Iceland? In January? But isn’t it cold? That’s the sort of
response we got from our family and friends when we told them about our upcoming
trip. It’s not just cold by the way, the wind is so strong that it threatens to
knock you off your feet, sunlight only lasts about four hours each day, and
road closures, road closures. So why did we do it? Well, I’ve been wanting to
visit Iceland for some time now. It’s got so many unusual, bizarre attractions –
ones I have never ever seen before. I’ve seen volcanoes (in the Canary
Islands), been on glaciers (Canada), but geysers, iceberg lagoons and boiling
rivers are some of the things that I had not.
So, when I heard that the winter of 2013/2014 is a good time
to see the Northern Lights, Iceland immediately came to my mind and I got on
with organizing. I was well aware of the fact that if you travel there at this
time of year, you have to be flexible. My original plan was to drive the Ring
Road all the way round Iceland. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t quite work out.
We started off in Reykjavik – the northernmost capital city
in the world – and what a beautiful capital that is too. It’s setting is so
dramatic being on the Faxafloi Bay with Mount Esja on the other side. The
coastal path is where we started too. We headed out at first light, even before
the sun had risen (this was around 10:30 am) J
and watched the sun rise over the bay painting mountaintops in pink hues. Our
three-year-old daughter was warm and cosy in her snowsuit and many other layers
while only her red cheeks and nose showing just how cold it is outside. Her parents,
however, where both shivering and thinking about where we could get our next
cup of coffee. Whilst we were considering how to keep warm AND see the city, we
saw some people dressed in Santa Clause outfits run past us, then some more,
then a few crazy ones in shorts, and then a whole bunch in all types of
clothing. It was a marathon. Maybe that’s what Islanders to do to keep warm
outside, run. Not that we were about to join them, running in freezing
temperatures isn’t my kind of activity.
Therefore we headed away from the bay and into the city. At
its heart, Reykjavik has a large lake, which during our visit was almost
completely frozen over apart from a tiny little area that was overcome by geese
and ducks.
My husband and daughter left me taking photos while they ventured
onto the ice. And strayed very close to the edge until I started shouting for
them to stop. Sometimes ice can look perfectly fine and solid but it has to be
at least 10cm thick and edges of the ice are the most dangerous. I grew up
knowing the dangers of ice while my husband hasn’t. Luckily, it was strong
enough to hold them even rather close to the edge. The rest of the lake was
pretty solid and we had lots of fun walking on it and enjoying the views of
this low-rise city.
After we left the lake we continued to walk through the lovely
streets of Reykjavik unlit, after a short trip to the tourist office, we ended
up at Hallgrimur’s Church which is Iceland’s tallest building. We had a look
inside this pretty church and went up it’s main attraction- the tower. The
views are fabulous and unmissable if you’re in Reykjavik.
We loved this very walkable city (even in the cold of winter)
but that was only the beginning…
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