2015 Iceland
Well I have just returned from my 2nd holiday to Iceland and I am still trying to find something that sums the place up, all I can think of in one word is 'Changing' and I said it last time and I will say it again Iceland really is the best country I have ever had the pleasure to visit for numerous reasons. In no particular order, the people are always happy to see you without being fake, false or just being polite, the landscape is literally out of this world in a full 360 degrees, it is a photographers paradise from street photography, landscapes, seascapes people, travel, you name it. Everybody is so helpful even if they are not going to make money from it, so it is not a profitable reason, people genuinely like to help you. This list could go on but rather than me spell it out for you, I strongly urge you to go and see it for yourself, if you don't you have really robbed yourself of a trip of a lifetime. The one piece of advice I would say is always have a PLAN 'B'. The weather is so unpredictable, especially in Winter, tours get cancelled, the weather makes things inaccessible etc but there is a mountain of things to see and do in the city of Reykjavik so do a bit of research before you go, based on your personal taste. There is a saying in Iceland 'If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes' if I may add to that I would say 'or travel 100m' you have never seen weather change so fast.
Why do i use the word 'Changing'? it changes almost by the minute with it's weather pattern......without a set pattern!! It's Geology, with it's relevent infancy in the bigger picture of the Earth as a planet, even it's people are changing, talking to an elderly guide who said in the past 45 - 50 years the city of Reykjavik has grown outward and upward, the people have learned and been given so much from the arrival of the British and American forces based there during the Cold War. Good travel has been afforded with airports, better roads, public transport and all from a country with no Army, Navy nor Air Force. One day it may change massively, it has an Island evacuation plan in place should or more so 'when' the Katla and or Bardabunga volcano's decide to 'blow their tops'. This apparently will make Eyjafjallajökull look like a party popper.
As for this latest (and hopefully of many visits) I had planned on renting a car and travelling further afield, however the weather was at times frighteningly vicious and we had already heard of cars being blown over and off the road on the Southern Route 1 ring road, so being British I decided to err on the side of caution and really glad I did. I had already downloaded free Apps for my phone such as 112 Iceland for emergency use and an App for the Aurora alerts and I knew that the day we were arriving was supposed to be good. No sooner had we arrived at our accommodation, I was picked up by Gray Line Iceland (Booked through Inga @ Tiny Iceland), on time as usual and taken ironically enough back the airport to the south coasts '2 light houses' where we had a very decent 1 hour + show.
As I took my Fiancee this time, I again booked my 'usual tourist' tours through Tiny Iceland http://tinyiceland.com/ a very helpful young lady who will always give good practical advice tailored to your stay and requirements. I looked at all sites and compared prices but she somehow manages to either match or in some cases beat booking direct with the companies.. Go Inga!!! Check out her website as a lot of her tours also cater for the younger and more adventurous among you.
The Golden Circle last year was a white out at times, we got to see Gullfoss for 15 minutes before the snow and cloud removed it from view, we could hear it but not see it from 50m. This year somebody must have ordered a summers day sunshine, bitingly cold at around zero to -5 + windchill factor but clear skies for miles and miles. Even Simone at Gray Line Iceland said she had never seen the skies so clear in all her years. At Thingllevir we were treated to a beautiful sunrise, Gullfoss was amazing this time but for me the views of Strokkur Geysir were even better then off to Skaholt church with a clear view of Hekla volcano in the distance.
