Dace travels - Blog

Iceland adventures in August 2024

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 17:08:00 +0000

This summer I went to Iceland again. No surprise, right? It was my 12th time there and I was wondering myself - can Iceland still surprise me? Well, yes, it can! We saw amazing mind blowing places again that in real life are far more impressive than in pictures.

This summer we were continued to explore the South. At our arrival we got a surprise - the volcano in Reykjanes had erupted again (it was 6th time in one year!) By then it was the biggest eruption seen in Reykjanes peninsula, the fissure was almost 4 km long at the beginning and at our arrival it was already erupting from two twin cones. Of course, we were super excited to see again a real eruption. The one we saw in May 2021 is the most amazing and surreal experience we have ever had. We knew that this one was not a tourist eruption (not easy to witness) so access was pretty limited but still the authorities had to offer some viewing options as otherwise people were totally out of control - parking anywhere and everywhere, walking on an old lava field that is full of old mines… (an old military practice field) - very reassuring, right? 😁

As we got out of the plane and picked our car from Lotus, we headed immediately to the volcano. The winds were favourable to us and we could see the lava fountains in the distance. This time the volcano was almost 5 km from us so not possible to hear the roar.

In the evening we headed to the South to prepare for the rest of the trip. We stayed again at hotel Dimon.

The next day’s weather was a bit moody but still we decided to go to Landmannalaugar via F225 we just love this road! It never feels boring and there is always something new to see. This time we stopped at the Raudaskal - Apple crater just next to Hekla volcano. It’s a small detour from the main road, a rather easy sandy road except the last bend before reaching the crater. That’s why you need a decent 4X4 there. You can actually drive all the way up to the crater but we decided to park and walk it up. It’s quite steep but not long. The colours and views are amazing. Hekla was in the clouds which made it an even more moody experience. Hekla is overdue for a long time already and it can erupt any time with a prior warning of max 20 min.

We walked around the whole rim of the crater, it was windy and even started to rain/snow a bit. So we were happy to get down the crater and have some warm tea!

We continued all the way till Landmannalaugar. The weather was slowly clearing up. We crossed the only river easily although the water this time was much deeper than last year.

Indeed, it was a very wet summer and the water levels were really up. There were some regular river crossings (e.g to go to Maelifel) that were passable only in super jeeps with tires of 35 inches and Thorsmork was not accessible for a few days either even for larger 4x4.

Please note that if you want to go to the main parking in Landmannalaugar camping you have to book your spot before and you also have to pay.

We headed to Ljotipollur instead. It’s translated as « ugly puddle » and so far we had never seen it before. There are two parking places - one at the bottom of the crater and one at the top. We parked at the one we saw first (bottom) and hiked all the way up. What a view! We definitely had not expected that! The colours were out of the world! It also started to clear up and just felt magic. We walked 1/3 of the crater’s rim but you can do the whole. The views are just awwwww ohooooo omg everywhere! We were almost alone there.

On our way back we wanted to drone the Apple crater but the wind was very strong. We saw a regular SUV that had broken something under the car on their way to the crater and needed assistance. The road clearly says that a 4x4 is needed.

In the evening we just soaked in the hot tub and planned the next day.

The day after the weather looked the best for the next few days so we decided to drive all the way till Langisjor and hike up Sveinstindur. It’s a really long drive, it took at least 3 h to arrive via F208 from the south. At the first river crossing we were greeted by a ranger who gave tips for river crossings and the road F235. The road is pretty easy but is long and had many small streams and puddles to cross. When we arrived at the lake we were greeted in Icelandic by a ranger, he admitted that we looked like locals. I will take that as a big compliment 😀

Our objective was to go up Svinstindur. Initially it was not easy to find the starting point of the hike. Note that it is not by the lake itself but you have to drive a bit around a mountain to find the right parking. We were very lucky with the weather, the sky was blue and wind was moderate. Usually this place is wrapped in clouds even on clear days as it has its own microclimate. The hike up is quite steep and some places can be tricky. In took us 1 h 30 to go up. There was an older couple that was going up before us and they were a good reference. If they can do it, so can we. 😀 If it’s too slippery or windy, the wooow views are already after 15 min climb. You don’t need to go all the way up. But, of course, the view at the top is 360 degrees and is just mind blowing. I think it is one of the most impressive views I have ever seen.

The way down was even more tricky than the way up (surprise, surprise). The important thing is to look at your feet and not the view which is really hard.

As we still had some time left, we decided to check out Elgja fissure. It’s a 30 min easy hike to Ofaerufoss waterfall. Perhaps not the most impressive place in Iceland but the history of it is impressive. It’s part of a 75 km long fissure that goes from Katla and it is from the largest eruption in the last millennium.

You can also visit Elgja from Holaskjol highland centre via smaller dirt tracks too.

The next day we wanted to take easy, the weather was not fantastic and we decided to make stops on the go.

There is new attraction available next to Seljalandsfoss for the fans of plane wrecks. Over a year ago or so this DC-3 plane was actually in a field in the East. It had been there since its unfortunate landing. The current owner saw a business opportunity and moved the plane where it stands now. The plane is in a relatively good condition - much better than the one of Solheimasandur. It is also far less known. It has lots of explanations as well. Please note that you have to pay 7 eur for parking and you can do it via a QR code.

Our next stop was the oldest swimming pool in Iceland. No idea how I had not seen this place before. It’s a very easy and short hike by a lovely river and the valley is so beautiful! As expected, there were a few people there. Some even swam but it did not look that inviting.

Last year around the same time we managed to see puffins at Dyrholaey. This year they were already gone! And there was not a single parking available. People were getting insane ideas where they should park so we just wanted to escape that madness asap. We went to the Vic’s most instagramable place - Skool beans cafe. The coffee was tasty and the ginger cat is a true star - I confirm!

The next two days the weather was really bad. It rained like crazy non-stop. We could observe how a calm stream just next to our cottage became a raging river with a waterfall! It was impressive! Yes, the pictures under are taken at the same location on different days.

What to do when it rains? Go to the pool, of course! And go to a cafè!

We had a nice cappuccino and a piece of cake at Hamrafoss cafe for 37 eur. It’s probably the most expensive coffee I have ever had in Iceland. I guess you also pay for the view 😉.

The rain had stopped a bit and we even managed to see some places. Normally the waterfall of two sisters (Systrafoss) does not impress anyone but due to heavy rains it was just beautiful!

You can easily hike up to it from Kirkjubaejarklaustur and on the way you will see one of the highest trees in Iceland!

The next day the weather looked better in the east so we decided to explore some new and old places around Vatnajokul.

Svinafelljokul is one of the first ice lagoons that is on the way. There is a new road with decent parking options (surprisingly still free!). I have seen this place already several times and each time it’s magic. I had a feeling there was more ice floating (global warming?) than before and it’s easy to find calm corners and be on your own even if many people stop there.

The next stop was Múlagljúfur canyon. I was not sure how long and complex the hike was and we decided to give it a go. The parking was totally full. Luckily our Land Cruiser had no issues at all to find a spot but if you go with a regular car, it can be tricky.

The hike was rather busy with all kinds of people- people in sneakers and shorts and people well equipped. You have to cross a small river and, as it had rained a lot, it was a bit tricky. We saw some people that slipped and got wet.

Some parts are more steep but most of the time it’s a decent hike. I would say it takes at least an hour to get to the view point. Add up 20 min or so more for the very top. The view again was woooow wooow wooow. We felt like we were in a Hobbits’ land or something. The green, the birds, the glacier at the top and the raging waterfall… just woooow.

My advice would be to travel light. Don’t take your drones (too many birds!). We spent some time admiring the view and I also wanted to see the top so decided to hike it up light to see the view. Definitely worth it!

If you go, make it all the way up!

Our next step was the famous Jokulsarlon lagoon and the Diamond beach. The place is so touristy yet so amazing! We arrived around 4 pm and there was hardly any parking left. The icebergs and seals were making their usual show.

The Diamond beach was full of medium size leftovers of icebergs. Again, if you walk a bit, you have the place for yourself. My advice would be to park the car at the beach side and then walk to the lagoon under the bridge. Will be easier and you will not lose time trying to find a parking spot.

In the evening we were very hungry and we wanted to check out a local restaurant - Kjarr. oh, the food was soooo good! I definitely recommend. No surprise it has 4.9 evaluation on Google.

The next day in our planning was to see Laki but the rivers were so high that we thought it would not be very smart. Instead we headed back to Keflavik and spent some time volcano chasing!

We had not seen the road that goes to Blue Lagoon that was destroyed. It’s really impressive what they have done there: to re-route roads, make protective walls, protect electricity cables. Just wow!!! And you can still see lava fuming!

In the evening we wanted to see the volcano in the dark. As said before, it was not as amazing as in 2021 but still the fact that you see in front of you an active volcano spitting lava is impressive! This time we sent the drone to do the job (it was allowed to fly it at low altitude).

Reykjanes peninsula has indeed woken up and does not stop shaking and spitting up lava. It will be interesting (and a bit scary) to follow the developments of the area - what does nature have in store for us?

The next day we spent in Reykjavik. We found a really good 66North outlet - a place where you can actually afford something 😅.

And then - a hot tub for a full happiness to close the day and the trip.

Iceland always surprises you, so I’m looking forward to the next adventure!

The mighty Dolomites July 2024

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 10:56:00 +0000

When thinking about a quick escape from grey Brussels, it was decided that Dolomites would be a perfect location for early July. The schools holidays had not started yet in France and Northern Italy so there was a chance to see this magical place without being too crowded.

If you drive in one go, you can reach Dolomites in 10 hours or so from Brussels. We wanted to have a short break on our way and chose to stay in a small village by lake Constance. A perfect place for the first snitzlel and aperol spritz that does not cost a leg. And in very beautiful surroundings. The area really surprised us - beautiful villages with flowers everywhere, nice views on the lake, wine yards and actually very good Bodenzee wine!

When thinking of Dolomites you can divide the area in eastern and western part. We chose to stay in the very north and also very east to avoid very touristy areas like Cortina. While this comes with more authenticity, it also means that you are a bit further from the famous hikes and need to drive more.

Driving can be challenging. Although we were not in the very high season, the roads very already pretty full and there were loads of stupid drivers that would not respect any rules, especially motorcyclists would play with their lives at almost every bend of the road.

Our first base was Chalet Salena - a true hidden gem and everything was perfect, including local restaurants and hikes.

Although touristy like hell, lago di Braies, was on our list. This spot is famous for a reason but if you want to enjoy it, you have to come here around 6 am. Yes! That early. That’s what we did. We left the car at the cheapest parking place (P2) which is a 5 min walk from the lake and we paid 8 euros only. The ones who did not do homework checking the best options, ended up paying 20 eur a day and could park just next to the lake. Note that as from the second week of July you actually have to book a parking spot online before to have access to the area.

The lake is a real Instagram influencer magnet. And no surprise, it is a very, very beautiful place.

Most of people will just go to see the boats or rent a boat (I think it was 45 eur an hour). But you can walk around the lake and there are also several nice hiking trails around. We walked around the lake clockwise, starting at the boat house.

At 6 am there were already photographers there and a bride and groom waiting for their individual photoshoot. We were one of the few who actually hiked around the lake. You don’t need walking shoes, sneakers will be sufficient. The views are very nice, of course even better with a clear sky. Our big and nice surprise were cows! They were just chilling there, drinking water, eating grass and posing for curious tourists.

At 9 am the crowds were already big, several Asian wedding photoshoots taking place and a very long queue of you wanted to rent a boat. We opted for a cappuccino with a view. To our surprise the price was only 3 eur!

Note that drones and swimming are forbidden there as it is a national park. Of course there were idiots that were ignoring this fact.

When we left the place at 9:30 it was already a total chaos, parkings were full and people were everywhere. So we were happy about our choice to start the day very early.

The next day the weather was a bit tricky. So we decided to explore local hiking trails. It all started well with a nice hike through a forest, the views were nice, flowers everywhere!

I even managed to make a flower crown and then it started to rain…

Oh no… what do you do in such a case? You go to a rigugio and eat! 🤣
Malga Messner was right in our way and did not disappoint. The cuisine in Dolomites is very interesting, a total mix of German / Austrian and Italian specialities.

