatter and flatter, feeling increasingly desolate, a sea of seemingly endless black dirt.

It began to rain, then the sun returned, then it began to rain again. Imposing walls of volcanic rock with bits of green running up the sides came into view, then waterfalls, then sporadic patches of green; the landscape changing as quickly as the weather. Contrary to what we’d read, there seemed to be sufficient food options along this route, we need not have worried about going hungry.

The black rocks were now covered in a yellow-green moss, a bizarre sight; then suddenly it was so green my eyeballs hurt.

We stopped at Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks), where we wandered the path through the basalt columns surrounded by more vibrant green countryside. A nearby farm backed to the cliffs, a waterfall practically in the back yard. The sun was out again; it was photo nirvana.

We exited on 206 just past the village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where we inched along to Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, dodging tire eating potholes. It was beautiful through here, and I was chuffed to find a well maintained porta loo near the parking lot.

We walked the rim trail (one hour return), taking in the spectacular views of the Fjaðrá river flowing through the steep-walled serpentines of the gorge below.

Back on the Ring Road we continued south towards Vik, alongside more black rock, barren flatness and then field after field of blooming Lupines. Just wow. By now we’d seen so many waterfalls that we didn’t bother to stop anymore.

It had taken us almost nine hours to drive the 272 kilometers to Vik, population 318. It had indeed been a day of non-stop scenery. We were pretty wrecked, but we still weren’t ‘home’.

Near starving, we sought out Strondin Bistro, a place I’d run across during my trip research. We knew it was attached to a gas station; we figured we should eat in at least one to complete our Icelandic experience. As it happened, this one probably didn’t qualify, as it was a proper independent restaurant; it just shared space with the petrol station. Or so it seemed anyway.

Researching places to eat in Vik was probably a waste of time; this appeared to be the only game in town. In fact, the entire town of Vik seemed to consist of just a petrol station/restaurant.

We shared yet another pizza (2.400 ISK, about $24, and each had a drink, 2.500 ISK, about $25). Our Polish waitress was helpful and friendly...and amused...because although we’d finished eating, we told her we wanted to stick around and watch the expressions of the two women at a neighboring table, who against her advice, had ordered fermented shark as a MAIN.

They sniffed, examined and gingerly took bites, but they didn’t gag and spit it out as we’d expected. No dinner theatre here.

We gassed the Clio and continued driving the 16 km beyond Vik to our accommodation, arriving just before 8 pm. What a day.

Back in February when I made all of our initial accommodation bookings, the only area I had trouble finding a place was Vik, the southernmost village in Iceland. There’s just not much accommodation on offer between Vik and Höfn, and what does exist is in high demand, enabling the owners/operators to basically print money.

Enter Guesthouse Steig, the most expensive accommodation of our trip ($235). The guesthouse is essentially a narrow one story building added to an existing farm. We stayed in #16, one of 19 rooms with a bathroom down the hall. I was surprised that there were only two bathrooms/showers in the entire guesthouse, which I’d assumed were shared by all 19 rooms. I’ve since read that some of the rooms have private facilities, how many I don’t know. Unfortunately, none were available when I booked.

Our room was small and ordinary, comfortable and clean, and while completely adequate, not what we considered good value. The shower was a mere trickle and the bathroom was in need of an overhaul. A completely forgettable breakfast was included. The owners were friendly, their dogs greeted us when we arrived, and we were able to procure a pitcher of ice which we much appreciated, but I had much higher hopes for Guesthouse Steig.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...h/35679935156/

To be continued...

It's a moody landscape, for sure.

Glad to see someone is still reading!

Day 9 –

Up and out early, we backtracked to Vik to see what we’d missed the previous day due to time and energy constraints. We’d hoped to take the three hour walk along the Reynisfjall sea cliffs, but the torrential rain and ferocious cold wind was more conducive to curling up in a warm duvet (5C, 41F).

We settled for walking down to the black sand beach to gaze at the Reynisdrangar basalt sea stacks, then followed 215 to black pebbly Reynisfjara beach for the obligatory peek into the Halsanefshellir sea cave, which was about as exciting as we expected it to be.

