The Land of Fire and Ice, Part I

Mention Iceland and all sorts of images are conjured up. Ice-covered land, glaciers, wilderness, cold, volcanoes, geothermal activity to start. As an American living in the UK, I have flown over Iceland several times on my way back and forth. I wondered what Iceland was really like. Was it the cold, icy place it seemed to be?

I always longed for a visit to Iceland. For some reason it wasn’t high on our list of priorities partly due to cost, partly due to lack of knowledge. If I knew what I was going to find when I visited Iceland I would have gone a long time ago.

Like other Scandinavian countries, Iceland isn’t a cheap place to visit or live. Due to the world’s financial collapses in 2008 things suddenly because much more affordable. Iceland was hit particularly hard by the financial troubles which made our American dollar so much stronger than the Icelandic kronur. On that note, we thought maybe it was time to fulfill a dream and visit Iceland.

Although we had other travel planned for early in the year, to Malta and the US, we decided to squeeze in a ten-day visit to Iceland in May, a bit earlier in the year. We chose the off-season due to costs mainly—cheaper airfare, hotels, car rental, and the fact that it is low-season when less people would be visiting. We thought about maybe taking less than ten days and only going to Reykjavik and the surrounding areas. I said that if we were going to Iceland that we were going to do it properly and go all the way around. No arguing there. Ten days it was…

Next issue—which direction do we travel? Clockwise or counterclockwise? There were pluses and minuses to both. In the end we decided to go clockwise and for no particular reason. Given the chance to do it all over again I would not have done it the same way. I would have gone to Reykjavik first then traveled counterclockwise around the island. Why, you ask? Iceland is full of spectacular scenery, and lots of it. By the time we had gone ¾ of the way around we had been wowed that many times that it wasn’t as interesting anymore. Yep, another glacier. Yep, another waterfall. Secondly, we didn’t give ourselves enough time or attention to Reykjavik. It was raining the one full day we had in Reykjavik. And we had the end-of-holiday blues. I would have been happy to call for my things and settle down in Iceland for the foreseeable future.

Our itinerary:
Arrive late to Keflavik Airport and stay overnight at B&B Keflavik Airport. Then it was two nights in the Akureyri area and two nights in the east of Iceland near Egilsstadir. We then spent one night each at Skaftafell National Park and Kirkjubaejarklaustur in the south. From here it was to southeast Iceland, the Hveragerdi area, for two nights. Finally, we stayed one night in Reykjavik before flying home.

We obviously had specific ideas in mind about what we wanted to see and what we would skip since ten days isn’t enough time to see everything. For the most part we would set off each day with no expectations. Iceland is full of brown signs pointing you to tourist sites as well as informational signs in Icelandic and English so you know what you are seeing. We would have a look at our guidebooks to see what was along the way or what was in the area and take it from there.

Let’s have a word about eating in Iceland. Be prepared to pay to eat in Iceland. It was expensive. Subway became a good friend of ours and it was not cheap either. The ten days we were there I can honestly say that we had three restaurant meals, several Subway meals, more hot dogs than I would like to admit and quite often we ate from the grocery store or sandwiches from a petrol station. Iceland has a unique system of grills in petrol stations. You can get a good variety of fried food, hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and snacks. At times it may be your only option.

What should you drive in Iceland? We rented an economy car but when we arrived to pick it up they were short on them and they gave us a Tucson, a small 4X4. We were obviously very happy with this since we wanted one in the first place. We were not willing to spend nearly twice as much for a 4WD vehicle. Luck was on our side here. Although the main road, Route 1, in Iceland is mostly paved, many of the other roads are not. There were some seriously rough roads out to some of the glaciers and waterfalls. In order to reach some of these you really had to have a four-wheel drive vehicle. The interior roads were not open in May when we visited—they aren’t open very often as the roads are not kept cleared all year. I think July and August are good months to visit this area. The interior of the country needs a four-wheel drive vehicle for sure. The roads are not paved and they are rough and mountainous.

If you are a person that loves surreal landscapes like lava fields and glacial lagoons you really must visit Iceland. If you are a person that loves wildlife like whales, birds and reindeer you really must visit Iceland. If you are a person that loves outdoor adventures you really must visit Iceland. If you are person that loves a modern, high-tech, cultural country you really must visit Iceland. I could keep going here. There is something in Iceland for everyone. Like I said before, if I knew what I was going to find in Iceland I would have come a long time ago. This is one place I will see again. Words cannot describe what Iceland made me feel. Go discover it for yourself.