And nobody looks weird at you if you have a snitzhel and then a tiramisu for a dessert.

Not far from chalet Salena was a hidden gem - Moos Alm. Located just by the forest and in a middle of a meadow it offered great food with very reasonable prices too. Aperol spritz was 4.60 eur!

The hike to the famous Tre Cime was also on our bucket list. Again - if you want to enjoy it, you have to go super early. We arrived around 7 am at the entrance booth and there was a very long queue already, when we went to the parking around 500 parking spots were left. Around 9 am the road is closed and one can enter only if cars leave. The day pass is 30 eur for a regular car. You can also hike up all the way if you are very motivated. There is also a bus but looked very crowded from what we saw. The hike itself is wooooow!

Just you will not have it for yourself. It’s a very popular one and there are people everywhere. There are three rifugios on the circular hike where you can have a snack.

There are also passages that are less busy and are worth exploring. If you go anti-clock wise, the first half of the hike is very easy. It’s later that it is becoming a bit more steep. We thought that the main passage offered the best views and was the easiest. The total length is about 10 km. You definitely have to check out the caves above the rifugio Locateli. Hiking poles were handy here as it was steep. What a view!

If you take your lunch with you, there are many possibilities for views to enjoy. We opted for a lunch in a meadow with some reflections on the tre Cime. Wooooow!

Wherever you look while you are on the trail the views are just amazing!

Before you head back to the parking you have wonderful views on the cadini di Misurina. These razor sharp peaks are very impressive.

There is also a hike with a view point that goes there but we skipped it. As it was a hot day and there was no shadow at all, we had enough of walking.

Note that there is only one wc at the parking lot and you need to pay 1 eur in cash. There was a crazy man working there screaming on everyone. A very weird experience. And the wc is Turkish. Plus you cannot drink water from there so take enough with you or buy in rifugios.

After our walk we headed in the direction of Auronzo lake. We passed the lake of Misurina, it was so busy there, no place to park or visit anything there so we were happy to get out of craziness and enjoy the beauty by the Auronzo lake. Surprisingly there were not many people there. The lake has an impressive blue colour, it is actually a dam.

Our next stop was agriturismo boton d’oro. It is on the very East side of the Dolomites, up the hill and with a very impressive view.

As if you could touch the mountains in front of you by hand. The agriturismo is famous for its farm and local products so no surprise that the dinner was fabulous.

The next day it was raining and we decided to sleep in. At 9:20 when we went for breakfast we got scolded that we were too late and breakfast was over… excuse me???

The weather prospects did not look very good. The beautiful view was hidden by rain clouds so we decided it was a good day for shopping and stock up local goodies.

The closest bigger village was Calalzo di Cadore and it did not disappoint - local products, sports shop with very attractive prices and a very delicious pizza!

We also checked out a local Lidl - if we had a truck, we would have filled it up with prsecco, tomato sauce and olive oil 🤣.

The weather started to look a bit better and we could enjoy lago di Cadore… again a beautiful colour and very calm surroundings with only a few locals around.

We were very intrigued by the village Dante that we saw the day before across the valley. So high up in the mountains! Was really impressive indeed! Local school, some small shops, not many hotels… but the views!!!

Woooow! Must be very harsh in winter though with those windy roads…

Our short trip was almost over, final cappuccino with a view, a few pics in the meadow and we were ready to head back home.

We decided to drive straight - 12 h and home!

A few weeks later we got an unpleasant surprise- it turned out that in addition to Austrian highway vignette, we also had to buy a special pass for the road to Innsbruck. The fine was 120 eur. Of course this info was not very visible on the Austrian road homepage. Well, now we know. Now we know also why Austria is so rich!

Observations

The mix of German, Austrian and Italian cultures is really fascinating. Also everyone speaks German and Italian and also pretty good English.

Prices are very acceptable. The most expensive aperol spritz was 5 euros. You can have a goulash soup for 8 euros and a very good local steak would cost you 24 euros.

For the parking you need to pay everywhere.

We did not use any gondolas or chair lifts but they can add a considerable cost to any trip.

When the weather is bad, sauna is the answer. More and more hotels and air b&bs have their private ones so you can really enjoy the experience.

I was impressed with the industry of wood in the area, each village has its own wood production company. And no surprise - the forests around are impressive.

If leaving from Belgium, there are quite some pay roads via France, also in Italy, it’s something to factor in for the final costs.

The weather was pretty tricky, although there is a belief that on the Italian side it’s more stable. On the Marmolata mountain (the highest peek of Dolomites), it was actually showing! This year the paths were full of snow till end of June. The excessive rain had also caused some damage to the local infrastructure

Recharging in Norway above the arctic circle

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 21:36:00 +0000

Before embracing spring with warmer temperatures, flowers and first bbqs, I just need to recharge my batteries with cold, wind, beautiful black and white decor topped up with green northern lights! Did we go to Iceland? Nope, again Norway this time!

I wanted to combine “not to do anything” with some more “not to do much” so we opted for a ferry ride and some days next to Tromso.

Last year we had a great experience with using Hurtigruten ferry to go from Tromso to Lofoten islands and this time I wanted to prolong that trip by staying on board 3 days and 2 nights. Almost everyone has heard of Hurtigruten but not many people know about Havila - a competitor with much newer ships, larger cabins and even cheaper! Plus, Havila claims to have one of the greenest ferries in the world as they run on hydrogen. The usual trip is Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen (12 days in total) but we thought it would be far too long to be stuck on a ferry for such a long trip. Port-to-port seemed more feasible to us. We got relatively cheap tickets from Brussels to Trondheim and it was an easy transfer there.

The airport of Trondheim is 35 min away by train - it’s a very beautiful ride. You can buy the tickets in the machine. Just figure out which train to take as in the info board none says Trondheim S (sentral). There are about 3 - 4 trains in an hour. Make sure you sit on the right side so you can enjoy beautiful views. The ticket was around 4.50 euros only.

I did not have any expectations for Trondheim but it turned out to be a really beautiful city.

The colourful houses are always beautiful. The centre was extremely clean.

The cathedral was impressive! Should definitely come back for more.

We boarded the ferry before 12:00 and had some time to explore the ship.

Some observations

The Havila ships are all new, lots of deck space at different levels, never felt too crowded.

Many calm corners inside as well. We noticed some knitting frenzy happening on board 😀
We booked the cheapest room that has a window and it was very spacious with a very good shower.

When it was a bit wavy, water in the shower was wavy too! If you don’t know where to spend your cash, you can also opt for a room with your own balcony with jacuzzi 😝
There are two big jacuzzis available for everyone 6:00 - 24:00. Busy only in very popular times.

Sauna has no view and men and women are separated. Weird…
Every day there was a small activity at the open deck - we even tasted a (free) porridge with cinnamon. And they always announce if there is anything interesting to see on the way.

There were only a few younger couples, mostly retired people from Germany and UK.
The bar prices were actually acceptable. You could get a glass of champagne for 13 euros.

We had opted for a meal package as thought it would be less of a hustle. Everything on the ferry is about the food. It was actually excellent! Breakfast and lunch are served in small portions - you can choose as many as you want but usually 3 - 4 are enough.

Dinner is 3 courses. But there was a big but… something that we found very, very weird… you have to choose your meal times when you board. As we did not do the whole trip, only unpopular times were available for us. Also, you are seated next to people you don’t know! So you hear everything they speak… and you cannot have a decent conversation yourself. We asked to have a table for two and we got one without any view and unpopular times… And if you are doing a port-to-port trip like us, you will never get a table by the window. Well, we actually did once! Because people before us were too slow so we got the best table! So the table seating is something that Havila got totally wrong!
The ferry is extremely quiet, you hardly hear the engine which makes it very pleasant, you really feel like you are in the middle of the nature. And those views! They were never boring on our way!

The ferry claims to make environmental efforts by reducing waste. It’s probably true due to fact that there is no buffet. But the amount of dishes that need to be washed! Also, they use external heaters on the deck in some places! That’s a total greenwashing!
If there are northern lights, the crew will announce them! We saw a really nice show in Svolvær. They never disappoint and always feel magic. Some of the crew also went on deck to take pictures as they had never seen them before.

On the day of disembarking, you have to leave the cabin by 12:00. We noticed that many stopped the trip in Tromso.
The ferry ride is just beautiful. All the way - views, views, views…

Once arrived, we had to pick up our car at Hertz. That is always a hustle and takes ages. Well, we were lucky we had a car as at the moment of travel there were no cars left at Tromso - a total sold out! So book yours early or you will have a very expensive bill! Once we got the car we noticed a red/orange sign that said that there was a problem with tyres… great! We went to Hertz garage where they just told us - oh, we never reset that option when we change the tyres, don’t worry! Excuse me???

We arrived at Buvik lodge where we were hoping to have some great time. Well, it turned out that a place that was 10/10 had became a total crap… well, the views were still amazing but the rest was totally worn out and not taken care of. Domage…

The weather was not too cooperative either. A bit of rain. But still beautiful. We had less snow than last time and could do some more walks in the area.

Sommarøy is such a beautiful place! A true Nordic Caribbean! Those colours!

We also tried to do the hike up in Hillesøy but it was too steep with snow at parts and we got gloves immediately wet. In more dry weather, I would say it’s a must!

We also wanted to see some reindeer but none were around… So we put a Sami radio on with a hope it would do some magic! And it did!!! Actually Sami songs are very interesting, worth listening to and exploring this part of culture more!

The next day the weather looked already better.

And just as we left, we spotted a reindeer herd! There they were - just chilling next to electricity facility. There was also a super friendly dog. It was a wonderful experience to see these beautiful animals so close. Some were very curious and were coming next to us. We did not see the owner so we just observed them.

So actually we saved 250 euros per person as that’s a cost of a visiting of a reindeer farm. On that day we spotted reindeers 6 times! The rest were in much smaller groups and further away.

We also did a hike up to Ornfloya. As there was not much snow, it was quite easy. The views are really beautiful.

Last time we did not manage to check out the long white sand beach Sangsviksletta - oh, what a treat it was! We were all alone there - just waves, loads of sea shells and sea urchins. Again such a beautiful and accessible place!

What I like about Norway is that all places in nature are accessible- it’s in the law. Nobody can keep the natural beauty only to themselves.

For the rest of the day we decided to drive around and we were treated with magic mirror views at Sørfjorden!

Well, that’s how 6 days disappeared in beautiful Norway above the arctic circle. To repeat, to repeat, to repeat…

Best time to visit Iceland - first half of September!

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 14:31:00 +0000

I have been to Iceland exactly 10 times and have seen it in all months except in June. Whenever you will go, you will have amazing time. Each period has its pros and cons. But there is a period, which in my view is the best - first 15 days of September. I get this question often - so when IS the best time to visit the land of ice and fire. Let me give you some reasons why you should go in September.

Highlands are still open

While the road ring and Golden Circle have their charm, the most beautiful and wild Iceland you can experience in highlands. Nature is at its best- the colourful mountains, the rivers with mighty waterfalls, blue lakes, volcanos and hidden hot springs. You will need your own 4x4 car - the bigger - the better. Also hiking trails are still open and it’s possible to discover beautiful paths across the whole country. If you are up for the whole day hike - the most famous one is Fimmvordulhals hike of 26 km from Skogar to Thorsmork. Usually highlands close around mid-September when the first snow can appear. Note that they are closed only for tourists that do self-driving. You can still access them via specialised tours that are super expensive.

2. Days are still long

In the first half of September the days are still long and you can do many activities from early morning to late evening. On September 1, the sunrise is at 6:11 AM, and the sunset is at 8:41 PM. You don’t have the midnight sun anymore (believe me - midnight sun is cool for 2 days but then it’s becoming annoying) but the days are still long so you have plenty of time exploring!

3. Pleasant temperatures and not that much rain

The beginning of September can still feel like summer, well, Icelandic summer, so it’s ok to be happy about 13 degrees :-) but you can easily get +17, even in highlands! Of course, you can get a surprise of snow too - more in the north but that’s a small risk to take.