I was pleased to see a public loo, 200 ISK, about $2, credit cards and vouchers only, presumably provided by tour operators, as this area is most definitely on the bus tour route.

Back on Route 1, we drove the stretch of road where an RV had been destroyed the previous week; evidently unable to cope with the strong gusty wind and hills. Our little Clio zipped along without a care in the world.

It was seriously green again; we passed a lamb standing on top of another sheep, probably Maw. We detoured on 218 to Dyrhólaey, described in our itinerary as ‘another enticing side trip, especially for birders’. There were indeed plenty of birds through here, and while it might be gorgeous on a pretty day, today it was pretty ho-hum.

On the upside, they’re in the process of installing public toilets back here to accommodate the crowds, so future visitors will at least have a place to do their business.

By now we were wondering what all the fuss was about. I guess for those who have never seen a black sand beach or a sea cliff, Vik might be rather exciting, but we were underwhelmed (although I fully acknowledge that the crap weather was major a factor).

We next detoured to Solheimajokull glacier, where we called into an unpromising café, for some surprisingly good lattes (1.200 ISK, about $12).

Then it was on to Skogafoss on the Skógá River, one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, where we joined the throng for the short trek to the waterfall. It was abundantly clear that we were now in the heart of the busiest part of the island. June through August must be chaos. Takk, but no.

We forged south, passing numerous wind-blown waterfalls dropping from staggering heights, slowed by a puttering camper, our doors blown off by another, the driver seeing fit to speed past in a no passing zone on a blind corner.

One hundred kilometers from Reykjavik and there wasn’t a thing to look at...until we passed the town of Selfoss, where black hills covered with chartreuse (moss?) provided an eyeful of bumpy relief.

Some five hours after leaving Vik, we arrived in Reykjavik, promptly getting lost amongst a myriad of apartment blocks and short squat buildings; Reykjavik felt as if it had grown since the previous week.

In an attempt to regain our bearings, we searched the skyline for Hallgrímskirkja. Once spotted, we used it as a beacon, following it into the city. By sheer luck we found a parking spot on the main shopping street of Laugavegur mere steps from the restaurant we were looking for, Svarta Kaffid, We paid for parking, not realizing until later that parking is free on Sundays.

Svarta Kaffid does one thing - soup. They have two offerings a day, a meat soup and a vegetarian option, both served in bread bowls. The carnivore predictably went for the lamb soup and I predictably chose the curry vegetable, both were demolished, bowl and all. By Icelandic standards, it was a reasonably priced fill-up, 3.700 for one bowl each, about $37).

https://www.myguidereykjavik.com/res.../svarta-kaffid

Our plan for this afternoon was to find the Phallological Museum which had previously eluded us. I asked for directions in a nearby shop. The young woman said “You mean the Penis Museum?” She then pointed down the block and advised me to not miss a specific Nazi donation (which I later learned was the first human penis donation made by Páll Arason, evidently a womanizer and Nazi sympathizer, at the ripe old age of 95).

The Phallological Museum is the only penis museum in the world, how could we possibly resist? We paid our 1.5 ISK each admission (about $15) and stepped into a world of male appendages from some 46 species of mammals.

Was it interesting? Absolutely? Was it educational? Without a doubt. Was it giggle-inducing? You have no idea. Did I buy a souvenir? Oh yes I did.

http://phallus.is/en/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...ses-180947667/

After our fill of phallic specimens and penile parts, we figured it was time for Happy Hour, so we had a round at Hlemmur Square’s Pulsa Bar 1.500, about $15 (which I just this minute learned is also Reykjavik’s first artisanal sausage restaurant).

The wheat beer drinker was hankering for some Einstök White Ale on draft, so we wandered the streets looking at menus until we stumbled upon Sushi Social, where we had Happy Hour drink #2 and a nice chat with a waitress in their very quiet relaxing bar (1.800 ISK, about $18).

