2023 in Iceland (Snæfellsnes)

took an overnight flight from Toronto (YYZ) to Keflavik (KEF), Iceland on July 7 (going into July 8) for a 3-day stopover before going to Berlin:

why Iceland again?

• a stopover to Berlin
  • flew on Icelandair which always stops in Iceland
• have a look at Snæfellnes
  • did not go here in my 2017 and 2021 visits
• see the midnight sun for the first time
  • it felt so weird to see the sun at 2 a.m.
• driving around Iceland away from the "first timers"
  • away from the "first time in Iceland" crowds who mostly see only the "Golden Circle" and the "South Coast"

the trip

🛩️ incoming (2023-07-08)

• landed at Keflavik (code: KEF) with its small crowded building
  • when built many years ago, they did not think that Iceland would become so busy with first-timers coming to see its wild wonders, but here we are!
• instead of taking the one-hour shuttle ride from Keflavik to Reykjavik:
  • drove up to a "bed shed" in Sandgerði, northbound rather than eastbound, on the Reykja peninsula (Reykjanes)
  • had an earth-heated hot tub in the backyard
  • made the most of Iceland's clean water
• had a midday meal in Garður at Röstin
  • ate some plokkfiskur (Icelandic "fish and chips")
• seeing the midnight sun later that night for the first time in my life

🏔️ day 2 (2023-07-09)

made the most of driving, faring around Snæfellsnes in northwestern Iceland:

• Ytri tunga
  • a beach with seals 🦭
• Búðir
  • a church with a view of Snaefellsjökull
• Arnarstapi
  • a marker to Jules Verne's 19th century "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth", which mostly happens in Iceland
• Snæfellsjökull
  • a wonderful snow-topped berg 🏔️
• Hellissandur
  • high-end hand-drawn craftworks on walls
• Kirkjufell
  • a tall steep hill

back at the shed, while resting, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake happened (heard a loud rumble but no shaking)!

🌋 day 3 (2023-07-10)

drove through the Reykja peninsula (Reykjanes) in southwestern Iceland:

• Bridge between continents (North America and Eurasia)
• Brimketill (lava rock pool)
• Grindavik (small town among the lava fields)
• Fagradalsfjall (lava fields)

stopped by in Reykjavik to try to see some out-of-the-way stuff:

• Perlan ("the pearl")
  • a building about Iceland set on top of a high hill
    • saw Reykjavik from the hill
• Hallsteinsgarður (a garden of stone-craft)
  • sadly closed due to road works

by the afternoon, me as a "tourist" became a "local" by going to Smáralind (a shopping hub)

• went into a Hagkaup food shop and saw this word for "self-checkout":
  • sjálfsafgreiðslukassar

breaking that long snake of a word down:

• sjálfs = "self"
• afgreiðslu = "service"
• kassar = "cashier"

by this time, Iceland felt like home!

🛫🌋 leaving (2023-07-11)

so, the day after walking on the lava fields:

• saw the "eldfell" (volcano) blow up while driving to Keflavík
  • tall plume of smoke and all
• it was also still blowing up while my flight flew near it
• didn't die and got to Berlin

what a day!

looking back

what a trip that will never happen again:

• first look at a midnight sun
• first feeling of an earthquake
• first look at an eruption

all while being there for only a few days!