On the same day / night we went looking for the Aurora for the 2nd time but this time with a 4x4 with Iceland Off road http://icelandoffroad.is/ Stefan the owner is a friend of one of my former work colleagues, the first time driving conditions were a nightmare both for the driver and passengers, the car in front disappeared, we felt the wheels go off the road several times and we could not see the front of our own car due to 40-50mph winds blowing surface snow, no blizzard, just Icelands infamous 'wind', my Fiancee was frightened to say the least. As with most tours, if you don't see them 1st time around they offer the 2nd trip free. This 1st time we had no luck but we did get to the Kerið crater (Kerid or to be precise sounds more like Kerith). A 270m x 170m and 55m deep volcano lake covered in ice and snow. It was around 11pm and lit by a half moon leading to some dramatic night time landscape shots. The sky was partially clear in the middle and it was like looking up into a giant Doughnut with solid cloud encircling and crystal clear dark blue hole, the wind had ceased but the Aurora failed to show, for a sense of scale, those 'shrubs' on the side of the crater are fully grown Iceland trees!!!. On our second attempt we only had to go 10-15 minutes outside of Reykjavik and we were treated to a show beyond my expectations. it was at least 1 hour before it died down and then when we got back it came out again with such force you could see it in the city centre.
We also went Whale watching' it was cancelled 2x due to weather and sea state but managed to reschedule without any problem. I must add at this point that Gray Line Iceland are unbelievably helpful, for whatever reason if you need to change your plans or the weather changes it for you, they reschedule to suit your requirements or you get your money back, no questions asked (if you book direct), if not contact your 3rd party booker, fantastic service.
Back to the whale watching, we were transferred to Grindavik by coach and boarded a nice boat, I had a beer, she had a hot chocolate........all ok so far. Then we set off for a scene as she describes it from 'The Perfect Storm'. I must admit, for a small boat it was a bit rough and the bottom deck of the boat was like a scene from a war movie with countless people vomiting into sick bags, the only bin being in danger of being filled with bags and the boat rapidly running out of them. I did make the suggestion of going outside to the back of the boat where I was as it seemed a lot calmer and fresh air would make things better. I am glad she didn't do it right then as I returned a wave hit the front and launched itself over the boat completely soaking all those on top and at the back of the boat...................good point I was still inside at this time!!! I thought we had become a submarine but I didn't laugh too much at the unfortunate people who were soaked completely, fortunately they also saw the funny side........not feeling guilty I laughed even more then.
As for the holiday we booked the flights and accomodation separately, the accommodation via a website called AirBnB https://www.airbnb.co.uk You can input your city of destination and scroll through all of the available accommodation. We were in the street adjacent to Hallgrimskirkja right in the centre of town. Our hostess Thordis is a local TV Journalist and an excellent hostess, lovely little apartment at the bottom of her garden, sort of like an English 'Granny flat' and much better than a hotel room. I would urge you to give it a go, it was like backpacking with added comfort.
If I win the Lottery I will buy a house in Iceland.
Read MoreWhy do i use the word 'Changing'? it changes almost by the minute with it's weather pattern......without a set pattern!! It's Geology, with it's relevent infancy in the bigger picture of the Earth as a planet, even it's people are changing, talking to an elderly guide who said in the past 45 - 50 years the city of Reykjavik has grown outward and upward, the people have learned and been given so much from the arrival of the British and American forces based there during the Cold War. Good travel has been afforded with airports, better roads, public transport and all from a country with no Army, Navy nor Air Force. One day it may change massively, it has an Island evacuation plan in place should or more so 'when' the Katla and or Bardabunga volcano's decide to 'blow their tops'. This apparently will make Eyjafjallajökull look like a party popper.
As for this latest (and hopefully of many visits) I had planned on renting a car and travelling further afield, however the weather was at times frighteningly vicious and we had already heard of cars being blown over and off the road on the Southern Route 1 ring road, so being British I decided to err on the side of caution and really glad I did. I had already downloaded free Apps for my phone such as 112 Iceland for emergency use and an App for the Aurora alerts and I knew that the day we were arriving was supposed to be good. No sooner had we arrived at our accommodation, I was picked up by Gray Line Iceland (Booked through Inga @ Tiny Iceland), on time as usual and taken ironically enough back the airport to the south coasts '2 light houses' where we had a very decent 1 hour + show.
