Island in Winter

We flew to Iceland from Berlin. Just like that, because the flights were cheap. Why not? We found affordable accommodations on AirBnB and shared a rental car with friends. We knew that the days in Iceland in January would be short. Nevertheless, we planned a lot for the 4 days that we had.

After our arrival in Keflavik, we picked up our rental car (we got an upgrade! :) ) and drove straight to Borgarnes through Reykjavik. We had our first accommodation there, a hostel. The journey there was interesting because the heavy snow on the roads had not been cleared and was therefore packed down. There was no one at the counter, but there was an envelope with my name on it on the counter, inside was a key. How easy! In the evening, we strolled through the snowy Borgarnes, cooked dinner, and then waited at the window for the sky to clear and the Northern Lights to appear. My Northern Lights app that had been recommended to us by other hostel guests (Canadians) predicted a chance of 10-16%. That should be enough! Unfortunately, the sky did not clear and the street lights in Borgarnes were very bright, so we eventually gave up and went to bed.

On the second day, we drove from Borgarnes further north. In advance, I had found a hot spring there that we really wanted to visit. We set off in the dark and arrived there in the early dawn. Unfortunately, the hot spring was not easy to find. With a bit of research using our smartphones and LTE (in the middle of the countryside, imagine that in Germany...) we were able to find some clues. In the end, we were able to find the hot spring. However, we had to trudge through knee-deep snow to get there. Apparently, no one had been there since the last snowfall. However, we had not brought any swimwear for searching. But since the path had become quite long, we decided to simply go in naked. There was no one else there anyway. Done deal, hot springs are simply wonderful! With a hat on in 30°C warm water while it snows outside, you don't do that every day :) Just as we were finishing, two other people actually arrived there. The New Zealanders had followed our footsteps and were glad that they had led them to where they wanted to go.

Afterwards, we returned to the car and drove to Keflavik airport to pick up our friends Adrian and Caro.

With the two of them on board, we drove to Reykjavik. First, we checked in to the AirBnB, then we met up again, went shopping, and cooked. We discussed the next day and agreed to meet early because we had a lot on our itinerary.

The plan was as follows: in the dark to Dyrhólaey, then to the plane wreck, Skógafoss, Seljalandsfoss, and if there was still time or light, to the thermal river in Hveragerði. Our first stop was actually the plane wreck, which was a bit disappointing for Cerina and me. When we were there in the summer of 2015, we could drive our car right up to the wreck. We even stayed overnight there. Now, there is a parking lot right by the Ring Road, where descriptions of the path and rules of conduct at the wreck are displayed. In Icelandic, English, Chinese. We find it sad that something like this was necessary because some tourists simply cannot behave properly. Really a shame. So, we walked this long way, in what felt like -7°C and strong winds, to the wreck. When we arrived: some Asians, one of them posing on top of the wreck (which is actually prohibited according to the sign at the parking lot…). We took our photos, admired the wreck, and couldn't understand the behavior of some other people. Back at the car, we then went to Cape Dyrhólaey.

Dyrhólaey was windy. Very windy. And cold. But maybe it's always like that there. We could see the rock needles of Reynisdrangar and, of course, the arch in the Atlantic Ocean. Together with the blowing snow, it made for a great picture. But that cold wind... The view to the west onto the black beach was even more awesome. You don't often see such a mixture of colors and we couldn't get enough of it. 

Afterwards, we visited Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss. The path behind Seljalandsfoss was closed due to ice. We managed to get a glimpse of the hidden waterfall, 500m from Seljalandsfoss, and then drove to Hveragerði. But there, we decided to go to the thermal river the next day. The sun was already low and the hike there is quite far. So, we drove back to Reykjavik, ate fries, and went to the Reykjavik lighthouse, where there is a small hot pot where you can observe the Northern Lights if they are there. 

On the third day, we had the Golden Circle on our itinerary. We left early again and arrived at Thingvellir at dawn. It felt like it was dawn for a long time and the car thermometer showed -10°C. But: no wind, no clouds. What a perfect morning there. We filled our water bottle in Silfra and enjoyed this wonderful place. After a while, we drove to Geysir Strokkur. Apparently, it too was cold, because the fountains were significantly higher in the summer of 2015 than they are now in winter. Next stop: Gullfoss. Wow, there are so many tourists here even in winter. We really didn't expect that. The Gullfoss showed itself from a very cold side. The strong wind carried the cold from the water, accelerated it, and cooled intermittently until it hit your face with full force. But the sight was majestic, the water apparently couldn't decide between liquid and solid, so it had both phases there. Very interesting. Quickly back into the car, heating, heated seats! Then we drove back to Hveragerði and started the hike to the thermal river. At first, the path was relatively easy, later snow set in and blew away the footprints of those who had gone before us. So, we sometimes had trouble finding the right way. We reached our destination much later than expected because the path was longer than we thought. Plus, all the snow. Unfortunately, the river wasn't as hot as we remembered. Nevertheless, I didn't miss the opportunity for a foot bath. Then quickly back because it was already getting dark. The snowdrifts made finding the trail really difficult, but we arrived back at the car in one piece. Then back to Reykjavik to the swimming pool! If not the river, then we'll defrost there :) After that, it was time to cook dinner and say goodbye. The next morning at 5 o'clock, we had to drop off the car at the airport and check in 20 minutes later. Everything went smoothly. In the evening, we arrived back in Kiel and fell into bed completely exhausted. It was an exhausting but also beautiful short trip to Iceland. Highly recommended :)