A Glimpse of Iceland
Rekyavik, Iceland - November, 2007
Reykjavik may be the world's most Northern city but it is not a city break destination. It is however the perfect base to catch a glimpse of Iceland's dramatic landscape of volcanoes, waterfalls, glaciers and geysers.
Tjörnin Lake and Frikirkjan Church provide a postcard perfect picture as does the solid mass of Mount Esja looming across the other side of the bay...
Despite its location in the mid Atlantic, just below the Arctic Circle, Iceland is in fact European. It's also not as icy as you may think thanks to the Gulf Stream and ironically in recent years Reykjavites have had to go abroad to ski. The island may be a third larger than Scotland but its interior is made up of uninhabitable volcanoes and glaciers so the majority of its 313,000 residents live huddled around its capital in the south western corner.
The word Reykjavik means 'smokey bay' and was so named after the steam rising off the numerous hot springs. By far the best place to see the city is from the bell tower of the modern Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral guarded by a striking statue of Leif Erikson, the Viking explorer. The cathedral may be made of concrete and resemble a space rocket but the views from 74 metres up are spectacular.
On a clear day you can see for miles in all directions and when the sun bounces off the red, yellow, blue and green iron rooftops the city turns into a patchwork quilt of dolls houses. In the distance Tjörnin Lake and Frikirkjan Church provide a postcard perfect picture as does the solid mass of Mount Esja looming across the other side of the bay particularly when covered with snow.
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Reykjavik may be Iceland's capital but it's really a small town and doesn't take long to explore. Laugavegur is the city's main shopping street and is where you can admire contemporary black lava jewellery and Icelandic knitwear or buy something warm from North 66. It's also where you will find the majority of the city's bars, restaurants and coffee shops. On Sunday afternoons Tjörnin Lake is the place to hang out with families feeding ducks and swans and is a romantic place to watch the sun set.
The city has a well deserved reputation for being a party town with many clubs open all night or when one shuts another opens across the street particularly in the 101 downtown area. You can also eat your way round the world but be warned if you decide to try a traditional restaurant as you may be surprised to find a puffin tasting menu or specialities such as carpaccio of reindeer or whale steaks. Another local speciality is the Icelandic hot dog, or pylsa as they are called here, which are reckoned to be the best in the world.
However, being in the city is not what visiting Iceland is all about and there are numerous day trips and choosing the right one really depends on how long you can sit in a car. If you plan to hire your own set of wheels make sure you request a 4x4 as some roads aren't suitable for anything else and in the winter the weather can turn nasty very quickly.
Taking the easy option and booking a tour leaves the driving in the hands of an expert. We were lucky to have Joey, an Icelandic record breaking rally driver and his white super jeep with massive 38 inch wheels. Inside, his dashboard was kitted out with every kind of gadget imaginable from outside temperature and wind gauges, two satellite navigation screens and even a place for his laptop in case he had to drive blind in a snow storm.
Iceland sits on a fissure that divides the American and European tectonic plates and the best place to see this volcanic action is at Thingvellir (or Pingvellir) National Park. Pingvellir literally means Parliament Plains and is where Iceland's parliament was founded in the year 930 and the views from the Interpretive Centre of this World Heritage site are breathtaking.
The waterfall resembled a wedge of cake made of glacier water and its spray froze instantly on contact with our clothes and faces.
The raised wooden platform, perched on top of craggy moss covered cliffs, provides a bird's eye view of the meandering River Sog as it flows across the volcanic plains. The river passes in front of the isolated Thingvellir Church and its five gabled manor house before entering the lake's deep icy waters with its backdrop of snowy mountains and islands. Even in the freezing cold wind and icy rain it's easy to see why the park is a hiking and diving paradise in the summer months.
From Pingvellir the road leads you through miles of barren yellow fields where you will see wild ponies grazing or if you are lucky you may see them canter along the road creating an Icelandic traffic jam. An unusual sight is to see a 'horse dog' herding the ponies by snapping at their hooves to get them off the road and back into the fields.
The next stop on the tour was Gullfoss Waterfall and after skating across the icy car park in gale force winds we eventually reached the icicle covered fence that separated us from a 32 metre drop. The waterfall resembled a wedge of cake made of glacier water and its spray froze instantly on contact with our clothes and faces.
After defrosting in the visitor's centre we huddled back in the jeep and made our way to the land of the geysers. Joey told us that no matter how cold it was we were to wait seven minutes and we would see Stokkur erupt. Unfortunately it 'blew' the second we got out the jeep so we had to hang around in the bitter cold for the next performance. Not that we saw any water, only an enormous cloud of steam spouting 30 metres into the air but the setting sun provided a dramatic backdrop.
Our final stop was the seaside town of Stokkseyri for our lobster supper. We were under strict instructions to stay as long as possible in order to have the best chance to witness the Northern Lights. This was to be the highlight of our trip and the main reason for visiting Reykjavik in November. Steaming hot langoustines, salad, cous cous, hot potatoes and several bottles of wine later we headed back out into the freezing night to begin our search of the aurora borealis.
Seeing the Northern Lights is not as easy as it may seem. The peak time to go is between the months of November and February but we soon discovered it was more like finding a rainbow than a sunset. Joey kept in touch with HQ and fellow aurora hunters on his CB radio and it reminded us of being on safari as we drove this way and that trying to track down the illusive phenomenon.
After an hour of driving with the headlights off staring up into the heavens we sadly agreed it was time to head back to Reykjavik where we commiserated by dancing the night away til 5 am. It is seemingly possible to see the Northern Lights from the city on a clear night so the next evening we went for a midnight walk along the scenic coastal path but the only light we could see was Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower whose beam of light shot up into the black sky.
The best thing about visiting Iceland is that there is no wrong time to go.
Reykjavik's most popular day trip is to the Blue Lagoon, located close to the international airport at Keflavik and it can be reached from town by a regular bus service. The coastal drive to and from the lagoon passes through an unusual landscape of green moss covered rocks and eerie statues that from a distance resemble people staring out to sea but, on closer inspection, are only boulders placed on top of each other.
The lagoon's geothermal water is rich in mineral salts, blue-green algae and white silica mud which you can apply to your skin whilst enjoying the 39 degrees water. A modern spa adjoins the lagoon where you can enjoy various treatments as well as saunas and steam rooms and the Blue Lagoon spa products are the perfect way to bring a little bit of Iceland back to your own bathroom.
The best thing about visiting Iceland is that there is no wrong time to go. In the winter it may be cold but you could see the Northern Lights and enjoy the incredible countryside covered in a dusting of snow. The downside is that the sun doesn't come up til 10.00 am and sets about 4.00 pm so there is very little day light which takes a bit of getting used to.
The exact opposite is true in the summer particularly in June when the town has 21 hours of daylight. This is the time to visit if you want to spend a week hiking, fishing, biking, diving or horse riding. Between April and September you can also take to the sea and go dolphin and whale watching and in August you can watch baby puffins taking their first flight.
A weekend in Reykjavik gives you the best of both worlds. Time to explore this colourful city and its nightlife but more importantly it gives you a glimpse of the real Iceland that lies on its doorstep but be warned a glimpse is all you'll need to convince yourself to come back and see more.