Travel

Iceland

July 26, 2017

Our first trip to Iceland as a new family, was when D was six months old. It was my first trip to Iceland too and it was totally overwhelming.

I was not prepared for the nature on Iceland. It is magnificent, primordial and completely mesmerizing.

I really get it now, why so many artists find inspiration on Iceland. Driving from the airport Keflavik felt like driving on the moon. We  passed through giant petrified lava landscapes as far as the eye could see. Mountains, volcanos and gushing geysirs everywhere in the horizon serve as a constant reminder of the terrifying powers of nature. It made me feel very small and insignificant in the grand schemes of things.

According to old icelandic folklore, the rocks in the landscape (and they are everywhere you look) are petrified rockpeople or trolls. My inlaws thought it was very funny to try to convince me that it is true still. But I didn’t quite believe them.

yep.This is my face, as they told me the rocks are really rockpeople.

We stayed with my husbands family in Selfoss an hours drive from Reykjavik. As we drove over the mountain ridge toward Selfoss, we passed a sculpture of the wreck of a car with an electronic live count of people who has died in car accidents on the stretch of road we were driving on. A jarring reminder of the severity of the landscape we were driving in.

We spent a week in Selfoss and a week at a summerhouse. There was much to see, and I fell that I only saw very little, compared to all the stories I have heard from my husband about his childhood on Iceland. We covered the highlights of the areas around Reykjavik. Of course this included a trip to The Blue Lagoon, which was everything you expect it to be. Foggy and mysterious. A bit expensive, but worth it. For more information see here: http://www.bluelagoon.com

We walked through downtown Reykjavik and visited the harbour with the big whaling ships. We visited the Geysirs and the Gulfoss waterfall. Really spectacular. I didn’t get to ride on the famous icelandic horses. But lo and behold when we were driving to see one of the smaller waterfalls, a flock of icelandic horses out on a trip passed us on the road. Magical simply magical.

 

Geysir

The Gulfoss Waterfall

This trip, I am sure, was only the first off many more. We were there in july, where everything was green and lush. Even the lavafields in some parts. I would love to come back in winter, Preferably when it snows. And maybe see the northern lights.

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