IJsland
In March 2018, I left for Iceland with Denise and Henri. This time, no sunny destination, but a road trip across a cold but exceptionally beautiful volcanic island. After several weeks of preparation, the trip finally came into view. Warm winter clothes were stocked, a 4x4 rental car booked, and a route plan drawn up. But when I checked the rental car details the day before departure, it turned out they were incorrect. Charges that had previously been included in the price were suddenly added, doubling the price. Luckily, I had just a few hours to cancel. We decided to go with a major rental company instead of a small agency that tried to rip you off. We quickly booked a car with Hertz. No 4x4, but a station wagon—a shame, but it had to be done. The next day we actually flew to Iceland. Upon arrival, we saw the almost black coast and the rugged surroundings of the airport partially covered in snow. Off to the rental car counter. Of course, we had the only rental company with a serious line. After a while, it turned out our car wasn't ready. So, after waiting over an hour, we finally got to the counter. To make up for it, we received a free upgrade: not a station wagon, but a well-equipped Land Rover Discovery 4x4. With a grin like Jeremy Clarkson, we were on our way. The car would prove very useful for the next week and a half. We spent an evening and night in Reykjavík, where we strolled around the Hallgrimskirkja church and the HARPA concert hall. There wasn't much else to see in the city, but that wasn't what we came for. 
The next day we headed north to our cottage near Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Halfway through our trip, near Borgarnes, the weather suddenly changed, and we were suddenly caught in a heavy snowstorm. We stopped at a local supermarket there, where we had to wait a bit for it to open. In no time, a thick layer of powder snow had fallen, and snowball fights broke out in the parking lot. On the road, we saw the snowplows already out and about; they're experienced in that sort of thing. With the Land Rover switched to snow mode, we drove along at a leisurely pace. A little further north, there was less snow, and the road became a bit more manageable. We saw some Icelandic horses standing by the side of the road, and we took a quick look. But not for long, as the snow was rushing past almost horizontally. Even the horses, who were used to it, weren't exactly thrilled. 
We were still too early to check into our cabin and wanted to see some of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. So we drove around that point, along the mountains. The next day, we were going to take a boat trip from the town of Olafsvik to spot whales and orcas. Since we were going around the peninsula anyway, we figured we might as well take a look. So we set the navigation accordingly, and after a while, it happily steered us up a mountain road. There, of course, we encountered heavy snow showers again and eventually unpaved roads, sometimes along some pretty steep cliffs. 
Further along the coast towards our cottage, the weather wasn't much better. We drove past Kirkjufell Mountain, which is right next to the road, but we couldn't even see it; everything was a big white haze. Near the cottage, the weather eventually cleared up, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. 
After a good night's sleep, it was time to bundle up warm and leave early for the Olafsvik harbor for the boat trip. It had been dry on the way there, and now Kirkjufell Mountain was visible, so we stopped for a few more photos. At the boat, we were also given a kind of wetsuit to wear over our clothes, which wasn't an unnecessary luxury. The boat first sailed around the peninsula to reach a spot where they had spotted orcas earlier in the week. The first stretch through the surf was a bit rough, of course, but from there it was fine. So I was able to take a few more photos. But when we finally got close to the orcas, the weather deteriorated. It started raining, a strong cold wind picked up, and with it, more waves, of course. I struggled for a while with a lens that had already been splashed under the seawater, but with the waves, taking photos was impossible. If, as a photography enthusiast, you keep staring through a camera with one eye, seeing sky, then sea, I eventually started to feel a bit seasick. I stopped taking pictures at that point, and I felt better immediately. Fortunately, we did see several orcas, so the trip wasn't in vain. But the journey back to the harbor seemed endless. The rain and waves were getting heavier and heavier. We were at the front and had to hold on tight. The boat would occasionally slump, and I once buckled my knees, as the waves splashed across the deck. I was wearing wool gloves, which were now soaked, which, of course, made it freezing cold. While the waves were still splashing across the deck and we had to hold on tight, someone from the boat came to ask if we wanted a cup of chocolate milk. I couldn't see how that was going to work out without getting covered in chocolate milk myself, so I politely declined... 