As I took my Fiancee this time, I again booked my 'usual tourist' tours through Tiny Iceland http://tinyiceland.com/ a very helpful young lady who will always give good practical advice tailored to your stay and requirements. I looked at all sites and compared prices but she somehow manages to either match or in some cases beat booking direct with the companies.. Go Inga!!! Check out her website as a lot of her tours also cater for the younger and more adventurous among you.
The Golden Circle last year was a white out at times, we got to see Gullfoss for 15 minutes before the snow and cloud removed it from view, we could hear it but not see it from 50m. This year somebody must have ordered a summers day sunshine, bitingly cold at around zero to -5 + windchill factor but clear skies for miles and miles. Even Simone at Gray Line Iceland said she had never seen the skies so clear in all her years. At Thingllevir we were treated to a beautiful sunrise, Gullfoss was amazing this time but for me the views of Strokkur Geysir were even better then off to Skaholt church with a clear view of Hekla volcano in the distance.
On the same day / night we went looking for the Aurora for the 2nd time but this time with a 4x4 with Iceland Off road http://icelandoffroad.is/ Stefan the owner is a friend of one of my former work colleagues, the first time driving conditions were a nightmare both for the driver and passengers, the car in front disappeared, we felt the wheels go off the road several times and we could not see the front of our own car due to 40-50mph winds blowing surface snow, no blizzard, just Icelands infamous 'wind', my Fiancee was frightened to say the least. As with most tours, if you don't see them 1st time around they offer the 2nd trip free. This 1st time we had no luck but we did get to the Kerið crater (Kerid or to be precise sounds more like Kerith). A 270m x 170m and 55m deep volcano lake covered in ice and snow. It was around 11pm and lit by a half moon leading to some dramatic night time landscape shots. The sky was partially clear in the middle and it was like looking up into a giant Doughnut with solid cloud encircling and crystal clear dark blue hole, the wind had ceased but the Aurora failed to show, for a sense of scale, those 'shrubs' on the side of the crater are fully grown Iceland trees!!!. On our second attempt we only had to go 10-15 minutes outside of Reykjavik and we were treated to a show beyond my expectations. it was at least 1 hour before it died down and then when we got back it came out again with such force you could see it in the city centre.
We also went Whale watching' it was cancelled 2x due to weather and sea state but managed to reschedule without any problem. I must add at this point that Gray Line Iceland are unbelievably helpful, for whatever reason if you need to change your plans or the weather changes it for you, they reschedule to suit your requirements or you get your money back, no questions asked (if you book direct), if not contact your 3rd party booker, fantastic service.
Back to the whale watching, we were transferred to Grindavik by coach and boarded a nice boat, I had a beer, she had a hot chocolate........all ok so far. Then we set off for a scene as she describes it from 'The Perfect Storm'. I must admit, for a small boat it was a bit rough and the bottom deck of the boat was like a scene from a war movie with countless people vomiting into sick bags, the only bin being in danger of being filled with bags and the boat rapidly running out of them. I did make the suggestion of going outside to the back of the boat where I was as it seemed a lot calmer and fresh air would make things better. I am glad she didn't do it right then as I returned a wave hit the front and launched itself over the boat completely soaking all those on top and at the back of the boat...................good point I was still inside at this time!!! I thought we had become a submarine but I didn't laugh too much at the unfortunate people who were soaked completely, fortunately they also saw the funny side........not feeling guilty I laughed even more then.
As for the holiday we booked the flights and accomodation separately, the accommodation via a website called AirBnB https://www.airbnb.co.uk You can input your city of destination and scroll through all of the available accommodation. We were in the street adjacent to Hallgrimskirkja right in the centre of town. Our hostess Thordis is a local TV Journalist and an excellent hostess, lovely little apartment at the bottom of her garden, sort of like an English 'Granny flat' and much better than a hotel room. I would urge you to give it a go, it was like backpacking with added comfort.
If I win the Lottery I will buy a house in Iceland.
