E hatisitsoe: 14.09.2017
The journey seemed so far away all the time, but suddenly you're sitting on the plane and leaving everyday life behind. Thank you very much for the big farewell at Hamburg airport. :-*
Our first stop is Iceland. To get used to the prices, we had a beer on the plane, maxed out the daily budget. Thanks to the bad weather forecast, we spontaneously decided to rent a car at Keflavik airport. The bike ride suddenly didn't seem so interesting anymore! Because despite the sun, it's very windy on the island.
On the first day, Reykjavik is on the program. The city can be wonderfully explored on foot in a few hours. We're staying in a pod hostel because Stephan really wanted to. In the end, it wasn't that spectacular.
On the second day, we grab our Toyota Yaris and do the Golden Circle Tour. Standard tourist program with waterfall, geyser and so on. Waiting for the Strokkur, our arm almost falls off while taking a selfie!
Then we drive the 'main roads' towards the glacier in the north. Small tip, 4x4 wins! Because supposed main roads turn out to be gravel roads through a rocky desert. Besides, no car comes towards you for hours! But we made it to the edge of the glacier with the small car. Hats off, Toyota! Nothing is impossible...
In the evening, we spontaneously book a guesthouse in the middle of nowhere. Definitely creepy movie feeling with the abandoned barns and rusty pickups. Vinyl is still playing in the 'restaurant', so the waiter has to go to the record player after every other song.
On day three, our attempt to negotiate a cost-reduced glacier tour fails, so we go on a waterfall hunt in the west. Two Austrians recommended a paradisiacal waterfall near a golf course, which should be easily accessible on foot. When we see the golf course, we set off for the waterfall. The path is hardly visible, so it's probably a real insider tip. In the end, we realize that we went the wrong way and our previous hikers are small, fat, and woolly. Mææææ... But still a great workout!
On the fourth day, we meet Heiko and Annika from Lemgo early in the morning and take a day trip to the south of Iceland. The beach in Vik briefly immerses us in a Game of Thrones feeling. In the evening, we end up in a small swimming pool with hot pools and a natural steam sauna. That sulfur smell, it's awesome anyway!
The goal for the evening is the hunt for the Northern Lights. For this, we drive to an abandoned military site outside of Reykjavik... Hardly any clouds and the Aurora forecast is bomb! However, it is downgraded from level 7 (very high) to level 1 (low) at 10 PM. At 10:30 PM it's at 0. We still see a few stars and shooting stars. If we find the forecast guys, they're in for it!
Iceland is beautiful, we will definitely come back to drive the Ring Road!!! And then we want to see these mysterious Northern Lights.
Next stop Montreal, Canada!