A new day, a new cottage; the day after the boat trip, the weather was much more pleasant. It was time to head south again to our next cottage in the heart of Iceland's Golden Circle. We drove the first leg back along the main ring road around the island. Without any heavy snow showers, we could now enjoy the beautiful views. After a while, the navigation system directed us further inland towards the cottage. This brought us to even more beautiful scenery with mountains, streams with ice floes, waterfalls, more Icelandic horses, and so on. Here, we encountered something you often see in Iceland: single-lane bridges ("EINBREIDBRU," as the sign says). Each bridge was narrower than the last. We also had the opportunity to test the car's 4x4 capabilities on even more unpaved roads. After a while, we suddenly found ourselves facing a gate in the road: "Impassable." Some unpaved mountain roads turned out to be closed for the winter. This allowed us to travel tens of kilometers in the other direction, towards the main ring road. 
After a short drive along the ring road, we finally arrived at the Golden Circle. First, we passed a large frozen mountain lake. Next on our itinerary was a visit to Þingvellir National Park (Thingvellir). Here, we walked through a large gorge between two lava rock walls. This location in Iceland is also used as a filming location for the series Game of Thrones. It certainly wasn't the last location we would visit that has been used in films and series. With such diverse and extreme landscapes as Iceland, it's no wonder so much filming takes place here. 
That evening we arrived at our next cottage near Laugarvatn. Here we actually had a hot tub, outdoors, of course. It was quite a strange sensation to be sitting in a hot tub outside in the evening, with the temperature only a few degrees above freezing. And even more so to get out again, rushing back inside. That evening we kept an eye on the sky for the Northern Lights; it was the first reasonably clear evening. And sure enough, around 11 p.m., they were there! Above the cottage and all around us, they were visible. To the eye, however, they weren't as brightly colored as you see in photos or video footage. Perhaps because they weren't super bright, or because a camera sensor reacts more intensely to them. But once we saw them, they were no less impressive. They often changed shape rapidly and were visible everywhere. So we stood on the deck by the cottage for a while. And I, well, I did my duty as a photographer. 
In Iceland's Golden Circle, we naturally visited the various major attractions. We visited Geysir twice, for example, where a large geyser erupts every few minutes, spewing huge clouds of boiling water into the air. The area also smelled of sulfur, and steam rose from the ground here and there. We also visited the large Gullfoss waterfalls and the Kerið volcanic crater. At Kerið, it was striking how many different colors of lava rock could be found in and around the crater. 
After two nights at Laugarvatn, it was time to leave the Golden Circle and move on to our next cottage in the south of Iceland. This time, we skipped the back roads to avoid another roadblock. So, we ended up continuing on Route 1, the Ring Road. We visited a few waterfalls: Seljalandfoss and Skógafoss. These high waterfalls lie at the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which erupted in 2010 and caused a lot of problems for aviation. While planning our road trip, I had read that there was a plane wreck on the beach at Sólheimasandur. In 1973, a US Navy Dakota DC-3 crashed there after running out of fuel. So, we stopped at the Sólheimasandur parking lot on the Ring Road and began the hike to the plane. It was over 4 kilometers one way across the black sand, so about a two-hour walk back. That's how we got our exercise. At times, it felt like walking on the moon, black sand everywhere. Sometimes, a huge boulder suddenly appeared in the middle of the plain. It had probably been thrown there by a volcanic eruption. And finally, we arrived at the wreck, an unreal sight. 
Afterwards, we made another stop at the black sand beach of Reynisfjara. There, you'll find unusually shaped rocky coastlines, again due to volcanic activity. And the rocky peaks of Reynisdrangar jutted out of the water there. The sea was also quite rough there, with waves crashing against the rocks and sometimes reaching far onto the beach (the "sneaker waves" we were warned about). 