4. It is much cheaper than in full season

It’s not a surprise - Iceland is expensive and for most of people require careful planning of expenses. The cost of accommodation and car rental can be up to 40% less than during the peak months of July and August. Plus in September it will be easier for you to find nicer places to stay! You still need to book early!

5. Less crowds

Personally for me it’s a very important criteria. During the peak season Iceland can feel like a Disneyland. People are everywhere! And while you can escape the crowds if you plan carefully during the season, in September there will be far less people around. And believe me - you don’t want to queue for your pictures in Iceland. You just want to embrace the nature and enjoy the moment.

6. A possibility to see Northern lights

Oh they are magical if you happen to be lucky to see them in a full glory! September is perfect as it is dark in the evening and yet it is not as cold as in winter. You can enjoy the dancing of the green lady in a much more enjoyable way- preferably in a hot tub, of course!

7. Blue berries

Do you like skyr- the Icelandic yoghourt full of proteins? Imagine you can pick your own blueberries from the porch of your cottage and add them to your breakfast bowl! Yes, that is possible in September! There are endless blueberry fields and they are easy to spot on the way. You can just stop the car in a safe place and pick them! You will see Icelanders doing the same! A tip - try blueberry cheesecake that you can find in Netto. It’s amazing!

8. No midges (almost…)

Have you seen pics of tourists with nets on their heads in summer in Iceland? Well, yes, next to wet places like lakes and rivers they will be everywhere in summer! And oh my, they are annoying! In September as it’s getting a bit cooler, they are not there anymore or they are far less!

9. You have a chance to see puffins

Those funny sea clowns leave for their winter gateway early September. With a bit of luck, you can still spot them in the usual places. We have seen them still around mid September at the Reynisfara black beach. They are really fascinating little birds. It’s totally worth to check them out. At the light house of Dyrholaey you can see them 2 m away from you!

So, did I convince you? Get that ticket and go! 😎

My previous trips in September:

Highlands of Iceland - September 2023

Westfjords - September 2022

Ring road - September 2020

Incredible Icelandic highlands - summer 2023

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 17:41:00 +0000

This summer was my 9th time in Iceland. While it feels like yesterday, I already want to go back! Again and again Iceland surprised us with wonderful gifts.

This time our objective was to visit southern highlands as much as possible. This part of the island is accessible only in summer months as it involves driving on F roads and crossing rivers. And it was AMAZING! We thought we had seen already so much of Iceland but this time again new places positively surprised us with wonderful views.

To visit highlands you need to have a steady car - the bigger, the better! (And the more expensive!) We got a Toyota Hilux and it served its purpose well! Some people even though we were locals! Hahaaaa!

This summer we were also extremely lucky with the weather. We stayed for 8 days and it rained only on two mornings!

If you really want to enjoy the highlands, first you have to study the F roads and river crossing rules. I used a lot of info prepared by my friend Igor from Epic Iceland. But once you get to your first river, we’ll, that’s your first test!

As our base we had chosen several places in the south and we moved around according to the weather and also complexity of F roads. We really wanted to start with easier ones to be sure not to get into any trouble and make news in Icelandic local newspapers.

Road F225 that passes the mighty Hekla and goes to Landmannalaugar is considered as a good road to start adventures. It’s extremely scenic and only with one river crossing. We had driven this road already before and it is truly amazing! Just like moon most of the time changing to impressive craters and with an amazing Hekla just next.

Hekla is still overdo and it is always a bit uncomfortable to be so close to it knowing that the warning to evacuate would be only 20 min before the volcano explodes…

On the way to Landmannalaugar there is an interesting waterfall - Raudufossar - the red one. Indeed it is more special than other ones due to its red colour.

If you just want to have a quick look, it will not work. There is 1.5 km walk to it and also a possibility to have an amazing view point, so do count at least 1 h for visiting the place.

The river crossing is just before Landmannalaugar. When we travelled the water levels were really low, we crossed it quickly without giving a much thought. We actually thought that that was just a stream and a real one would be much further!

Landmannalaugar is a true gem. We had seen it before, so we just passed through and had a lunch with the most amazing view. Not bad, huh?

We were more interested in the road F208 or Landmannalaugar south. It is considered as one of the most beautiful roads and it did not disappoint!

Finally we also got to the first real river crossing. Normally these rivers are considered as medium crossings. In dry weather it is also possible to cross in Dacia Duster or Jimny. But still, one should not make any stupid moves.

It had not rained for 10 or so days, so water levels in general were low and we could cross all rivers on the way without checking them too much before. They all were clear and it was easy to see the ground. You just need to adhere to normal river crossing rules like follow the indications if any and do as locals do (with a condition you have the same size car).

Note that the drive is really long. Google would say 2 h or so but with all the stops I think for us it was 5 or so! So much to see and enjoy!

We don’t go to the same places often but we definitely wanted to see Huldujokull once again! It’s a whole day hike from the Thagkil camping. And it did not disappoint at all. It’s one of the most incredible places in the world. Where else can you be just next to a glacier, hear ice cracking, enjoy waterfalls thundering down and enjoy several rainbows the same time??? We could observe global warming in its full action. One year later the central waterfall had doubled! We definitely did not expect that.

The walk to the glacier and back is impressive all the way, count at least 6 h for a round trip.

While at Thagkil, we could feel that the river has a strong smell of sulphur. There are no hot springs in that area, so we found it a bit weird. After some research, we found that rivers around Katla indeed smell sulphur if there is volcanic activity. Indeed Katla had some earthquakes around that time, so it made sense. Katla is also overdue and is considered as one of the most dangerous volcanos in Iceland.

On the way home we could observe an amazing phenomenon- a rolling fog! I had heard about it but had never seen it. The fog was moving of a speed of a car! It looked so beautiful!

Once we were into it, it was almost pitch black! A totally surreal experience!

Our next day’s objective was to see the mighty Maelifell! There are several roads that you can take to get there. We opted for the easiest as it also has a dream-come-true scenic spot- where you cross the river above the waterfall!

We took the old Oldufell road. I don’t know why but this road is not marked in Google maps! You just need to take a detour on the left from 209 - the sign is clear. Somebody was writing that it’s a boring road, I would not agree - there are amazing views all the way.

The road is not too difficult most of the time, just very narrow (really would not know what to do if two cars are in front on each other and need to pass) and it takes a long time to arrive at Maelifell.

But there is an amazing gift on the way - the crossing of river just above Bláfjallafoss. Be aware that if you come from south you will have a surprise - the river crossing is just after the view point! We did not expect it and it was already there! The water was not too deep but the river bed was very rocky and the car was shaking a lot but what an amazing experience!!! Also to get out of the river you really need to have a very good grip! While we were there we saw a Dacia Duster crossing it too. And we met a group of Slovak cyclists going to Akureyri! That’s a loooooong way!

When approaching Maelifell the views change dramatically and suddenly you are in the middle of a black desert. And you are all alone! Maelifell is often in clouds so we were extremely lucky to see it in his full glory.

Soon enough the wind was picking up and we could see a sand storm slowly forming around the mountain. A glacier, a green volcano and a black never ending horizon… just wooow wow wow!

Just next to Maelifell there is a wonderful crater - Raudibotn. Just there is one small problem - a big river to cross - Holmsa. It is indeed considered as a big one, can be up to 70 cm deep and it has some deeper parts in it and it is also large! For river crossing newbies like us it felt like a mission impossible. We decided to have our lunch and wait until somebody else crosses. That is usually the best technique if you are not sure. Well, actually, if you are not sure, then you should not cross! Finally we saw a modified camper crossing the river and it came all the way to us! It was a Swiss couple who had realised that we were not sure if it was a good idea to cross or not. They explained that the river is at least 20 cm lower in water than usually. Still it looked very deep in one point. Anyway, we followed the tips and crossed it like pros - just going slowly! That’s rule No 1 not to get into trouble.

In the end we did not go to the crater, a sand storm was getting stronger and we did not want to be caught up in it. However, we had a quick visit Axlafoss. Nothing that we had not seen before but still a nice spot to enjoy.

We used F210 for our way home. There were no more river crossings but the road was quite technical with many bends and steep parts. On the way back we had a quick stop at Sólheimajökull. I think I have seen it 4 times and each time it is different and each time it is worth it!

We stayed in a lovely place - Hotel Dimon. A very caring owner and a hot tub is always welcome! That night it was raining a lot. The morning, however, looked bright so we decided to go to Thorsmork on our own. Last summer we made the 26 km hike Skogar - Thorsmork, so we knew how amazing it is there and we wanted to see it in a good weather. The road F249 to Thorsmork is only 30 km long but there are many rivers to cross and it is considered dangerous and technical. The closer you are to the final destination, the bigger the rivers are! We started confident that we, and our Hilux could do it! By now we were river crossing experts! We crossed one, then another, one more… easy peasy! And then we arrived at the one coming from Gigjokull… hmmm… it did not look good… to decide to cross or not you can use the question - would you cross it on foot? If not, then it’s normally a no go… The river was very fast and grey, not possible to estimate the real depth and we did not want to go into it and check. So we decided that our trip was over… and we went with heavy hearts to see the glacier. One might think that you can get to Gigjokull only when crossing rivers but no - there is a foot path on the right from the first river crossing. It’s a truly beautiful place.

When we came back we still decided to hang by the river just in case we decided to cross. We waited for 1.5 h and were collecting useful info. Of course, super jeeps and busses had no problem to cross. There was a group of Czhechs in Toyota Land Cruiser but they turned back as on safe travels chat they had been advised not to go to Thorsmork. As it had rained in the night, the water level was very high! There were some SUVs that had crossed the rivers the day before and now had troubles to get back! They had no choice! With engines fuming they still managed! So for us it was a clear sign - if they did it, we can do it! There was also a young and crazy Jimny driver who decided to cross (and it worked). On our way we also saw some very stupid and irresponsible tourists that would cross against all the rules. This time they managed but often it ends badly. While waiting we met a lovely Spanish couple and decided to try the crossings together. Whoohoooo, we did it! And then the next one was even bigger! And the river was really long and deep but we made it.

We arrived in Thorsmork quite late with all the adventures, so we had time only for one hike - Valahnjúkur viewpoint. It starts at the back of Langidalur camping, the path is marked with white sticks. You have to leave the car at an improvised parking and cross Krossa river on foot. There are two foot bridges and you need to use a ladder to get on and off. One is not comfortable at all!

The hike up to the view point is not too hard and in 40 min or so you will be rewarded with amazing views!

The rivers are usually getting bigger later in the evening as ice is melting. So we decided to get back. This time the crossings were even harder as visibility was more difficult due to the angle of the sun and yes, they felt more powerful and water was a bit up.

We had a quick peak in the Stakkholtsgjá canyon on our way.

It’s definitely worth to visit the whole canyon but we felt we needed to go before the water increased even more. So maybe next time. This whole day was such a learning and emotional roller coaster. All those questions - should we cross, should we go etc. But we are extremely happy that we did it! Conclusion- if you are not sure 100% about crossing - wait, observe, learn and then decide!

The next day looked to be grey so we decided to check out a little canyon just next to the place we were staying. Nauthúsagil is a little hidden gem, you can get there without any river crossings. It felt like a fairy tale. As it had rained in the night, everything was green and fresh.

At the end of the path you need to use a chain to climb up to see the waterfall itself. It looked too slippery to us so we skipped it.

Our next objective was to find puffins. We had seen them already before but usually from far. We had heard from a fellow traveler that there were still plenty at Dyrhólaey. And there were! Just by the lighthouse! These little clowns of the sea were just there. We could observe them like 3 m from us. We stayed there for hours just to observe their burrows and how they go about their daily business. Puffin couples stay together forever! They are together on land to take care of chicks and then do their own business during winter before getting back together in summer again. Fascinating birds!

Did you know that there is a Yoda cave in Iceland? The day was not over so we decided to check it out. It is just behind Vic. We thought that there would be nobody but no, the whole ring road tourism was there! There was a queue to take a picture!

What is more interesting than the cave, is a little road that goes to the sea! The beach is beautiful and wild! The waves were raging. If you go there, be careful!