Tom, Sofia and I left our house for the 100 mile drive to Manchester Airport where we would be departing on Icelandair for the Keflavik Airport outside of Reykjavik. Everything went smoothly with check-in. Normally Sofia gets her own seat but this time she was to sit on our laps to save some cash. Because there was one empty seat left on the plane when we got to the airport they kindly gave it to Sofia. I was ever so grateful considering she prefers a "big-girl"seat and can be quite a bear about having to sit with us. The flight was a breeze, only 2.5 hours and we landed in Iceland. Sofia managed to fall asleep and sleep through much of the flight. It was great that she slept, but on arrival at our hotel she wasn’t exactly eager to sleep.

It was the usual once we landed with deplaning, immigration and so on. Once that was done it was on to baggage claim where we had to pick up two suitcases, the pushchair and Sofia’s car seat. I located the pushchair and settled Sofia whilst Tom waited for the bags and off we went. Next up was the queue for our car rental. After much debate over the cost of a smaller car versus a four-wheel drive when making our reservation, we went with the smaller car because it was nearly half the cost. The interior roads would be closed in May and much of the roads would be paved. As we are standing there waiting it hits me—the car seat. I never picked it up. Panic! I took Sofia and ran back to the customs doors we came through earlier that say "Do Not Enter". I waited for a passenger to come through and we snuck through the doors and I sheepishly found someone to help. Sure enough, there it was sitting there. By the time I got the car seat and got back to Tom he was talking with the car rental agent and getting things sorted. Due to the lack of cars that night they would have to give us a four-wheel drive for the price of the small car. We didn’t know it at the time, but having this vehicle enhanced our holiday greatly by allowing us to drive places a small car couldn’t have handled. Tom took the keys and located the car. He drove it up to the terminal and picked us up. Thus starts our Icelandic holiday.

It was a big decision when we were making plans concerning which direction we would go around and whether or not we see Reykjavik at the beginning or at the end. In the end we decided to save Reykjavik to the end and to go clockwise around the island. Since we planned to see Reykjavik at the end we stayed at an airport B&B rather than going into the city the first night. Tom chose B&B Keflavik Airport. We didn’t have directions to the hotel, even after requesting them. How hard can it be to find?

Tom drove on some roads around the airport thinking we would see a sign. I mean, if you are an airport hotel you put up a sign, right? We did see a few other B&Bs so we thought we would happen upon it. The directions stated building 761, Keflavik. So, we start heading towards Keflavik and see an information sign with B&B Keflavik listed on it. Thank Goodness. After some meandering through streets we come upon a dark and scary looking house with B&B Keflavik posters in the window. There is no clear entrance. There don’t seem to be any lights on. It is late, after 1am, should we call? We traipsed around to the back door where there was a light on. Why not? I knocked. After a few seconds an attractive, half-nude man comes to the door trying to cover himself with a towel. He also had a toothpick in his mouth. Clearly we were in the wrong place. Apparently he works for the place but the B&B moved. Hmm, why the signs in the window then? Anyway, he told us in broken English to call the B&B to sort it out. Tom rang the B&B and a woman met us there in minutes so we could follow her to the proper place which was nowhere near where we were. (On a side note, as I was researching to write this entry, I found this location listed with rooms now. Interesting.)

Lesson learned. Make sure you know where you are going or call when you are lost. The B&B staff actually meets you at the airport and you can follow them or they transport you. This is not clear when you book the room so take my word for it.

Once we were arrived everything went quite smoothly. We got a half-decent night’s sleep due to it being quite late already. A long drive the next day forced us to be up at a decent hour.

Located at the old US Base in Keflavik, this B&B was just what we needed for a late night off the airplane. The man at reception was friendly and helpful. In fact, it was the same man I saw picking up passengers at the airport. Things were clean and tidy and looked well maintained.

Our spacious room had plenty of room for the three of us with luggage and pushchair, too. Our two single beds pushed together had one rather thin pillow each with no extras to be found anywhere. We requested a cot but there wasn’t one in there so Sofia slept between us on the beds. The beds were comfortable aside from the thin pillow issue.

Because this is an old US Naval Air Station barracks, the electrical system is a lower voltage than the rest of Iceland. Many of our electricals are American voltage (110 V) so it wasn’t an issue, but make sure you get a converter from the reception if you have 220-240V appliances such as straighteners, hair dryers, chargers, etc. In fact, the whole place was kitted out in what my husband called, "Cold War American" right down to the fluorescent lights. It was strange being in Iceland and seeing US towel racks and plugs and so on in the bathroom.