Hydrated, we walked back to our car, picked up some Skyr at the Bonus grocery en route, and headed out into the ‘burbs to find our accommodation for the next two nights, Maxhouse Reykjavik ($394 for two nights).

http://maxhouse-reykjavik.hotels-reykjavik-is.com/en/

What an ordeal. After navigating a highway, wandering through a couple of neighborhoods and numerous traffic circles, we finally found what I expected to be an apartment in a quiet area with easy access to town.

Wrong. What we got was a room in the basement of a new concrete home, in the middle of a construction site, complete with heavy equipment and rubble. This is indeed a suburb, a brand new one, surrounded by similar homes in various stages of construction. Central it’s not.

The owner lives above, three posh bedrooms with a beautifully decorated kitchen fill the lower floor.

It’s not an apartment at all, but rather a flashy room with private bathroom. Everything else is shared.

Granted, it was a very nice room, but more style than substance. I would have traded the flashing northern lights feature on the ceiling (which mysteriously turned on unbidden and wouldn’t turn off), the IPAD and other gadgetry for more space, better functionality and a central location. Room darkening shades would also have been much appreciated.

It was clean, comfortable, upscale and compact. There was a coffee machine and refrigerator in the kitchen. The free coffee capsules, milk, water and Pepsi were a nice touch. The bathroom had a nice rain shower.

I’d done my research and knew there was a coin operated laundry in the city (in the basement of the Laundromat Cafe), but we asked the owner of our accommodation if there was a closer one. We needed to do laundry before we left for Switzerland. She seemed perplexed and wasn’t even aware of the one in town. She said she sends her laundry out and it takes four days to get it back. Huh.

We then asked if there was a restaurant nearby – we were tired and didn’t want to drive back to the city – she suggested the KFC/Taco Bell near the highway, and said it was either that or the grocery store; which is how we came to share a box of ‘poppers’ at KFC – 1.270 ISK, about $13, and a pint of Häagen-Dazs (790 ISK, about $8). Dinner of champions.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...h/34921686644/

Winding down...

Day 10 –

We’d enquired about the Golden Circle the previous day at the Visitor’s Center; we were told it would take about five hours. I’d asked if there was a preferred direction, such as going opposite the buses, but we were told it made no difference, which led me to believe we were doomed.

So, with the hope of getting a head start on the anticipated bus traffic, we set out at 6:30 am. It was gloomy and raining as we made our way north to 36 via Route 1, and drove the 28 km to Þingvellir National Park (Thingvellir) which is located in an active volcanic area, just 49 km east of Reykjavík, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We passed Pingvvallavatn, which looked nothing like the photographs we’d seen. It might be beautiful on a clear day, but today, well, we were a bit mystified...were we missing something grand?

We eventually joined 365 towards Geysir, thinking that surely things would improve, on this, the most popular tourist route in Iceland. So far the most interesting thing we’d seen was lambs wiggle their tails while they nursed.

We turned onto 37 and drove the final 30 km to Geysir, spotting Efstidalur Farm, which was on my list, but it was only 8 am, too early for ice cream, even for me.

http://efstidalur.is/

At Geysir, we walked around the geysers and watched Iceland’s most famous geyser, Strokkur, blow its top (eruptions every 6-10 minutes). We only saw about 10 people, evidently it was still too early for the bus crowd.

We continued, driving the final 10 km to Gulfoss, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, but not before coming up on some idiotic tourists who’d seen fit to park in the middle of the road, vacate their car and watch horses. Really?

Gulfoss is situated on the Hvítá River; the water spills down 32 meters in two stages into a canyon. It has an interesting history:

http://gullfoss.is/about-gullfoss/

We walked all the pathways and ogled the waterfall from every viewing platform, freezing our bits off in the ferocious cold wind and rain with dozens of other hapless tourists (still no buses). It was a damn unpleasant day. And yes, Gulfoss has a loo (!) 200 ISK, about $2.

The gloom began to clear a bit as we retraced our steps to Geysir; the landscape quite pretty now that we could see it. We joined 35 to Reykholt, surrounded by horses frolicking in pastures so green we had to squint.