The next day we decided to go back to to the Raudibotn crater. We had a window of a few hours without rain and we started the day early. We were the first ones to arrive at the parking and it was amazing to have the place to ourselves. I think we discovered another favourite spot for us! There are two ways how to get to the crater - if you follow the river on the right, the hike is easy. If you follow the path further, you get to the amazing Hólmsárfossar and the lake. If the sky is clear, the colours will be amazing!

On the way back we decided to climb up a little hill to have a view on Maelifell. And it was woooow!!!

If you don’t want to cross the river, this is the best view point, just follow the yellow sticks. It looked like the path was brand new. We could also observe rain coming in!

The weather was not stable for the rest of the day so we decided to take it easy and check out Kirkjubæjarklaustur village. On our way we noticed that some civil protection cars were bringing some barriers in the highlands and we thought the river just next to our cottage was extremely agitated, almost black! We had never seen a river like that. And then we got a message - evacuation! There was a possibility of a subglacial lake to overflow and flood the whole region.

When we asked the owner of the cottage if we should evacuate, she just laughed and said it was probably a mistake… The highest level of water was expected in 8 h during the night… and the river was 200 m from our cottage… hmmm… that did not sound very reassuring so we decided to leave.

In the end we ended up in one of the worst stays we ever had! We never managed to get our money back. Before I believed that booking would actually care for its clients but well… not really! Even good reviews can bring you to dirty places.

The next day we had to head back to Keflavík. The holidays were over. With a conclusion that we need to explore highlands even more! Next year! 😎

Lofoten’s postcards from the arctic circle in Norway

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 16:07:00 +0000

Pic by Gilles Servais

Lofoten is a well know destination for nature lovers and should be on the list for anyone loving north. Initially there was a plan to visit Lofoten in autumn but we went to Iceland instead, so had to catch up now! After a thorough research, I realised that winter is indeed the perfect timing for visiting Lofoten. You can get there by plane, by ferry or by car. We had chosen not a common way to get there. We flew to Tromso trough Oslo and then took the Hurtigruten ferry for 17 h to arrive in Svolvaer.

There is no quick way to arrive to Lofoten so one way or another you need time and patience. But let me assure you - it's all worth it as it's simply AMAZING! We landed in Tromso and the northern lights immediately greeted us above our heads (how cools is that - to wait for a bus and see the green lady dancing above your head?). I already mentioned in previous trip report that the easiest and cheapest way to get to Tromso centre is by public buses, don't be fooled by all the commercials of fly bus when you arrive! Our ferry was at 01:45 so we had some time to spend in the evening. There are some luggage lockers at the ferry terminal if you want to leave your suitcases there, it costs 10 euros per locker for 24 h. We had a great dinner at Graffi Grill (you can even leave your suitcases there), check out their cheese cake and you can thank me later! And then the waiting for the ferry started... People were slowly starting to arrive. And the green lady showed up again.

It was funny to see some people jumping from joy to discover northern lights. Well, the show was not comparable to what I had seen before. And little did I know that that that was (almost) all we saw of NL for the whole trip... hehehehe...

Lofoten is more cloudy than Tromso, so if your objective is to see the NL, stay around Tromso or go to Alta in Sweden.

As the ferry was approaching, the terminal became more like a Ryanair queue... We could not understand why people would already queue 40 min before! Well, we understood later - the check-in on the ferry was a disaster and took ages... so ruuuuun if you don't want to wait. That was a big unpleasant surprise. You had to pull your heavy suitcases up steep stairs, then wait on the stairs until a girl squad would check you in (everyone would get an offer for an upgrade - so imagine the waiting time!). Nobody was helping older people with their luggage... When we mentioned that to the staff, we only got a comment "You know, it is very a popular ship"... What is that service??? Waiting in the queue was quite entertaining, for example, a lady came and said that somebody was already sleeping in her cabin... We had chosen not to take a cabin, you can do so if the trip is less than 24 h. So for the night we had to find a nice place to sleep. Our ship was NordNorge and there was plenty of space in the common areas, even small sofa.

There were some other people who had decided like us to embrace the adventure. Everyone had plenty of space but sleeping was not easy as the ferry would stop at small ports also during the night and there was quite some noise. Also the vacuum cleaners start singing around 5 am.

We had booked breakfast as I thought it was a nice way to kill some extra time of the ferry. Have to say it was royal! Definitely did not expect it to be so good! It's also a perfect people watching place - captain's table was just next!

The sunrise was lovely and we knew immediately it was a good idea to take the ferry to get the most of the trip! The scenery was wowowowowow all the time!

In our 8 day trip it was the sunniest day of alll. And... what is better than a hot tub with an amazing view? There was also a sauna (but no view). The hot tubs were quite popular during the day so we were happy that we went early.

Hurtigruten is a 130 years old route that initially was used for post and goods transport, over the time it added the cruise options and now it's a mix of both. For the cruise you can travel north or south, it takes 11 days both ways. The cruise passengers were mostly older people. Usually there are some activities that people can do or, if there is a point of interest, there is an announcement and then explanation on the deck. We joined the flag waving (a coordinated action where passengers from the ferry would wave to passengers coming back from a day trip) and a Trollfjord party with waffles.
From Tromso to Svolvaer there are a few stops and only one is 1 h long at Stokmarknes. We thought it was a possibility to get some food, oh my... don't you ever go to Spar there! So be smart, enjoy what Hurtigruten has to offer!

During the summer months the ferry would go in the Trollfjord - a narrow and beautiful fjord, in winter we just went till the fjord and could have a quick peek into it.

There is a whole bazaar around it though... There was a troll party at the open deck where you can get a troll drink and waffles with troll sperm... (that's how we called a weird but tasty pink topping...) Nobody really knew what the troll drink was, some said it was tea with a shot, some said it was a hot chocolate... well, all we wanted was to get the cute mug! We did but with an effort and it's probably the most expensive tea ever :)

We thought that the ferry ride would feel very long but it did not! The amazing scenery just keeps you busy all the time and you can change the location for the best views.

We arrived in Svolvaer around 18:00 and it was already dark. We stayed at the Smart Hotel just in front of the port - a perfect place and location if you just want to crash and have a good night's sleep. The town felt very sleepy in the evening without much action.

The next morning we picked up our car at Hertz and were ready to explore. The weather was still amazing so we decided to get the best of the day.

The first stop was at Henningsvaer. There is a big chance you have seen the very famous football field from the top. Note, drones are forbidden there but we saw some people using them.

The village itself is really charming!

We were attracted immediately by the stacks of fish hanging there! Fresh fish were being hanged next to the ones who had been there for a while, so it was an impressive sight. Could feel the smell, of course, but was not too bad. Stockfish is considered "money that stinks" in Lofoten as it made the region very rich. Lofoten is a perfect place to dry the fish - it's not too cold that they would freeze and not warm enough that they would rot. After they have been dried in the wind, they stay a few months also indoors. Then the most of them are shipped to Italy and Algeria!

Our final destination for the day was Reine. We stopped at Leknes to get some food and cinnamon rolls and then headed to Uttakleiv beach. The weather was starting to change. When we got to the beach the wind was extremely strong. We still managed to walk a bit in the direction of Haukland beach - crampons were a must! Note that there is a parking fee.

Haukland beach offers wonderful views, it was extremely windy though when we got there.

In Reine we stayed at May's - we could not wish for a better place, an amazing view and very comfortable. This was from our window!

The next day the weather was not very cooperative, so we just decided to hang around and check out the village. Reine is really picturesque and you see a postcard wherever you turn.

Seeing the size of the main parking, can just imagine how crazy it becomes in summer. By the parking there is a yoga studio with a lovely sauna! To check out next time! As winds and snow were coming in, we took a refuge in the only coffee place in Reine - Bringen. A very good vibe and everyone else had the same idea so it got rather full. The weather was constantly changing and when it cleared up, we went to THE postcard place - Hamnøy bridge. It was full of photographers each trying to get the perfect shot. I think I was the only one with a phone 🤭.

We also checked out Sakrisoy.

As the weather did not look so bad anymore, we decided to go and check out Å. Ahaaaa… It’s the last village in Lofoten where you can get by car. Nothing more special than anywhere else but still a nice place to walk around. We even got a bit of a sunshine!

The night was cloudy and it was snowing. Still we got a very short glimpse of NL but it was not much. It was like showing a chocolate to a kid - it’s there but the shelve is too high to get it! Agrrrrr…

The next day the weather was not stable again and we thought we would just see where the road brings us.

We went up the viewing point in Sakrisoy as suggested by a friend. It was really beautiful!

We also spent quite some time at the Ramberg beach. It was partly sunny, we could spot the sea eagles and we just could not get our eyes off the arctic blue.

We had the beach for ourselves for a while and then all the cars and buses arrived.

We made a stop at the Skagsanden beach afterwards - it was such an amazing spot! The light was incredible. The waves were impressive and we could see a storm coming in. We managed to get some pics and snow arrived with piercing wind.

Our plan was to go and see Nusfjord as it's one of the most charming villages in Lofoten but then we were in a middle of a crazy snow storm. There were moments when we could not see even a 1 m in front of the car. It did not last long but we had never seen something like that although had been in snow storms before in Iceland. We happily arrived in Leknes and it was time for a cappuccino and great cinnamon rolls at the local bakery.

Our next stop was the Lofotr viking museum near Borg. We had only 40 minutes for the visit, so we got a discount ticket. The replica of the chieftain's house is really impressive. But that's about it.

The movie they show is a bit cheesy if you have seen any of the Viking series on Netflix. I was expecting more weapons and jewellery to be exposed. The museum clearly gets attraction with organised dinners - for 120 euros one can get a soup cooked on open fire and a glass of mead.

There is an extensive souvenir shop with a good choice. You can get replicas of viking jewellery that are really pretty and made in Tromso.

In the evening we arrived at Skarungen hotel where we had planned to stay 2 nights. It's located at a very beautiful fjord and looks like a super charming place. Little did we know about the adventures that we would have... The hotel had confirmed that we could use the common kitchen. Well, it did not have any running water, had a mouse and lost electricity when somebody plugged in the microwave... It was a totally surreal experience to wash dishes in a shower... In the end we talked to the management and they could not understand what our problem was... It was a total hipster place run by kids who had no clue about what an honest service means... We left the day after as it was not normal. And hei, it's not like you pay nothing in Norway so some basic things are expected.

Instead we found a wonderful place - Lofoten appartments - facing a beautiful mountain. There was a sauna and we could even swim in the fjord! That was really amazing! Definitely a highlight of the whole trip.

It was really cold, believe me! 🤭

We also had a glimpse of the aurora but it was really faint. The pic is from 4 am…

And this is how frustration looks like 🤭

The next day we explored Svolvaer in daylight. From the first sight it looks like a boring and not impressive city but actually there are many corners with beautiful views.

Definitely cross the bridge to Svinoya, there is a postcard at every corner.

We also saw may fish stacks, there was a lot of snow and it smelled really bad. Really bad. So bad that 5 min more and lunch would be out...

The next day we went to the aquarium. We would have preferred to do a walk or a hike but everything was melting and there was still an avalanche warning, so we thought it was better to play safe. To our big surprise the visit to the aquarium turned to be extremely interesting. Twice a day they feed seals and an otter. All the seals are rescue animals and two of them are already 30 years old! They were happy to show all they know to visitors to get some nice fish. When the feeding time was over, we stilled hanged out and the seals were chilling with us.

In the aquarium one can discover a new way of more sustainable salmon farming and see many interesting fish in different tanks. It's a bit old and full of screaming kids but if nothing else to do, it does the trick.

The next day it was time already to go in the direction of Narvik/Evenes airport. As we were not sure about the weather we had planned the whole day for a 2.5 h drive. I had read somewhere that the drive is not that impressive - that the mountains become more flat and there is less to see. Absolutely not true! We saw so many amazing spots!

Myrlandstranda was an amazing beach with 0 tourists around.

Just before Sandtorgholmen Hotel there are wonderful beaches with Maldive style water. The colour was beautiful even if it was cloudy.

On the way there were many signs - attention reindeer! We only see a bum of one reindeer :)

Btw, there is also one reindeer farm also in Lofoten, so no need to to go to Tromso.

We thought it was a good way to complete the trip with a sauna with a beautiful view!

