Exploring Iceland
Bookending my Summer 2015 trip through Europe (Railpass Europe), I spent a good chunk of time exploring Iceland. Initially, I planned on only visiting the island once. But, having fallen in love with it during my first visit, I knew I had to end my summer by exploring Iceland some more. In fact, it made such an impression on me that I plan to keep visiting in the future to explore every damn corner of that island. While my summer in 2015 was full of travel and amazing experiences, Iceland really was the capstone on the summer, and I cannot wait to go back.
Reykjavik
The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik is a fun city with a great restaurant, cafe, and bar scene. There’s plenty of local cuisine and eccentric international options, too.
Westfjords
This area is a bit off the beaten path because it’s not on the Ring Road. Nonetheless, the Westfjords region is breathtaking; marked by thousands of inlets lined by steep cliffs.
Western Iceland
In between Reykjavik and Westfjords is a vast area of land I’ll call Western Iceland. It’s full of beautiful natural landscapes, waterfalls, and even geysers!
The Road Trip
On my second visit to Iceland in late August and early September 2015, I planned a much different experience than my limited experience the first time around. I knew I didn’t quite have the time (or the funds) to do a full Ring Road road trip, but I still wanted to get out and see the island. My personal compromise was to rent a car and take it up to the Westfjords and back, seeing Western Iceland too, along the way. Pulling the trigger with a minimal plan in place with just a couple of sights to see in mind was a great choice. This trip was such an experience in adventure and discovery, and I think it was the perfect way to collect my thoughts and reflect on the amazing summer of travel I’d just had.
Before and after the second day of the road trip, when I drove up a very slippery, very muddy, and slightly dangerous road in the Westfjords. This car wasn’t exactly made for that kind of activity, but it made it up sure enough, I just had to get used to how it handled the muddy gravel. The half-hour or so of elevated heart rate was rewarded with one of my favorite sights in the region – Dynjandi waterfall.
Photo Preview
Above and below is just a small selection of photos from the first day of my road trip. I drove over to Geysir, and then made my way up north, stopping quite often to snap some pictures.
I’m being completely serious when I say that there were stretches of road where I stopped every 10 minutes to take a picture. Seriously, so many pictures. It helps that the weather during the road trip wasn’t too rainy, and the sun made appearances often.
Journey: Exploring Iceland
For big trips like these, there’s no way I could or should try to fit all of what I want to share on one page. So, I create a series of posts which all contain parts of the “journey”. Below is the collection of blog posts which make up my journey for Exploring Iceland. Together, these posts tell the story and share the knowledge and experiences I gained from the trip. Come along for the ride!
Comments
Pingback: An Introduction to Iceland | Abroad American