We saw our first bus just after 10 am. We located Friðheimar Greenhouse, which was on our radar for lunch, but it was too early, so we did the next best thing and backtracked to Efstidalur Farm and had pre-lunch dessert with the cows, in the form of white chocolate/strawberry for me, vanilla/mocha for Bill (1.400 ISK, about $14). I rarely find ice cream I don’t like, and this was no exception; we had the place to ourselves.

Friðheimar didn’t open until noon, but when we returned, we saw a bus and people milling about, so we took a chance and wandered in and enquired about lunch. Although it was only 11:40, we were seated right away. And a good thing too, as by 12:15 they were turning people away.

We settled in for an all-you-can eat tomato soup and bread extravaganza, in the middle of a geothermal greenhouse, surrounded by some of the biggest tomato plants we’d ever seen. It was fascinating, educational and delicious (2.290, about $23 each). The copious amounts of butter, sour cream, and the fresh basil plants on each table for snipping into one’s soup were a very nice touch.

I hate to say it, but Fridheimar was the highlight of my day on the Golden Circle. Had we not already seen so many spectacular waterfalls, Gulfoss would no doubt have ruled the day.

http://fridheimar.is/en/restaurant

We returned to Reykjavik via 35 (Selfoss), hoping to get a second chance to see those otherworldly black hills covered in chartreuse, but it was not to be. The fog was thick; had we not driven this same route the previous day, we’d not have known there was anything to see.

It took seemingly forever to get back to Reykjavik, our day on the Golden Circle had taken 7.5 hours, and involved entirely too much sitting in a car for our tastes.

Then it was off to the Laundromat Café, where we spent two incredibly painful hours washing and drying two small loads of laundry (.750 ISK to wash, .750 to dry, two loads, about $30), in between trips to the car to pay the parking meter (1.100, about $11 for five hours).

The dryer seemed to have a mind of its own, stopping, starting, changing cycles; many trips were made upstairs to get replacement tokens for the ones the machines had eaten, and to request help. Extra tokens and words of advice were passed from those leaving to those arriving. It was all a lot more complicated than it needed to be, and rather surprising that a city the size of Reykjavik only has one Laundromat (and this one in the basement of a café and bar).

http://www.thelaundromatcafe.com/en/home

After the laundry fiasco we figured we needed an adult beverage, so we sought out Skuli Craft Bar, which had been recommended to us the previous night by our waitress at Sushi Social.

What a great little place, and as luck would have it, home to Bill’s favorite local beer of the trip, Snorri (two rounds of beer and wine, 3.300, about $33, Happy Hour prices). We were amused to find a box of Cards Against Humanity on the bar; evidently Icelanders are as despicable and awkward as we are:)

Dinner found us at the unassuming Hraðlestin where we had some surprisingly good Indian food – lamb vindaloo for Bill, a very tender chicken tikka masala for me (5.800, about $58 with rice and naan).

http://www.hradlestin.is/

We gassed up the Clio one last time, and temporarily misplaced our accommodation...again...where we packed and went to bed.

Photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57683545273731

Departure and final thoughts...

Day 11 -

Up at 3:45 am, out the door by 4:15 am, we returned the car and were at the airport by 5:30 am.

Iceland Air’s check-in and bag drop-off at KEF was as efficient and fast as their check-in at DIA was chaotic and slow. Security was quick and streamlined.

We had sufficient time for one last nibble (baguette with cheese, 1.090, about $11) and a poke through Duty Free to relieve us of our last bit of Icelandic Krona* with a bottle of water and an Omnom chocolate bar (990 ISK, about $10, I saw the same chocolate bars in the city for 1.400 ISK, about $14). I’m glad I waited until departure to try one as the Dark Milk Tanzania was fabulous; I might have gone broke.

*We’d gotten about $200 USD worth of ISK from an ATM when we arrived. It probably wasn’t necessary, as Iceland is well set up for credit cards, even parking meters and toilets accept them. The cash did come in handy for the odd Skyr run, an occasional honesty box, parking, road tolls, etc, but wasn’t really necessary.

Our flight boarded a bit late, but once again, was incredibly efficient, even though we were all allowed to board at the same time instead of by row number. We just scanned our own boarding pass, and viola!