The sauna was heated by wood and was exactly what we needed after a long day. Does it get better than this? Unfortunately we could not jump in the fjord after sauna as the current was too strong and the owners advised not to...

We stayed at Sandtogholmen hotel and what a beautiful discovery it was! Just look at this view from the window…

Owners are a few young guys who take care of everything and were so kind! The food was delicious (and decently priced for Norway), the stairs were cleared from snow at 7 am and we even got a great takeaway breakfast! I definitely advise to stay there more than one night, the surroundings are great.

The last night was supposed to have a very strong aurora... KP6!!!!! Whatttt???? Well, we saw snow... snow and a bit of snow... Verdur app showed some clear sky not that far from the hotel, so we even attempted to give it a try but very quickly we understood that it was a fool's hope. Well, next time!

The next day was snowing a lot. We saw reindeer on our way to the airport! We arrived at Evenes airport well in advance. It's a very small airport and there is literally nothing apart from one small cafeteria. You are also not allowed to take any pictures as there are military planes there!

Lofoten definitely exceeded my expectations. It was just like living in a post card for a week. I really want to see that postcard in early autumn!

Observations

- The weather was changing literally every 5 minutes, just like in Iceland. Sunshine is amazing, of course, but it's the monochrome colours that give a more special meaning.

- Lofoten is amazing, no doubt, I could not imagine there would be so many photographers and photo tour cars everywhere.

- The road conditions were good all the time. Every single village had their own snow ploughs to clear roads and they would be working till late evening and then starting early in the morning. However, you DO need extra skills to drive in these conditions. One day we had a totally clear road, the next day is was super icy!

- During our stay there was the orange code for avalanches, so we could not do any of the hikes. A pity, of course. And an invitation to come back! We heard that two weeks ago in Reine there was a tourist who had to be rescued from the Reinebringen as he could not get down on his own. The operation took more than 7 hours. So don't take the weather lightly.

- Norway is expensive but that you know before you arrive. :) For saunas you need to book well in advance and count 40 euros per person for 2 h if it's a private sauna.

- During the whole week I had only one decent cappuccino, the baristas clearly don't make any effort. There was also "a refill option" for a few cents more - not bad!

- Shops are closed on Sundays, so make sure you do your grocery shopping during the week. Many of them stay open really late - till 22:00. Our favourite shop was Rema 1000. Try the dried mango - just delicious!

- Senja is often mentioned as alternative to Lofoten. In my view Senja is different, just equally beautiful. You can read about my Tromso and Senja trip here.

Enchanting Westfjords in Iceland

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 17:14:00 +0000

We had planned a quick escape to Lofoten in Norway at the end of August but then the Fagradalsfjall volcano went off in Iceland and we decided to change the plans and see the volcano again as it was the most amazing experience we had had and we did not want to miss that again! Just like Katia and Maurice Krafft! Well, hopefully not like them though... Geologists were predicting a long eruption so we were not really in a hurry. Well, the volcano was! The eruption stopped a week before our trip. Whaaaat?????! Although we were a bit sad, one can never go wrong with Iceland, so we decided to finally explore Westfjords instead. It was my 8th time in Iceland and Westfjords somehow always had escaped my planning list! Not this time!

We flew with Play and the tickets were reasonably cheap taking into account a late booking. We arrived on a rainy day (surprise, surprise). Got totally soaked in the 5 min to get to the Blue Car rentals. What put a smile on our face was an upgrade to an automatic large 4x4. Normally I would not be excited about a bigger car but once in Iceland, it’s a real advantage.

As it was raining cats and dogs, we decided to get the best soup ever in Hja Hollu - this small and cosy place never disappoints.

Other possibility when it rains is to go and watch waves crushing. It's really impressive around the Brimketill lava rock pool. A bit scary too as the waves crush with incredible force against the cliffs and just next to us!

To our surprise the sky cleared up and we decided to explore more options around the Gunnuhver Hot Springs. You can leave your car for free there but if you want to leave it at the Valahnúkamöl you will need to pay for the parking. We had been in the area for several times already and noticed a passage that we had not taken before - it looked interesting and we ventured off. A beautiful, calm and wild place so close to the main road.

We thought to give it a go also for the Gunnuhver hot springs. Lovely as always!

On our way to our airbnb we stopped at Stampar - a small crater you can go up to, it's a witness to a fissure eruption in 13th century, around 100 craters are on the line but not all are well visible.

The weather was in our favour and in the evening we even managed to walk on the Njardvik's promenade.

We even met a super friendly Icelandic cat :)

The next day the rain was back. It did not look promising at all so we thought that the smartest way was to use the time for driving and get to Westfjords as quickly as possible.

It was a really long drive, in total 8 hours or so with a few stops here and there. For example, don't miss the farm shop Erpsstaðir Creamery just after the impressive drive around the Baula mountain. You can buy skyr, cheese and ice cream. We tried rhubarb flavour and got calories for the whole day.

Westfjords were also under a heavy rain cloud, we were literally driving through the clouds all the time.

The road after Holmavik quickly turned into a very bad dirt road full of pot holes and some steep slopes. We were happy to have our big car as some smaller ones were really struggling.

We passed quickly through some of the villages like Djupavik as in the rain they look really depressing and all I wanted was a hot swimming pool.

We stayed at Urdartindur cottages and we really felt it was the end of the world there.

The weather had become a bit better and it seemed that it might clear up later on, so we headed to the Krossneslaug swimming pool at the end of the world with a hope it would be open.

Oh, what a sight! And nobody there!

There was nobody at the pool, just a sign how to pay (you can pay by card yourself easily!) and we had the place for ourselves! There are also cameras, so no worries somebody knows that you are there. The pool was amazing and we had it for ourselves for more than an hour. What a sight!

The weather started to clear up and we had a true rainbow show time to time!

I think I got like hundreds of pictures there. It was just so beautiful and peaceful. Everything I love. Later a German solo traveler joined - I really admire those people who travel alone to these end of the world places!

The next morning greeted us with a beautiful sunshine! It's amazing how one and the same place can look different in different weather and light.

With a beautiful day ahead of us we wanted to explore as much as we could!

The drive was again long but the road without rain was much more manageable. I had booked a whale watching tour in Holmavik in the afternoon so we had the morning to explore. We found a really nice walk above Holmavik - just behind the church!

An easy hike in lupine fields was so beautiful. You could get a view of the whole bay and I can just imagine how beautiful it is in July when the flowers are in a full bloom!

I had booked the whale watching with Laki tours - a very careful choice as it's the only boat in the bay and is run by a researcher Judith Scott. The animals are really not chased and the experience is authentic with many explanations and respect for animals, so I really highly recommend them. The Laki tours had 100% viewing of whales in the last days, so I was really hoping we would finally spot these amazing animals alive (we had seen a dead whale in May 2021 and it was impressive but sad). Soon enough we heard from our guide that minke whales were feeding in the fjord. You have to watch out for sprays to locate them! And indeed, wooooow, there they were! So graceful, big and impressive! They would swim around the boat and then flip their tail and go down to feed for 10 min or so.

We spotted 6 or so different individuals. Judith Scott showed her catalogue of all the whales spotted in the fjord. They can be distinguished from unique pattern on their tails.

It was a really beautiful trip and definitely worth the cost of 50 euros or so per person. Make sure you have a hat and sunglasses :) The boat is quite small but enough place for everyone.

And please don't eat the whale meat, so you are not supporting the unfair and cruel market of whale fishing.

Our next objective was to explore further Westfjords and see what's on the way.

How could one leave such a beautiful house?

After a long drive we arrived at Heydalur farm. What a wonderful place! We stayed just one night but wish had been there longer. The hot tub was amazing and the pool in the green house with apples, raspberries and plants was simply magic!

The next day we wanted to explore Saltverk salt factory. I have bought hundreds of salt packs from them so I really wanted to see where they were made. It's located in a geothermal area just next to the ocean. First you need to check out the swimming pool next - it looked amazing but was windy when we visited.

The Saltverk is just behind - a small wooden house. Check the opening times and you will get a quick tour with basic explanations how the salt is made. It's like a start up there, everyone wearing cool t-shirts and only foreign workers.

You can also buy some of the salts, I think the price is just a bit lower than in a regular shop.
It was interesting to hear the story how the right water mixture is made. And the scent of smoked salt... mmmm!
After salt it was time for waffles in Litlibaer! I would say that the waffles are nothing special but the rhubarb jam is definitely something to buy! If you don't have time to stop at the cafe, you can buy the jam at the parking - there is a box where you can leave some money and take a jar.

On our way we noticed a waterfall - Lambagil. It looked interesting enough so we decided to stop. And it was a great decision. First of all, the area was really beautiful with a lovely fjord.

And there were loads of blue berries! So good!

The hike to the waterfall was not long but the last part was quite tricky. A very narrow passage and slippery. Better to have walking sticks to be sure! If you are scared of heights or not in a good shape, then this hike is not a good idea.

There are many beautiful lookout points in Westfjords. And each time the colours are different as the weather fluctuates.

After some drive we finally arrived at Isafjordur - the capital of Westfjords.

What an impressive airport! I can imagine that arrival by plane can be very impressive! The city itself felt really small but after all the fjords and lonely small villages it felt vibrant.

I can just imagine how it is there during winter...

After a great lunch at Husid, we decided to check out the Bolafjall - a brand new viewing platform. It was cloudy so we were not sure we would see anything but we wanted to give it a try. The views on the way were wow wow wow.

But at the top less great :)

And no, it did not clear up that day, the clouds were just sitting there forever...

So what do you do when you cannot visit what you want? Well, you sit in a hot tub! And with a view, it's not so bad, huh?

The next day we had the mighty Dynjandi on the list. The waterfalls don't stop surprising me - when you think you have seen everything, another surprise awaits you.

At the moment we arrived at the parking there were already few cars (to our surprise) as everywhere else in Westfjords we were mostly on our own. We were lucky to enjoy the view at the top alone for a few minutes. It was such a site with the thundering waterfall and a view on a fjord. When we wanted to go back suddenly we noticed that crowds were crawling (literally!) up the path. The path can be slippery without proper shoes and one needs to be fit to go up easily without effort. Suddenly there were so many people trying to get on the path, pushing each other, falling and sliding... I had a feeling it was a walking dead episode...! Where did these people come from? Well, from three busses that had arrived from a cruise... OMG... all those old people were totally not prepared for the walk up! So for a while Dynjandi had become a Disneyland...

We left very quickly and hoped to avoid all those crowds during the day. The day was cloudy and we decided to move slowly to our next point. Most of the drive was in clouds and no views at all. It was a long drive and a fjord after fjord... never ending but so beautiful.

Time to time we would meet some sheep on the road. Apparently sheep are responsible for most of the car accidents in Iceland! It was already the time of réttir - sheep gathering from mountains to the farm. It's always interesting to see how with different methods farmers bring their sheep back to do the counting. Some clearly still prefer to chill out on a beach...

Along the coast we noticed really interesting formations of small islands. Not sure if they have any name but what a beautiful sight!

The weather was not amazing again and we were happy to enjoy another hot tub.

The next day we woke up with a beautiful day, everything that was gloomy yesterday suddenly was bright and beautiful!

With such a beautiful morning there was a chance for a great cloudless night for the northern lights! But where would be the biggest chance to see them? After a careful studying of wind and cloud maps we decided to head out of Westfjords and go in the direction of north.

When the weather is great, everything is beautiful!

We went again to Hvammstangi, we had seen it only during a snow storm in February and wanted to see it without snow! Looked like a totally different place. The Kidka wool shop is a must in any weather and I can assure you will leave with something in your hands even if you don't knit :)

On the peninsula we wanted check out the look out point of seals. Yes, they were there! Enjoying the lovely weather like big roasted sausages! To see them well you need to have binoculars or a very powerful zoom. Otherwise you can communicate with other creatures :)

We continued further to the Hvitsekur cliff. Last time we were there everything was with ice but we were the only ones, this time - the parking was full! The views were very pretty, of course, seals were jumping and trying to communicate with many curious spectators. A total chill.

