Iceland

Over February half term, we visited the beautiful country of Iceland for a winter holiday with our friends. Four adults, four teenagers, two cars and a beautiful house by a lake (and also a couple of nights in an apartment in Reykjavik).

We stayed here and it was beautiful, comfortable and worth every penny. Lots of space for everyone to socialise, eat and relax. 

 

The path below leads to a hot tub. I always say I don't like hot tubs, but it turns out that if I'm sat in one with friends, a glass of wine, and a view of mountains and trees, I do quite like it. 

The view across the lake was pretty mesmerising, even on the greyest, stormiest of days, when you couldn't even see the top of the mountain.

But it was most breathtaking the day we left the cabin, when we woke to overnight snow.....

....a partially frozen lake....

....and the driveway from the house to the road was transformed into a Narnia wonderland.

We stayed near the town of Selfoss, in the South-Western corner of the country, an area rich with Icelandic natural attractions and also a fairly short (although not relaxing, in the dark and snow with the steering wheel on the wrong side) drive from the airport. 

The weather on our first day was horrendous. Wet and windy (so windy!) and cold yet we were well-clothed and undeterred. Before the holiday I had moaned to John about the amount of money we'd spent in Decathlon on thermal layers and waterproof trousers, but they were worth it. Not once were we cold or wet, even in blizzards.

Despite the weather, we went out exploring to Kerid, a volcanic crater which has created a small lake, and walked around the top of the crater.

Three of the sides are very steep, but there are steps on the fourth so that you can walk down to the water at the bottom. This geology-lover was in heaven all holiday.

Then on to Thingvellir National Park, a place important to Icelandic history and culture (the country's first parliament was held here) as well as being the only place in the world where you can stand between two continental plates.

It is incredibly beautiful, even in the middle of winter, when half the park is flooded and the only colours are black, white and brown.

We were able to slip and slide along a path to this church however, which I was really keen to see. Although this little wooden church was built in 1859, there has been a church on this site in Thingvellir for over one thousand years. 

I would love to come back to this park in the summer, when you can see the green moss and wildflowers and walk through the hills without being worried about being blown over. 

The next day we visited The Secret Lagoon, the oldest natural swimming pool in Iceland. Getting into a warm pool on a freezing day was a surreal experience, but a lovely one, and very much part of the culture here so we really wanted to try it.

The pool is heated by a hot spring nearby.

 

We had booked lunch here, a large indoor tomato farm with restaurant. Tomato everything, including the dessert and beer, which sounds wrong but was all incredibly delicious. 

Sticking with the hot springs theme of the day, we drove to Geysir, from which we have the word "geyser". The original Geysir does not spout very reliably any more, but the Strokkur geyser nearby does. 

From here, onwards to Gullfoss ("Golden Waterfall"), a pretty spectacular and huge waterfall. Without any people in this photo to show scale, it is really hard to get a sense of the size and poweer of this natural wonder, but it really was quite special.

While we were there the sun came out more parts of the stunning landscape were revealed. 

That night, back at the cabin, we caught the merest glimpse of the Northern Lights, in the form of pale green wispy shapes that moved around the sky, almost impossible to detect. 

On our third day, we said goodbye to our cabin and loaded up the cars. We had planned to drive to the village of Vik, known for its black sand beach and basalt columns, stopping at Skogafoss waterfall on the way.

We made it to Skogafoss. 

We climbed every one of those slippery, rickety stairs to get to the top.

The snow meant there wasn't much of a view but it was impressive to be so near to the top of the falls. As the snow got heavier, we decided not to risk driving on to Vik, but to turn round and head back towards Reykjavik. Even with studded tyres, getting stranded in the dark was not worth it.

The sun came out as we drove over the mountains and it meant we got to spend a few more hours in daylight in the city which was lovely.

I loved Reykjavik. It is open to the sea, sky and mountains, without the tall buildings usually found in capital cities. We explored for a while before seeking refuge from the snow in a cosy little bar, then had some dinner. While staying at the cabin by the lake in Selfoss, we had shopped at the supermarket, cooked and self catered as we were in the middle of no-where. However in Reykjavik we ate out a lot more. After dinner we walked down to the harbour to see the Harpa building and Sun Voyager sculpture. 

On our fourth day we were up and out early, walking through the snowy, sunny residential streets to get to Hallgimskirkja early. 

Situated on a hill, the spire dominates the rooftops of Reykjavik. A lift takes you to the bell tower at the top, from which you can see beautiful views of the city. The architecture of this church was designed to echo the natural landscape, with its mountains, glaciers and basalt columns. 

The views from the top were wonderful, but it was really exciting to watch a blizzard blow in in a matter of minutes. One minute sunshine (although you can see the snow in the distance)....

...and the next everything white.

After a big brunch, we spent the rest of the day shopping, exploring, walking around and visiting the whale museum (which was excellent).

Then we were up early to fly home the next day. It was a magical holiday, one of the best we've ever had. The drama of the weather and landscape made for a holiday unlike any other we've had. The kids said it was as good as New York, which is something. I very much want to return, but in the summer perhaps, to drive around the whole island and also stop and linger, and walk around the beautiful landscape.