Visiting .00125% of Icelanders

The second leg of our journey south after Seljalandsfoss was full of ash (see "Kicking Ash and Taking Names" post). As we drove the ring road the ash disappeared into the hovering clouds allowing us expansive views of the lush, green countryside. The topography was mountainous and the views were more beautiful the further we drove.


We reached our destination, Vík, the wettest place in Icleand which is ironic because when we were there it didn't rain. Vík is a town of 400 people. On the map in my guidebook, the town was marked with a larger dot so I thought it would be bigger. Guess it's big for Iceland, roughly .00125% of the population! The town had one church up on a hill set along the mountainside. We took the main road and parked at what we thought looked like a school or rec center with an interesting mural that made me laugh so hard. From what I could tell, it depicted a kid running into a volcano, falling in, then blowing up. Hilarious. (pic below)


We weren't sure we were allowed to park there so we found a gravel road that led us to a small lot by the German memorial. It looked like a mini Stonehenge design and the only inscriptions were in German. It commemorates a German fishing boat that was wrecked off the beach and was erected by the fishing company to thank the Icelanders who had risked their lives to save crew members.


Since we couldn't read German well, we continued toward the beach (voted a top ten black sand beach in the world... and rightly so!) Along the rock face of the Reynisfall cliffs to our right we saw a large and industrious colony of arctic terns. Beyond that was a stegasaurus-like basalt rock formation called Reynisdrangar. Legend claims the pillars of basalt rock was formed when two trolls couldn't land their boat before dawn and consequently turned to stone. (below)


All the sites were taken in from the beach. We waded our feet in the freezing Atlantic ocean and walked to the shoreline which became rockier and harder to walk on as we headed back toward the town. Side note: I can handle cold water like no one's business, sometimes I think my body is as well insulated as a polar bear, but this water was coooold. My only regret is that I didn't bring my suit with me for the road trip, otherwise I'd be all over doing a true polar plunge! We hopped Rte 1 back to Reykjavík for our first rehearsal with Vox Academica in Langholtskirkja after taking in the nature, walking along the beach, and taking pictures.

Seljalandsfoss= Win!

We woke up early and had an awesome breakfast. The hotel had fresh bread, meats- my fave was a round one that looked like salami- Icelandic cheese (to die for!), fresh fruit, o.j., bacon and eggs, and kaffi. We set our destination as Vík, as well as a park east of there to hike (though we never made it because we had a 5:00 rehearsal back in Reykjavík). Around the time the road turned to gravel due to the glacier flooding from the volcano eruption, we saw 3 beautiful waterfalls lining the edge of a cliff so we had to explore!


We stumbled upon Seljalandsfoss (pictured above)! Reading up on it after the fact, I found that since the waterfall is very picturesque, it is often featured in calendars. It was also in season 6 of the Amazing Race. Anyway, we parked the car in a gravel lot along with a tour bus and other day trippers. What surprised me the most was how bouncy the ground was! We took pictures and headed toward the first fall which was the largest.


A small pool, a medium-sized pond, really, lay at the bottom of the fall. We took a rocky path (above) that led up the hill behind the falls. I even went down to the base of the pool and tasted the water- fresh and cold! Note to travelers: You will get soaked! The spray is intense, especially if you choose to venture along the backside of the waterfall. That's also what made the experience fun :)


We emerged on the other side, climbing down a slippery staircase, to reach the second waterfall. The path was lined with Alaska Lupine and the largest daisies I have ever seen. This waterfall didn't have much going for it in terms of size, but it was pretty against the verdant vegetation (above). We also spotted a pipe that sprung a leak causing two tall spouts of water to come out at its base. The color spectrum could be seen in its mist.


We followed the small stream along the bottom of the hill to the third waterfall. To get to it, we jumped across rocks where the stream widened and climbed up the steep hill. What was cool about this waterfall was that there was a large barrel at the base (above). Perfect spot for a photo op! Across the way, there was a shallow cave in the rock face nearby which made for an adventure for those willing to scale rocks to check it out. Eventually we made our way back down to the little hut with a grass roof (window shown below) and headed back to the car for the next leg of our journey.

We spent about 45 minutes checking out our first Icelandic waterfalls. The country is teeming with them- you can't drive the ring road and not see one :) Seljalandsfoss= easily accessible from the Ring Road + isn't too far from Reykjavík + one stop to see three waterfalls = Win!

Don't mess with the Lögreglan!

The best way to see Iceland is to get out and experience it yourself! My group decided to rent a car so we popped over to the tourist office next to our hotel. At the front desk, we were given a binder full of car rental places with price comparisons and made reservations to be picked up bright and early the next morning.

The Budget car rental guy picked us up in the lobby. He was young, about my age, and we listened to his ipod playlist. During the ride we asked him a bunch of questions :) He studied abroad in York, PA as a high school exchange student and even went to prom! We also were filled in on the difference between American and Icelandic girls. In America, he said, everyone is in a relationship, quite the opposite of Iceland. He also added that Icelandic girls are easier to kiss! I digress...

When we got to the Budget car rental office, we filled out our paperwork and were given a two door, gold-colored, manual car (luckily my roomie knew how to drive stick!). Driving in Iceland was easy, just like driving in the States. Everyone drives on the right side and the signs are pretty easy to figure out. Get to love roundabouts because they are everywhere!

Road sign along Rte 1 headed south

In Iceland, there is one main road that encircles the country called Rte 1, or the "Ring Road." Since Iceland is sparsely populated, there aren't many cars on the road. Ironically, we were late for our first rehearsal that night because of traffic. Yes, traffic in Reykjavík. For our first day, we took this road south to Vík for a day trip. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Reykjavík without stopping. The drive made for a very comfortable day trip.

You're going to want to stop and take pictures of everything, so plan your trip accordingly! Returning from Vík that day, we decided we wanted to rent the car and go north the next day. We called Budget from our cell and reserved the car for another day (thank goodness they spoke English- it made everything so much easier!).

Fender bender in the middle lane that brought traffic to a stand still.

The second day, we drove north to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, another 2 1/2 hour day trip from Reykjavík (my fave drive!). Our hotel front desk man, who was incredibly helpful and nice, suggested we drive around the Hvalfjörður instead of going through the tunnel. It was totally worth it- the views were stunning (below).

After hiking a volcano crater that afternoon, we took a kaffi break in Ólafsvík and then panicked at the time because we had another rehearsal that night! The road that looped around Snæfellsjökull on our way back was beautiful. Out the window to our left we saw the mountain and on the right was the ocean.

The drive on the peninsula.

I eventually fell asleep in the back seat and about an hour from Reykjavík our car stopped. The Icelandic police pulled us over for speeding! Major suck. The cop approached the car and said, "Góðan daginn." We mumbled the phrase back and then he started talking to us in English (once again, thank you for being multi-lingual, Iceland!). Our driver was then made to sit in the back of the patrol car and produce his passport. He was in there for a good 15 minutes.

Upon returning to the car, he told us that we were clocked going 126 km/hr or the US equivalent of 78 mph. Oops. (In our defense, before I fell asleep, multiple cars were passing us on the road.) Also, his ticket was CRAZY EXPENSIVE. It was $400 with a 25% discount since he paid right there on the spot. At least the policeman was cordial during the ordeal.

This was my furtive attempt to capture the moment on camera from the back seat.

Lesson to take away: Don't speed in Iceland.