The road 711 was a total disaster - I think I had never seen so bad road in Iceland... So what was supposed to be a drive of 20 minutes turned out to be almost 1 hour... We even noticed a sign asking tourists to take pictures and post them on Instagram with the bad road as the local government is not doing anything to fix the road. We did not share any pic on Instagram but hei, if you are in the Icelandic government and you are reading this - please do something! It's indeed a shame.

Our almost last stay we had chosen very strategically - with almost 360 degrees view - so that if there are northern lights, we can enjoy them fully! It was a geomagnetic storm so our hopes were very high! But before that - yap, a hot tub!

The aurora show in the night did not disappoint! It was amazing! We would see with a naked eye the green lady dancing and making the swirls in green, purple and once for a short while even red!

We did not even know where to look, the whole sky was pulsing. And to our surprise the biggest activity was not in the north but actually in the west! And just above our heads! We spent outside more than 4 hours just amazed about the phenomena. And each time it is as if you have never seen them before (check my post of February to know how to spot the NL properly). The night was already quite cold, gloves and several layers were a must.

That was a full happiness :) The next morning we were heading back in the direction of Reykjavik with some shorts stops here and there, like in Kolugljúfur Canyon.

Finally we stopped also at the abandoned house just after Borgarnes that we had seen so many times from the ring road...

The next day we had an early flight, so we called it a night quickly. When we woke up, we were greeted again by the green lady! Not a bad company to go to the airport... I secretly hoped that perhaps when the plane would take off, it would be still dark... well, it was not but we had another beautiful greeting from the mother nature.

So Iceland managed to surprise us again. Westfjords were a lovely discovery. In four days we did not manage to see all, so will have to go back again. :)

P.S. Some pics are taken by my husband.

Incredible Iceland - summer 2022 vibes

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 17:20:00 +0000

This was my 7th visit to Iceland... I know, I know, I'm totally in love with this place but the ones who have been at least once will understand that Iceland is addictive. I had never seen it in July, so really had high expectations to feel summer, experience the midnight sun and enjoy the greenery. This time we booked almost everything well in advance not to have any huge financial surprises. Summer is the most expensive period and also many places are booked, so plan well ahead your moves or take a tent!

Iceland welcomed us in a truly Icelandic way - rain, rain, rain... I had read that July is the driest month... hmmmm...

We stayed only for 8 days or so and our main objective was to do the 26 km Fimmvörðuháls hike from Skogafoss to Thorsmork. We had a window of 4 days to choose the best weather and the first day was not the most promising one. However, it turned out beautiful. We stayed at the cottages in the Rauðuskriður farm - a perfect location with amazing views around. Having been to Iceland so many times means that all the main touristic places have been seen and it gives the luxury to go totally off the beaten path and discover places that most tourists would never consider.

Just next to the cottages there is a place called a Demon's cliff - it looks pretty steep to climb but the view is simply impressive! There is also a cave but we did not find it.

We decided to explore the F261 road. As it was our first day, we did not want to go crazy on driving (to be sure we don't get a flat tyre!) so we decided to walk and take in the scenery around us which of course was simply amazing - a beautiful river, Thorsmork with its glaciers and amazing colours and scent of flowers!

On our way we had a really great treat! We could observe training for young horses. There were around 30 or so and were galloping on the road. Just like that!

On our way we also noticed a small canyon - very beautiful and calm.

We even got the treat of iridescent clouds! Not bad for the first day.

Although we were already very tired, we decided to see also Gluggafoss. I have to say that after having seen Dettifoss, I'm not sure which waterfall can impress me more. But still it was very nice and interesting as parts of the waterfall are revealed through "windows" in the rock.

So in the evening after 17 km or so walk we were very happy to enjoy a hottub. The next day we had to get up early as we had planned to do the Fimms hike and the bus was picking us from Hvolsvöllur.

We had read quite a lot about the hike as it's considered to be one of the most beautiful but also a difficult one. I will not detail out here how to prepare for the walk, there are already great descriptions available by Epic Iceland and Earthtrekkers. You will notice that they all say that the hike should be done in excellent weather only and it should not be taken lighthearted, preparation is needed. From the time we had, we had chosen the best day with the best weather. But of course we were aware that up, between the glaciers, the weather can turn bad even if in Skogar it's sunny. Because for sure you don't want to end up like this guy in this video.

Vedur.is was showing some scattered clouds but no rain, so we hoped it would be Ok. What encouraged us was that the bus driver told us that the day was perfect for such a hike. So off we went... The first part was nothing new for me as I had already seen a part of it. Of course all these 26 waterfalls are beautiful but we were more concentrating on time to be sure that we reach the first hut around 14:00.

We had some clouds here and there and had decided that if the Baldvinsskali hut would be in the fog, we would turn back. Till the hut there were quite some people that were doing the hike. We named two Icelandic women as "turbo rabbits" as they had more or less the same pace as us but with far more breaks with collagen drinks (very trendy now in Iceland!), so they would always pass us.

Once you cross the Skoga river, there are no more water points till Thorsmork, so make sure to fill up your bottles a few hundred meters after the bridge. We had around 2 l of water/tea each and it was just enough.

Some people say that the walk after the bridge is boring and nothing special but I really liked that part - you could see time to time the glacier and walk by an impressive black canyon. Once you have reached the first hut - it's a big ouffff... We were totally on time and the weather had stayed stable, no rain, sunshine time to time, so we decided to continue the hike.

I had seen the pictures of the snow fields in pictures but could not imagine how they would look and feel in real life. I could also not imagine that there would be so many of them (well, actually it's quite logic as the walk is between two glaciers, hello blondie!). We had walking sticks but no crampons and it felt fine.

I was actually really excited to walk on snow. A few hundred meters from the hut there was a very steep and slippery part. It was Ok to walk up (it did feel like climbing a wall though) but we saw two people going the opposite direction who rolled down! That looked scary! Luckily they were with a group and with a guide, so they could help each other.

At that moment a thick fog started to crawl on us (oh noooooo!!!!). We asked people coming from Thorsmork if they could still see the huge yellow signage sticks and they confirmed. So we decided to follow the path as we really did not want to turn back at this stage.

Suddenly we felt we were the only ones in the world - only us and the fog... (have you seen the scary movie the fog?). In the beginning we would see easily the yellow poles and then at a moment when we were next to the info board about the Eyjafjallajökull eruption suddenly we would not see anything... there were no poles, just many steps that would go in all the directions... hm... We were not lost as we knew how to get back but we could not see anything to go forward... all we knew that next to us was an invisible big crater... The good news was that we were prepared for any unexpected situation, we had dry extra clothes, food, hot tea, medicine and even a survival blanket! And a fully charged phone that has a gps... ohhhh thank you Google maps! We followed the gps and we managed to get back on the trail. The rest of the walk between the glaciers was not very reassuring - what if we miss a pole again? So we walked super fast (took 0 pictures...), did the part with the chain easily (as we could not see the canyon next... ha... ha).
And when we were approaching the Thorsmork the clouds cleared up! Hallelujaaaaaa! We also met the Icelandic turbo rabbits that said that they had lost the trail twice and they had never seen such a thick fog ever! So morale - do the hike only in excellent weather, not good or good enough, only excellent!

The descent in Thorsmork was really beautiful and we were relieved that we had still a lot of time to benefit from the views.

The famous cat ridge was not scary at all.

Find me if you can...

The last part was in a really beautiful forest! A total fairy tale!

We had done the hike in 8 h and 30 min or so. The bus picked us up at 20:00, it was really fun to cross the rivers with the superbus! If you can, sit at the seats next to the driver in front.

But our adventures were not over. At one of the river crossings we noticed a car that was stuck in the river. It's one of those stories you have heard about it but have not seen. Well, here it was in a full glory. Some young Asian origin tourists had totally underestimated the river and the capability of their car (plus they tried to cross the river in a totally wrong place!). Our bus driver - a very strong Icelandic lady in her 50ties decided to help them and got immediately in the ice cold river... brrrrr... Now I know why Icelandic girls are trained to lift stones and be strong - for situations like this!

After a while many people gathered and with a help of a jeep the car was pulled out of the river! A big bravo to the bus driver of Reykjavik excursions!

In the evening we were so tired and after 44 000 steps we could only dream about the bed.

The next day the weather was not too promising (luckily we had done the hike the day before!). Vedur.is showed that in the south only the Westman islands were without rain, so we decided to go there. We could not take the car as there was no space in the ferry, so if you do want to take yours, book well in advance. The ride was calm and pretty.

We had seen Heimaey already before in May 2021 and we loved it. This time we discovered a part of the island that we had not seen yet. We did not want to do any demanding hikes, so the walk by the golf and cliffs with puffins was perfect!

We could see some puffins chilling on the cliffs. We crossed a couple who asked if we had seen any puffins around... well, yes! Plenty! But you do need to know how to spot them!

I think on this island they have the most beautiful golf ever - in an ancient caldera - not bad, huh?

Last time we had missed the Elephant cliff - such a beautiful place!

The next morning it was raining again... jeez! Is this summer? Well, yes. We decided to go to the Lava museum. And it was quite interesting! It's small but well done and very informative. It explains a few things about 9 volcanos that can be seen from the Lava centre and gives some overall info. We knew quite a lot already as we find volcanos really fascinating but still it was a good experience. The ticket was a bit pricey though - 28 euros.

But you get coffee and you can experience an earthquake simulator, so... it's all worth it.

Later on the weather was looking much better and we decided to go to Thagkil. On the way we stopped at Vik. I love the black beach at the village. All the tourists are at the shop and nobody at the beach :).

Vik is also where the TV series Katla is taking place, if you have not seen it, put it on your Netflix list!

I had read about Thagkil (Þakgil) some time ago and imagined it as a really fairy tale place. Well, it did not disappoint! Even the road to get there is super scenic!

You will need a 4x4 to get there but we saw some people who did it with smaller cars, not sure how they did it...
Our plan to camp totally failed as nights were really cold but we were lucky to get the last cottage for one night!

We did not have the strengths to do any long hikes the same day, so just explored the amazing surroundings and observed the super duper campers.

My dream was to walk till the Huldujökull but as the place is quote remote I could not find any detailed explanation about the hike. I had only seen a map and a few pictures. So we knew we were up to an adventure when starting the hike the next day. There is a new path that starts directly from the camping itself - it's steep but not too hard if it's not slippery.

For once we had an amazing weather, so it was a perfect day! The walk in total is around 16 km or so and most of the part it's on a track, we even saw a jeep that drove all the way up! Well, apparently it's possible but you need very strong nerves as in some parts it's so narrow and steep!

And while driving, you would miss all the beauty on the way...

For the hike you just have to follow the yellow sticks till the glacier and then you can find your way between water pools to the rim of the glacier.

The place was simply incredible! Insane even! It's one of the most amazing places I have ever seen in the world (I think it's my top 3 after an active volcano and northern lights).

You could see and hear the glacier melting before your own eyes! Check out my instagram- it was impressive! And also very sad...

Sometimes we had an impression we were in the USA... have a look at this!

We could have been sitting for hours there! It was so wooooow and only a few people. We came back the same way, you can also do a loop hike but we heard that it was very slippery, so did not do it.

It's incredible how one and the same road can look different in a good weather! This time the way back from Thagkil was a piece of cake as all the potholes with water were gone! And those views! Just could not get enough of them!

For the rest of our stay we had not booked any hotels, so we had to rely on what was left... well, nothing much or extremely expensive. Usually I never stay in any place that has reviews less than 8 on Booking but this time we had to... well, at least the view was worth it!

The next day our plan was to go to Kerlingarfjoll in the middle of Iceland. It was a long drive on a quite boring road and we had fingers crossed for a good weather.

On our way we passed beautiful lupine fields. Most of them did not have flowers anymore but in the highlands where it's colder they were still there!

You have an option to leave your car at the camping or continue to the parking spot - the road is tricky in the end but our Suzuki Vitara 4x4 did it quite well. If you leave your car at the camping, don't walk on the road but use the trail - it's shorter and more beautiful! But driving up will save you 1 h walking.

In the mountains we were really lucky with the weather. There is kind of a micro climate there, it's a few degrees colder, so if you have 7 degrees, you are lucky. Make sure to have hat and gloves even in July!