We were well prepared for the next item on our itinerary: warmly dressed, we set off for Skaftafell, where we would be going onto the glacier with a guide. We were given crampons, a helmet, and an ice axe beforehand. After a Dakar Rally-style trek over unpaved terrain in a specially converted bus, we arrived at the glacier. The glacier at Skaftafell is an extension of the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest ice mass in all of Europe. A lot of filming takes place here too; the adjacent extension is more accessible for large equipment and has been used for films like Interstellar (Dr. Mann's ice planet), James Bond, Batman, and, once again, Game of Thrones. But to reach our glacier, we first had to climb a bit. Then we could put on our crampons and go onto the ice. The funny thing was that we were finally able to take off layers of clothing. We had expected it to be quite windy high up in the hills and cold above the ice mass. But it was a sunny day, and it was lovely up there. After walking around the glacier, we also entered an ice cave. Hence the helmet; the cave was melting and might collapse in a week or two. Chunks of ice and rocks were already falling down occasionally, so don't look up. The ice under the glacier was a bright blue, very beautiful to see. Here and there, streams of water flowed in the cave and on the glacier. You could drink the meltwater from the glacier; it was very clean, practically demineralized (no additives like tap water) and, of course, pleasantly cool. Suddenly, on the glacier, we heard some roaring a bit further down. Some large rocks were crashing down from the cliff face a bit further down. The ice and everything around it is constantly moving; it's constantly changing. Only when we got back down did it get a bit cooler, a breeze picked up, and we could put our clothes back on. After another ride in our Dakar bus, the trip was over, a very successful outing! 
In the south, we also visited the Jökulsarlón glacial lagoon. There, large ice floes, broken off from the glaciers, drifted towards the sea. There were also plenty of seals there, a beautiful sight in the light of the setting sun. A little further on was a small beach nicknamed Diamond Beach. There, the waves threw large and small chunks of ice back onto the black sand. It's not hard to see where they got that nickname. 
The last night in southern Iceland was another clear one. After a whole day of rain, it cleared up completely in the evening. And because of that, we could see the Northern Lights again. In a deserted area like that, it was incredible how many stars there were. And to have the aurora there was also quite beautiful. It was also quite funny when our Asian neighbors discovered the Northern Lights. We were already standing at the edge of the park with my camera set up, taking pictures. Suddenly, we heard shouts of "Aurora, Aurora!" Like an anthill stirring, you could see people running around the house looking for their cameras and waking the others. We then drove a bit further to a nearby waterfall, so as not to be bothered by the light from the houses. During the night, there suddenly seemed to be quite a few trucks out and about, while you couldn't really see them during the day. This had the advantage that the rocks were still slightly illuminated in my photo. The Northern Lights did become less active and less bright quickly, so you didn't see as many streaks in the sky that evening. But the camera still managed to capture the green glow. 
Before we could return the rental car at the airport, we had one last outing: Denise went for a ride on a real Icelandic horse. We'd seen these horses several times earlier in the trip. She'd also explained at length how this breed has its own unique trotting motion (the tölt). She also explained that no other breeds are allowed in Iceland, and no horses can be imported to maintain the purity of the breed. So, it was a very successful trip for all of us. We loved the beautiful, diverse scenery and the relaxed Icelandic lifestyle. See you soon, who knows?!
The next day we headed north to our cottage near Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Halfway through our trip, near Borgarnes, the weather suddenly changed, and we were suddenly caught in a heavy snowstorm. We stopped at a local supermarket there, where we had to wait a bit for it to open. In no time, a thick layer of powder snow had fallen, and snowball fights broke out in the parking lot. On the road, we saw the snowplows already out and about; they're experienced in that sort of thing. With the Land Rover switched to snow mode, we drove along at a leisurely pace. A little further north, there was less snow, and the road became a bit more manageable. We saw some Icelandic horses standing by the side of the road, and we took a quick look. But not for long, as the snow was rushing past almost horizontally. Even the horses, who were used to it, weren't exactly thrilled. We were still too early to check into our cabin and wanted to see some of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. So we drove around that point, along the mountains. The next day, we were going to take a boat trip from the town of Olafsvik to spot whales and orcas. Since we were going around the peninsula anyway, we figured we might as well take a look. So we set the navigation accordingly, and after a while, it