Iceland 2.0
— The charm of the chill: enjoying a second short visit to Iceland.”
J and I just returned from Reykjavik after our second visit to Iceland.
We didn’t get as much done as we’d have liked: the snowfall wasn’t sufficient for some of our planned activities!
Nevertheless, it was still a really marvellous trip. Please take a look at our pictures and let me know if you have any questions – I’d be happy to answer them!
Once again, please remember that you may not copy, edit or otherwise reproduce any text or images on this website without my express permission. Photos are nothing like experiencing the real thing anyway, so book some time off and make the effort!
Reykjavik and the Blue Lagoon
Reykjavik: 10am and dawn approaches. Due to Iceland’s northerly position, in winter daylight lasts no more than about four hours and the sun never rises further than a few degrees from the horizon.
Conversely, in summer the sun hardly sets.
Hallgrimskirkja (“Hallgrim’s Church”) is the tallest building in Iceland, named after a poet clergyman. It took 38 years to build and was completed in 1986.
The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is extremely popular. I don’t have any photos of the pool complex since the steam obscured almost everything worth seeing with your bathing suit on!
Super Jeeps and Skidoos
The British Army used the top of this mountain as a vantage point in the Second World War. Today, the super jeeps – standard 4WD vehicles imported and then modified for Icelandic conditions – are the only vehicles that can reach the summit.
Langjökull is the second largest glacier in Iceland. It’s thought to be about 2000 years old and it is currently receding. The super jeep took us as far as the point that the highland road was closed and we donned suit and helmet and mounted snow scooters (commercially “skidoos“).
The snow scooter needs a firm hand, since it’s handling is surprisingly light for such a cumbersome looking machine. It will do about 60mph if you can manage the fumes and the rattling ride!
Coming down off the glacier and back to the Gullfoss area, we took a short break at a café before heading off down the Kaldidalur highland road and past þingvellir, site of one of the world’s first parliaments, the Alþingi
See also:
Iceland 1.0
Our first trip to Iceland. Here’s a retrospective of photos scanned from the prints. Show picture list The Flash Player and a browser with Javascript support are needed. var so25_2 = { params :
- Originally published: 29 Mar 2004 in Europe
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