This place was also as if it's another planet. I had seen something a bit similar in Landmanalaugar but this was like 100x more! Could not decide where to look and where to go. There is one loop walk of 4 km in total. I would advise to do it clockwise and start on the left. And take your walking sticks - some parts were extremely slippery.

Everything was just woooow, woooow, wooooow and i have 1 million pictures from there!

Check out the mini volcano there! It was puffing time to time but the intervals were not regular.

You can spend hours there! There are also somewhere hot springs but we did not have the strength to check them out.

With Kerlingarfjöll seen, all our "must do, must see" places were crossed out. The rest of the days were there as buffer time in case weather would be too bad or we would want to spend more time in one place. Westfjords are still on my list but with so little time we decided that it was not worth it and decided to stay in the south for the rest of the days.

Being in south also means a more unstable weather and we were greeted with some rain again the next day. Well, what to do? Let's see how a hydro station looks like! Why not. The Ljósafossstöð station was just next to the hotel we were staying, so it was really handy. It was an opportunity to refresh knowledge in physics in a simple and nice expo. Also for free btw!

Next to the river we also experienced what it means to have flies.... OMG... zillions of them! The workers outside even had face nets on them! We really had to escape the place. To another infested lake....! We were just next to Thingvellir so decided to check it out again. I had seen it before but very quickly so wanted to give it an extra shot. So, finally we was the tourist crowds... oh my... We saw the Silfra fissure... looked like an amusement park where people stand in the queue to have a ride... the water looked lovely but the queues make it look like a totally unnecessary experience.

There are a few places in the park where you can see the crystal clear water, it's very impressive indeed! I also appreciated that there are many explanation boards that tell the story how the first ever parliament actually functioned in Thingvellir. The park is quite big, so you can actually escape the crowds if you wish to. I would advise parking 5 for that, you have to pay for the parking.

One of our favourite places in Iceland are Blue view cabins - they are really great and their hottubs are amazing. So we decided to splash a bit cash and have something decent for the next night.
We could even get there the first blue berries!

We passed the Laugarvatn Fontana, I had always thought from the pics that the place did not look nice but actually I think I was wrong! The lake looked amazing and had some hot parts in it! We happened to be there when people were taking out the bread that had been cooking there for 24 h, so we got a free demo :)

The blue view cabins are not far from the Brúarfoss waterfall. It had been on my list for a while but somehow we never managed to see it, well, finally we could! The beauty of long Icelandic days is that you can easily do things as the sun does not go down. So we headed to the waterfall at 9 pm. It's an 1 h walk from the parking, trough a beautiful forest and by the river. It's a joy for eyes and ears!

It's incredible to see how the same river can change in mood and in colour. One also has to be extremely careful. One day after our visit a tourist fell in the river and died as he was saving his child who had fallen in. The child made it but not his dad.

In our last day we headed to Grindavik - we always stop at the Hjá Höllu - the best mushroom soup in the world believe me :)

We also finally made it to the Grindavik's ship wrecks - nothing super impressive but if you have nothing else to do, then why not? :)

Observations

We probably had the worst weather that we have ever seen in Iceland. Luckily we escaped a heavy storm that kicked in after we left but still, I had hoped for a bit less rain. The same time we all know that in the south it's more wet, so, if you plan well, you can escape the rain if that's the main objective.
Icelandic air advertises summer in Iceland with 16 degrees... well, that's only if you are lucky :) Our average was 12 and we were happy to be equipped with all the layers.
Be aware of crazy angry birds - artic terns. They were attacking everybody at the parking to go to the Westman islands!
Crossing of rivers can be fun if you have a proper car and if you have studied how to do it properly. To go to Thorsmork by yourself you would need to rent Toyota Land Cruiser or similar - count 285 euros per day for such a car hire. Or use the bus - it was around 70 euros for a round trip from Hvollsvollur. All the details and prices here.
I was impressed with the greenery and the lack of it at some parts. The flora looked very similar to the meadows in Latvia, so I had a bit of a feeling of home, especially when one could feel the scent of shamrock! Just amazing! I could not help but had to make a flower crown - any Latvian would do the same :)

300 km above the Arctic Circle in Norway: Tromso & Senja

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 18:55:00 +0000

This trip was probably one of the most weird ones we have ever been on. Not because of the location - absolutely not! Norway is magic! But the timing... We left on the 4th day of the Russia - Ukraine war. We were not sure it was the right thing to do, a holiday felt like something totally out of normal to do when a war is taking place in Europe. Putin had just announced his nuclear threats... After all we decided to go, northern Norway sounded a bit safer place than Brussels anyway. We kept to the same rhythm every day: news, news, doing something, then news, news, news. Nevertheless, we had great time and could really recharge the batteries and clear our heads.

Tromso is considered as the capital of north and also the northern lights capital. Statistics say that if you stay there for 4 days, there is a chance to see the aurora. Tromso is directly in the aurora oval, so even with low KP there is a big chance to see it. If you have no clue how to hunt for the lights, have a look at my tips from a trip in Iceland.

It was not very easy to plan the trip around Tromso, many people just go there, stay in the city and do super duper expensive tours. For example a 15 min ride with reindeer, a bit of Sami culture is 120 euros per person. Or if you want to go sledging with huskies count 240 per person. We really wanted to explore the area ourselves, so all the itinerary had to be carefully planned. As the weather can be quite unpredictable, this also needs to be considered as many roads are in beautiful mountains and in the wrong weather it can be quite dangerous.

The Tromso airport is actually quite big. Don't be fooled by the ads that invite you to take the flybus to go to the centre. Instead use the local busses - the ticket will be 4 euros only, you can buy it at the machine at the bus stop. The stop itself is not immediately visible when you get out of the terminal, so walk straight for a few meters and you will see a stop on your left.

When we arrived it was already dark, so it was time to explore the nightly Tromso - very lively and slippery. The next day we got crampons - we were very happy about this investment.

The colourful building you see in the picture is a sauna! You can immediately refresh yourself in the fjord. Next time we will check it out for sure!

The first day we just chilled in Tromso, we could not get our rental car earlier, so it was time for coffee - cinnamon roll - coffee - shopping - walking and repeat, repeat. We could observe the port life by checking out Hurtingrouten ferries. Just enjoyable.

One for the best views we had was from the café Jordbaerpikene in the shopping centre - if you have some time to kill - it's an excellent location to observe city life.

To get the car was a whole adventure. Hertz had left the car key in a kiosk. Although I had to provide all the details already online, also in the kiosk you needed to scan the driver's license etc. Well, ours was a paper one and impossible to scan. It took ages to get somebody help us.

Although Tromso is a nice city, I believe it's the surroundings are much more interesting. Our objective was to go to Senja and explore the nature there. The weather was not the most amazing one, nevertheless the views everywhere were just great - the fjords, the cute houses and the mountains. I did not expect the mountains to be so dramatic. We had a feeling we were at the peaks of the Alps - all spiky!

We took the southern road of Kvaloya and it was a beautiful drive.

Sommaroy is an absolute must! Even if the weather is not great! It looks like Nordic Maldives!

And in Kvaloya we saw reindeer! That was actually my objective of the trip... hehehehe... They were gracefully crossing a frozen lake - what a magic view was that! You can, of course, pay 120 euros for the Sami experience in Tromso and have a 15 min ride for that a stew but this felt so much better!

We stayed for a night in a really nice place - Buvik sea lodge. The view, the flat, the service - all was perfect!

And it had the best sauna and jacuzzi with the best view ever.

I wish Norway had geothermal activity, it would mean warm pools and hottubs everywhere. Well, it's not the case, so you if you want something like this, be ready to spend some cash!

The next day we were taking a ferry from Brensholmen to Botnham. It's a local ferry and not many people know about it, it runs also during winter and goes 3x a day. The ferry itself is very old and rusted but clean and with super warm toilets - it's a huge plus, you will see for yourself if you use it in winter :)

The crossing was easy and pleasant, it was a bit wavy, so people who get sea sick, might not like it. There is nothing else at the pier where the ferry docks. The ticket is sent to you electronically as the number plates are scanned. I have no clue how much we paid, I'm still waiting for my bill... The ride itself is very pretty. It takes around 40 min.

We spent two nights in Fjordgard - a very small village with not much to do apart from the hikes to Hesten and Segla. But it's very picturesque! You get there through 2 dark tunnels, looks a bit scary the first time, they are also very narrow, so you do have to pay attention. When we arrived the weather was still moody, so we just walked around, bought a slide in the local shop and had fun!

As we still had some daylight and it was not raining, we decided to check out the Devil's jaw - one of the most beautiful places in Senja. And it's very clear why - the whole ride is scenic and you have wow, wow, wow, after every corner... it can also be super slippery in winter, so eyes on the road!

It's one of those places where you can just stare at the horizon and sit for hours! Well, if you don't get cold!

The next day we had decided to go up Hesten to see Segla. I had seen the picture of the peak on the internet and it made me to decide to go to Senja actually. Our landlord kindly let us borrow her snowshoes. We had never used them before and it was a nice discovery! They really do work... we saw people walking up with normal boots, possible but very risky as it was easy to get into deep snow easily. You can also rent the snow shoes at the local hotel for 30 euros a day. The path was very visible and it took us almost 2 h to go up with many picture stops. The view is really impressive. The walk itself starts from a parking lot and then up and up.

Before you go it's important to check out the avalanche warnings, seeing the protection walls around the village, they can be quite big there.

The biggest eye catcher is, if course, the Segla mountain peak - it means a sail and has a different look from different points of view. To have the best view, you actually have to go up to Hesten - the peak on the right just in front of Segla. Segla hike is another one, a more difficult one where you actually hike Segla itself (many people confuse these walks).

Segla is always on your left and with each 100 m up you get a different view and the village at the fjord becomes smaller and smaller.

The higher you get, the more wow, wow, wow it is, of course!

With good snow shoes you can go to the very top of Hesten. The last bit was very steep and I can imagine that with wind it's not very pleasant. We had a very lovely day, so could stay there, sip nice and hot tea and enjoy this 1 million dollar view.

The next day we had to move to Mefjordvaer - another lovely village on a fjord. We could see now Segla from the other side and realised how next to the ridge we were at the top.

On the way we went again to Tungeneset. This time the waves were bigger and we spent there even more time. And we had a company of a seal!

The weather turned moody again and we could not explore the Mefjordvaer as much as we wanted.

A razor sharp snow was back and we had nothing else to do than to go to sauna - well, that's actually not that bad :)

It was our 5th day already in Norway and still there was no sign of aurora, it was cloudy most of the time so we got super excited when finally the weather forecast was showing sunshine for a full day!

And oh, what a difference it was in colours! It's actually super nice to see places in moody weather and in a good one.

The monochrome black and white scenery is very beautiful and has lots of charm but we had no clue what a bright day had for us in store. We had to get back to the ferry to go back to Tromso. It was with a heavy heart that we left. We had seen so many perfect places for the Northern lights hunting and we had to go back to the city... pffffff...

On our way to Botnham we saw a sea eagle! So majestic and beautiful!

The ride with the ferry was nice and smooth. As it was Sunday, there were many cars crossing, all were squeezed in somehow. While on the ferry we saw a submarine! Well, it was not a very settling feeling...

Even all the crew was taking pictures of this as I assume it's not every day that NATO has a large scale training there.

We decided to stop again at the Gjellvika scenic spot before Sommaroy. So different with a sunshine!

We saw again reindeer and several groups of tourists running behind them to get a pic. Just like us a few days ago :)

On our way to Tromso we were hesitant which road to take, we had seen a bit of south of Kvaloya, so decided to check out the north. And it was amazing with the most beautiful reflections in a fjord ever! It's definitely one of the most magic places I have ever seen. Nordfjorbotn was simply mesmerizing, I think we were stopping every 5 min or so to get yet another picture of the reflection. The road 862 is in the mountains, the temperature difference with the coast was 5 degrees! As it was Sunday all locals were out skiing.

That day we knew that that the night was the only chance to see finally the green lady. We had been waiting for it for 6 days! The KP was only 3 or so and the sky seemed to be clear until 1 am. While they say there are so many places to see the northern lights around Tromso, the best place is without ANY light pollution, meaning also no lights in the distance. In the end the best spot was the road 862. It was also very handy as there were many parking spots along.