happily steered us up a mountain road. There, of course, we encountered heavy snow showers again and eventually unpaved roads, sometimes along some pretty steep cliffs. Further along the coast towards our cottage, the weather wasn't much better. We drove past Kirkjufell Mountain, which is right next to the road, but we couldn't even see it; everything was a big white haze. Near the cottage, the weather eventually cleared up, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. After a good night's sleep, it was time to bundle up warm and leave early for the Olafsvik harbor for the boat trip. It had been dry on the way there, and now Kirkjufell Mountain was visible, so we stopped for a few more photos. At the boat, we were also given a kind of wetsuit to wear over our clothes, which wasn't an unnecessary luxury. The boat first sailed around the peninsula to reach a spot where they had spotted orcas earlier in the week. The first stretch through the surf was a bit rough, of course, but from there it was fine. So I was able to take a few more photos. But when we finally got close to the orcas, the weather deteriorated. It started raining, a strong cold wind picked up, and with it, more waves, of course. I struggled for a while with a lens that had already been splashed under the seawater, but with the waves, taking photos was impossible. If, as a photography enthusiast, you keep staring through a camera with one eye, seeing sky, then sea, I eventually started to feel a bit seasick. I stopped taking pictures at that point, and I felt better immediately. Fortunately, we did see several orcas, so the trip wasn't in vain. But the journey back to the harbor seemed endless. The rain and waves were getting heavier and heavier. We were at the front and had to hold on tight. The boat would occasionally slump, and I once buckled my knees, as the waves splashed across the deck. I was wearing wool gloves, which were now soaked, which, of course, made it freezing cold. While the waves were still splashing across the deck and we had to hold on tight, someone from the boat came to ask if we wanted a cup of chocolate milk. I couldn't see how that was going to work out without getting covered in chocolate milk myself, so I politely declined... A new day, a new cottage; the day after the boat trip, the weather was much more pleasant. It was time to head south again to our next cottage in the heart of Iceland's Golden Circle. We drove the first leg back along the main ring road around the island. Without any heavy snow showers, we could now enjoy the beautiful views. After a while, the navigation system directed us further inland towards the cottage. This brought us to even more beautiful scenery with mountains, streams with ice floes, waterfalls, more Icelandic horses, and so on. Here, we encountered something you often see in Iceland: single-lane bridges ("EINBREIDBRU," as the sign says). Each bridge was narrower than the last. We also had the opportunity to test the car's 4x4 capabilities on even more unpaved roads. After a while, we suddenly found ourselves facing a gate in the road: "Impassable." Some unpaved mountain roads turned out to be closed for the winter. This allowed us to travel tens of kilometers in the other direction, towards the main ring road. After a short drive along the ring road, we finally arrived at the Golden Circle. First, we passed a large frozen mountain lake. Next on our itinerary was a visit to Þingvellir National Park (Thingvellir). Here, we walked through a large gorge between two lava rock walls. This location in Iceland is also used as a filming location for the series Game of Thrones. It certainly wasn't the last location we would visit that has been used in films and series. With such diverse and extreme landscapes as Iceland, it's no wonder so much filming takes place here. That evening we arrived at our next cottage near Laugarvatn. Here we actually had a hot tub, outdoors, of course. It was quite a strange sensation to be sitting in a hot tub outside in the evening, with the temperature only a few degrees above freezing. And even more so to get out again, rushing back inside. That evening we kept an eye on the sky for the Northern Lights; it was the first reasonably clear evening. And sure enough, around 11 p.m., they were there! Above the cottage and all around us, they were visible. To the eye, however, they weren't as brightly colored as you see in photos or video footage. Perhaps because they weren't super bright, or because a camera sensor reacts more intensely to them. But once we saw them, they were no less impressive. They often changed shape rapidly and were visible everywhere. So we stood on the deck by the cottage for a while. And I, well, I did my duty as a photographer. In Iceland's Golden Circle, we naturally visited the various major attractions. We visited Geysir twice, for example, where a large geyser erupts every few minutes, spewing huge clouds of boiling water into the air. The area also smelled of sulfur, and steam rose from the ground here and there. We also visited the large Gullfoss waterfalls and the Kerið volcanic crater. At Kerið, it was striking how many different colors of lava rock could be found in and around the crater. After two nights at Laugarvatn, it was time to leave the Golden Circle and move on to our next cottage in the south of Iceland. This time, we skipped the