Some 3-1/2 hours and a smooth flight later, we were in Zurich. Hello Switzerland!

The numbers:

Kilometers driven – 4,180

Amount spent on gas – ~$400 USD

Tubs of Skyr consumed - ~20

Observations & Impressions:

After the photographs I’d seen, the enthusiasm and positive experiences of others that I’d read, I thought Iceland might become my new favorite place.

I thought wrong. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Perhaps I’m just jaded from years of traveling to and living in beautiful parts of the world, but Iceland left me feeling confused and ambivalent.

Many parts of Iceland are spectacular, no doubt, and I'm glad we went, but...

I can’t help but think that Iceland is poised to become a victim of its own success. Natural attractions are crowded, basic facilities and infrastructure in heavily visited areas is sadly lacking. Airlines continue to tout free stopovers, bringing in more and more tourists, yet the country doesn’t seem ready to accommodate them.

Anyone who has looked into going to Iceland probably knows that it has a reputation of being quite expensive. What’s worse is that it’s very low value, or at least it was to us.

Would we go back? Unlikely. Unless, like so many others, we’re enticed into a short stopover with an-impossible-to-resist low airfare and promises of the Northern Lights.

Glad of your honest thoughts, I like to weigh up all the opinions that I read to make up my wishlist, and somehow I thought it sounded like a lot of driving to get to the sights ... anyway, I did enough long roadtrips in Oz, looking for 'easier' travels now.

But still, now you can start your Switzerland report :)

You are a patient soul Adelaidean!

I've started my Switzerland trip report, but it will probably be more of summary, as we've been so many times before.

Mel, I can't wait to read this! I've barely been home since we returned from Iceland in late June and it already seems long ago so it'll be fun to read your trip report.

Thanks for your detailed report. We visited for 2 days on the way to Norway 2 years ago and loved it! We did not even go into Reykjavik but drove to Vik. I guess we loved it because we had great weather, saw the puffins and did some great hiking. We did the Golden Circle the next day and I agree there were too many busses! The food was not great but adequate. I may return someday but maybe we will brave it in the winter in an effort to see the northern lights.

Mel,

THanks for taking the time to write this report which I found very interesting. I went to Iceland in Sept 2016 for 9 days (Rek and driving the southern half) and returned in Jan 2017 for horse school. I had wonderful weather in Sept, mostly sun with a bit of rain each day and some gusts, but not the sideways, bone chilling weather that you had. That kind of weather would make it difficult for me to enjoy sightseeing, for sure! I liked Vik very much and spent a lot of time on their town black sand beach (the polished rocks and pebbles standing on end, sculpted by the wind) and the little red-roofed church & cemetery. I did a glacier trek at Skaf national park (amazing) and the Jok glacial lagoon, although I think I liked wandering around the ice clusters on the beach across the highway from Jok.

I've been debating returning to do the northern half, but think I'll pass on that. Perhaps the Snaesfaellnes Peninsula as a 3-4 stopover en route to somewhere in Europe.

Anyhoo, I enjoyed reading your detailed report (including the lodging descriptions - boy, are they a wake up call in terms of cost and no-frills!)

Sounds like you were lucky with the weather vickiebypass.

The bits of the north that stood out for us were our stay at the farmhouse near Sauðárkrókur and the side trip we took to Dalvik,
Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður.

There were fewer tourists up that way too, which was a very good thing:)

I've missed you! ;-) I'm so glad you found me on the Hawaii forum.

This was an amazing report and fantastic photos. It's interesting...while you were somewhat underwhelmed, your pix and report stoked my desire to visit Iceland. But I will say the prices and food choices are daunting.

I can certainly see the resemblances to New Zealand. I also saw aspects that reminded me of Norway and parts of Ireland. These are all favorite places.

Thanks for the vicarious trip!

Aloha stranger, good to see you here!

I'm glad my photos inspired you - the photos we saw before we went to Iceland sealed the deal for us as well. If you ever go, I'd love to hear your impressions.

I hope you're loving your new life in Hawaii - how could you not?

At least I know where to find you now!