All the tours were also out - you could recognise them by the fires they had set up for freezing tourists. We were chasing the green lady for more than 4 hours, we also went to Grotfjorden as it was totally north and on the tourist map was noted as one of the best places. Well, as always, don't trust general tourist maps for gems, there was nothing special there plus it was with lights as there was a village.

Anyway, we were happy with what we saw. The green lady show was superb as always, not the most impressive we had seen (that was in Iceland) but still amazing.

The next day the moody weather was back, actually it was snowing almost the whole time. So it was a perfect timing to get the best coffee and pancakes with blue berry jam in the town in Fro Cafe.

We also managed to walk to the Artic Cathedral but to our surprise you had to buy an entrance ticket... What? Since when do you have to pay to talk to God? So we sneaked around a bit and then left to check out the neighborhood with lovely private houses.

And voila, holidays were over. The next day we left early to be sure to arrive on time at the airport and not to get any trouble with Hertz. We managed to give back the car fast and efficiently, so we had loads of time to kill in the end... Surprisingly there was no café open at 9 am! Our departure was also from a mystical tent just next to the airport. Anyway, a bit messy.
But we were rewarded with amazing views from the plane!

In short, it was a very beautiful trip. The nature is simply amazing and I would definitely want to see it in summer and autumn when there are blueberries, when all the walking trails are open and one can view aurora from different hidden places.

Observations

- Norway is definitely an expensive country. But that's why also everything is clean and arranged. The roads were always cleared from snow. Even the smallest village had their own tractor to clear the roads.

- My feeling was that in Iceland as a traveler you get a better value for the services you pay for, especially for accommodation. In Norway you get something decent for 130 euros and something nice for 180+. In summer you can camp for free anywhere you want, so you can have your 1 million dollar view every morning! WCs are available along the roads but in winter they were all closed.

- There is something very wrong with their beds. They were all soft and rather small and impossible to get a decent sleep.

- Many restaurants are closed on Mondays, so check before and always book in advance! All the nice places for food in Tromso needed a booking two days before for a dinner.

- I'm guilty but we tried reindeer meat. And it was so good! Mmmmmm. The best one was in Bardus bistro.

- Parking in Tromso is a real challenge, many hotels don't have a parking even for a fee. We stayed at Ami Hotel - an outdated but very clean place and they had 4 parking slots, so worked out very well for us.

- When researching Tromso and the surroundings for the itinerary I noticed that there was not that much info available. The blog posts were mostly superficial with affiliated links to overpriced tours, so I really had to spend quite some time to find the gems. Also there were no individual guides that normally I would find useful. I got one from https://expertworldtravel.com/ and it was a total crap! Even the tourism office is mostly for tours only. However, they were efficient to answer questions on Messenger.

- Driving in general in Norway was Ok as roads were well kept and cleared from snow. But it was really challenging when it was snowing and freezing! Locals were also respecting the speed limits, so I guess speeding is an expensive surprise. We found a bit confusing all the tunnels under Tromso as it's a whole street system there.

- When the snow is melting you get these kind of art works just next to the road!

- Tromso was full of souvenir shops, one after another. Their grocery stores are open quite late so it's good for late shopping. If you are hungry, there are loads of places with hotdogs - not bad at all but not as good as in Riga in Narvesen.

- Tromso is a stop for the epic Hurtigrouten ferry. It goes from Bergen to Kirkenes. You can take the ferry as cruise but you can also hop on and off at different stops. It's a must for the next time! You can go easily to Lofoten this way.

- In the whole trip we did not use cash any single time. The cards worked everywhere.

Recharging batteries in Iceland (yes... Iceland again)

Sun, 26 Dec 2021 15:35:00 +0000

We went to Iceland in the beginning of November for a very short trip of 5 days. It was my 6th trip to this magical place (second this year). Did not have lots of expectations. It was really just to change the scenery, recharge batteries and enjoy things this country is offering (and yes, with a hope to see the Northern lights again).

The trip started with a bad surprise - our flight from Brussels was delayed with no guarantee to make the connection in Copenhagen. We really had no wish to stay in Copenhagen and worry about all the consequences - would the covid test still be valid, what about paid and not used hotel and most important of all - a missed evening in a hot tub with Northern lights above the head. But we made it! But our luggage didn't... Luckily I had taken with me in the hand luggage my hat and gloves and a decent jumper. We got a crappy essentials kit from Icelandair - everything made in China and more for men than women (if men can have a shaving foam then why no makeup remover for women???).

It was very disappointing but could have been worse with a night in Copenhagen... So we enjoyed the hot tub and then the Northern lights appeared above our heads! We had missed a crazy solar storm a few days ago but were happy to see the green lady again.

It did not take us long to decide to go to the Gardur's lighthouse to check out the lights. There was just a little but... the warm clothes were in the suitcase and so was the tripod... Hm... anyway, off we went! The lights were dancing above our heads all the way till the lighthouse. We had never managed to see the aurora at this place, so the dream came true! No pics were taken with camera but we could truly enjoy the experience. So in the end it was a gift!

The next day our original plan was to see the volcano again. We had seen it erupting in May (and that was more than AMAZING); it went quiet in September but the area is still active and the views are impressive. There was no way to do the walk without appropriate clothing so we just walked in freezing wind to the valley with the newest lava - still fuming.

I had read that somewhere in Thorlakshofn there was a whale washed on the shore, so we decided to check it out. That was one sad and the same time impressive view. We visited a whale museum in Husavik and had seen all the skeletons and, of course, I knew they were big but to see it like that in full size was impressive. It was a fin whale - second biggest whale after the blue whale. The longest measured fin whale is 25 m. I estimate that the one we saw was 17 m or so. Fin whales can live up to 140 years! Normally it's dangerous to approach such a whale washed ashore as due to gasses it can explode any time but this time the whale had been already badly hurt and the intestines were floating just next (not a very nice sight as you can imagine).

In the evening we recuperated our luggage - what a relief to get warm pants and the stock of wine!

The next day we went to see the volcano from the trail A. The change in a few months time was impressive, almost like another planet, the paths were overrun with lava and new roads were made. It was a really great feeling to be back. It's not possible to get close to the volcano anymore as the lava has swallowed the closest accesses but still you can get many lovely observation points. The volcano was still active as gases were fuming and active sulfur patches were visible everywhere.

Do you see the little hill on the right? That's the hill we were sitting on in May to enjoy the mother nature's best show ever!

Most people nowadays use the path C as the parking is closer and the walk is shorter but I still believe that the old path A gives the best views. There were also a few idiots that walked to the crater... young French stupidos... Iceland would get even richer if they fined anyone who would attempt to check out the crater. But that's the beauty of this country - everything is about your own responsibility and common sense. Want to get amazing drone shots from inside the crater - go! Want to fall in a lava pool with 800° - go!

The evening promised a good chance for the aurora so we went to Valahnukamol as we thought it would be pitch black there. Besides us there were some Spanish photographers and later a rude Italian group spoiled the whole beauty - screaming and shouting and flashing the headlights into everyone's faces, they though they were the only ones there. But karma is karma and the best aura dance was actually before they arrived :)

The next day we checked out the path C, the sky was grey and it was even raining a bit but the temptation to see the volcano from a different vantage point was too big, so off we went. On the way we also debated that perhaps it would have been smarter to go to the south, after Vik as in the night there would be a mini geomagnetic storm and it's the place without clouds... So a perfect place for the aurora hunters... The days in November are not long so, you really have to make fast decisions and if you need to drive somewhere, it takes time. Luckily there was no snow nor crazy wind that day.

How about a lunch with a view?

The views on the volcano were superb again and despite the weather we spent quite some time on the top. And then we decided that perhaps we should go to Vik too... Vik is a 3 h drive... So we went to our hotel, packed in a speed of light and left. Before Vik the weather was not promising at all, low clouds and even rain. I had checked all the possible weather apps to try to predict what was coming, not an easy task as all the apps were showing different information. Especially the cloud coverage is tricky because it's not that predictable. When we arrived in Vik, it was a perfect timing to get our one of the favorite ever burgers in Smidjan and check the weather forecast. For Vik it was not conclusive as it was just on the border of rain clouds. So we decided to be crazy and drive one more hour east to be sure not to have clouds. Driving in the night is not for the faint hearted. Trucks and Icelanders in general don't respect any speed limitations and don't even change their long lights to the short ones!

We were happy when we had finally arrived in the Fosshotel. It was in the middle of nowhere but you could see that the tourism had picked up again, it was full of tour busses, mostly for Americans. Ohhhh, this was Iceland I did not miss! We were so privileged to have seen it without the crowds and I had no wish to share the beauty with anyone. It's very selfish, I know :)

The sky was clear, the KP was 5 but the app was showing a very low chance of seeing the lights... hm... how comes??? The Northern lights are about patience, good weather and luck. So we would just walk around, check from the balcony, go out again, check again. Many were doing the same as us. And nothing... Well, almost nothing, there was bit of a green pattern but no swirls at all. The KP was still high but the chance low... I even decided to get up in the night and check again to see if really there was nothing... well, nada!!! That's the thing with natural phenomena - they appear when they appear and we humans can just be lucky or not... Later I checked that the Northern lights oval that night did not go as low as Iceland, go figure why...
The next morning was really beautiful and finally we saw where we staying. We knew that we had a long drive back, so decided to take it easy.

My husband had not seen yet the Fjadrargljufur canyon, so we made a stop. There were quite many tourists there, almost the same number as I had seen in October 2019. Still the place is very beautiful. Also knowing that famous Laki is not that far makes the place even more magic.

As Reynisfara was on the way we decided to make a stop there. We though to get some snacks in the supermarket in Vik and that was a baaaaaad idea. A tour bus arrived just after us and the shop was totally swarmed with people. And clearly it was not the first bus as the shop was literally empty and you had to fight for the last sandwich left. I can just imagine how this place looks like in summer and before Covid... Reynisfara was not better, almost no parking (and there is a loooot of place). As we had arrived, we still decided to make a quick stop and have a lunch with one of the best views in the world. It was a beautiful day, so the waves were not raging. And it was interesting to see the place in a different weather. Instagram dudes were trying to get the best shots and that was quite some entertainment. But our conclusion was clear - we were so lucky to have seen this place WITHOUT anyone last September (see the blog post from 2020).

On our way home we passed again the Solheimajokul glacier. I had seen it already twice, both times in gloomy weather so we decided to check it out with a full sunshine! Wow, what a sight! The place was just magic. The authorities have re-organised the path. Before the notice - "don't go further" was much closer and now it's next to the glacier itself. The message is clear - don't walk on it alone and without equipment. A few groups were there to do the glacial walk - looked very cool and interesting. We just checked out the glacier from it's front. Please don't go in any caves! The cave that we saw and some people went into while we were there collapsed a few days ago. Luckily nobody was hurt but it's just dangerous.

We spent there hours I think, just admiring the ice formations, the floating icebergs and perfect reflections. So we decided that this part of the trip was the compensation for the Northern lights that we missed.

When we got back to the hotel we enjoyed the hot tub again. Ohhhh, that's always my favourite part after a day of exploration!

We had to get up super early the next day to catch a plane and a snowstorm was announced. Indeed, the winter had arrived and it was snowing like crazy! The road was barely visible and super slippery. All the flights were delayed... well, that I was surprised about. If there is anyone who should be prepared for this weather is Iceland but apparently not... Anyway, we thought that we were very lucky not to get that storm during the stay because then there is not much to do and you really need to stay put as it's too dangerous to drive anywhere.

So to go to Iceland in November is a bit of a bargain as you never know what kind of weather you will get. I think we were extremely lucky as in 5 days we saw Northern lights twice! And it was so good to have the fresh air, enjoy the ocean and the volcano and an amazing mushroom soup in my favorite lunch place on earth - Hja Hollu in Grindavik. Our stay in Comfort & Rest in Sandgerdi was flawless, I just love the place there - everything, including the hosts, is perfect.

So Iceland never disappoints if you stay away from the classical tourist routes and activities. I cannot wait to go back as there is still so much to see and discover.

P.S. Some of the pics are taken by my husband :)

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