You can read my full story regarding finding the Bed and Breakfast here: Finding the B&B

In short, don’t think that you will find this place with no directions. It is not going to happen. We tried and failed. Reading other reviews online only solidifies this. After finding their old location and disturbing one of their employees who came to the door half-nude, one of the staff from the new location drove over to meet us and take us to the proper location.

It is in a great location for the airport and very convenient for someone who is flying into or out of Keflavik Airport as Reykjavik is a bit of a drive, especially if you get in late. I would stay here again for one night if needed. I don’t think I would stay any longer as people are coming and going at all hours due to flights coming in late and going out early.

I honestly can’t even remember eating breakfast there. My husband recalled it as being totally fine, but if I don’t remember it, it couldn’t have been that spectacular.

It turns out that we didn’t have such good luck finding our second hotel in Iceland either. This is the day and age of the navigation system, which we rely upon heavily when we travel. On this holiday we didn’t happen to have anything other than our own brains and a map and not such good directions to hotels.

Travelling along Route 1, the ring road around Iceland, we happened upon a Country Hotel Nature very near where we needed to be. I had a feeling that it wasn’t right so we left our bags in the car and went inside. Sure enough, we were very close, only 1-2 km up the road on the other side of the road according to the man that helped us.

Countryhotel Sveinbjarnagerði is located along the banks of Eyjafjörður, a stunning fjord in north Iceland. It is a long fjord measuring 60 kilometers with mountains or hills on either side. The hotel has 39 double rooms and 5 single rooms. Our double room was a corner room on the ground floor right at the front of the hotel overlooking the fjord.

Upon arrival we were shown to our room which had a double bed and a baby cot for my daughter, Sofia. The room also had a small desk area with a chair and a wardrobe. It was an en-suite room with a toilet and shower in the bathroom. The room itself was a bit small, but with the baby cot in the room it was nearly impossible to get around the bed.

Breakfast was well-appointed with both hot (eggs and sausages) and cold (cereals, cold cuts, bread) options. There was something for everyone. I had no trouble finding thing that my daughter was happy eating and she is picky!

The beds were not the most comfortable, but fine for two nights. We found everything to be clean and well maintained. The room we had not only had a door leading into the hotel as per usual, but a door that led out onto the balcony overlooking the fjord with two chairs for sitting outside and enjoying the view.

The hosts were always able to answer any question we had about the area and were exceptionally friendly and helpful with Sofia. Although it was a 10-15 minute drive into Akureyri, we found the hotel to be is a good location. It was out of the way enough to be enjoyable with the wonderful views and close enough to Akureyri for food and other necessities.

Laufás is a complex of turf houses and a church built back in 1840. The complex is no longer used as a home, but is now a museum dedicated to showing what it was like there in the late 19th century. Due to its lack of trees, Icelanders used sod to build many of their structures and this is no exception. Blocks of sod were cut from the soil and stacked to make the houses. The sod provided ample protection from the harsh Icelandic elements such as the cold wind and rain

The gabled, turf-roofed farmhouse is set on the edge of the Eyjafjördur about 11 km south of Grenivik in the north of Iceland. It is a typical example of a gable-end parsonage built for a priest with a large household of up to 30 people. The large number of people was necessary due to the natural resources on the land. Eider ducks populate the area and collection of the eiderdown was one of the things that residents did living on this farm. There was also haymaking and fishing to tend to in the area.

Laufás was inhabited until 1936. It has been administered by the National Museum of Iceland since 1948. Extensive repairs were done between 1957 and 1959.

Attached to the farmhouse is a little country café where you can have cakes, coffee and traditional Icelandic fare.

Nearby the turf houses is the little church, built in 1865, and dedicated to St. Peter. There is evidence of a church being there as early as 1047. The current pulpit in the church has wood carvings dating from 1689. The colourful carvings of Saints were incredible and almost looked out of place in the church.

The barrel-roof church was tiny, but beautiful. It had a little balcony in the back where you could climb the steps and overlook the whole of the church. The ceiling was a sky blue colour made up of rectangular shapes. The walls were white and the windows plain glass, not stained glass as I expected. Overall, it is a simple, cheerful little church with an amazing view of the nearby fjord.

Because the museum was not open when we visited we had to be happy having a look around outside the turf houses and visiting the little church.

Open 10am-6pm from 15th May to 15th September.