back roads to avoid another roadblock. So, we ended up continuing on Route 1, the Ring Road. We visited a few waterfalls: Seljalandfoss and Skógafoss. These high waterfalls lie at the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which erupted in 2010 and caused a lot of problems for aviation. While planning our road trip, I had read that there was a plane wreck on the beach at Sólheimasandur. In 1973, a US Navy Dakota DC-3 crashed there after running out of fuel. So, we stopped at the Sólheimasandur parking lot on the Ring Road and began the hike to the plane. It was over 4 kilometers one way across the black sand, so about a two-hour walk back. That's how we got our exercise. At times, it felt like walking on the moon, black sand everywhere. Sometimes, a huge boulder suddenly appeared in the middle of the plain. It had probably been thrown there by a volcanic eruption. And finally, we arrived at the wreck, an unreal sight. Afterwards, we made another stop at the black sand beach of Reynisfjara. There, you'll find unusually shaped rocky coastlines, again due to volcanic activity. And the rocky peaks of Reynisdrangar jutted out of the water there. The sea was also quite rough there, with waves crashing against the rocks and sometimes reaching far onto the beach (the "sneaker waves" we were warned about). We were well prepared for the next item on our itinerary: warmly dressed, we set off for Skaftafell, where we would be going onto the glacier with a guide. We were given crampons, a helmet, and an ice axe beforehand. After a Dakar Rally-style trek over unpaved terrain in a specially converted bus, we arrived at the glacier. The glacier at Skaftafell is an extension of the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest ice mass in all of Europe. A lot of filming takes place here too; the adjacent extension is more accessible for large equipment and has been used for films like Interstellar (Dr. Mann's ice planet), James Bond, Batman, and, once again, Game of Thrones. But to reach our glacier, we first had to climb a bit. Then we could put on our crampons and go onto the ice. The funny thing was that we were finally able to take off layers of clothing. We had expected it to be quite windy high up in the hills and cold above the ice mass. But it was a sunny day, and it was lovely up there. After walking around the glacier, we also entered an ice cave. Hence the helmet; the cave was melting and might collapse in a week or two. Chunks of ice and rocks were already falling down occasionally, so don't look up. The ice under the glacier was a bright blue, very beautiful to see. Here and there, streams of water flowed in the cave and on the glacier. You could drink the meltwater from the glacier; it was very clean, practically demineralized (no additives like tap water) and, of course, pleasantly cool. Suddenly, on the glacier, we heard some roaring a bit further down. Some large rocks were crashing down from the cliff face a bit further down. The ice and everything around it is constantly moving; it's constantly changing. Only when we got back down did it get a bit cooler, a breeze picked up, and we could put our clothes back on. After another ride in our Dakar bus, the trip was over, a very successful outing! In the south, we also visited the Jökulsarlón glacial lagoon. There, large ice floes, broken off from the glaciers, drifted towards the sea. There were also plenty of seals there, a beautiful sight in the light of the setting sun. A little further on was a small beach nicknamed Diamond Beach. There, the waves threw large and small chunks of ice back onto the black sand. It's not hard to see where they got that nickname. The last night in southern Iceland was another clear one. After a whole day of rain, it cleared up completely in the evening. And because of that, we could see the Northern Lights again. In a deserted area like that, it was incredible how many stars there were. And to have the aurora there was also quite beautiful. It was also quite funny when our Asian neighbors discovered the Northern Lights. We were already standing at the edge of the park with my camera set up, taking pictures. Suddenly, we heard shouts of "Aurora, Aurora!" Like an anthill stirring, you could see people running around the house looking for their cameras and waking the others. We then drove a bit further to a nearby waterfall, so as not to be bothered by the light from the houses. During the night, there suddenly seemed to be quite a few trucks out and about, while you couldn't really see them during the day. This had the advantage that the rocks were still slightly illuminated in my photo. The Northern Lights did become less active and less bright quickly, so you didn't see as many streaks in the sky that evening. But the camera still managed to capture the green glow. Before we could return the rental car at the airport, we had one last outing: Denise went for a ride on a real Icelandic horse. We'd seen these horses several times earlier in the trip. She'd also explained at length how this breed has its own unique trotting motion (the tölt). She also explained that no other breeds are allowed in Iceland, and no horses can be imported to maintain the purity of the breed. So, it was a very successful trip for all of us. We loved the beautiful, diverse scenery and the relaxed Icelandic lifestyle. See you soon, who knows?!