Day 13 - Heading home
August 27, 2021
•
Leave a Comment
Our last day in Iceland. We spent the morning packing up our things and getting ready for the airport and the flight. We made one last stop at Brauð & Co for Icelandic pastries (my favorite was the vinarbraud), and stopped to check out the amazing architecture of the Reykjavik Symphony Hall,
before driving to drop off the rental car and head to...
Read the Full Post »
Day 12 - Snaefellsnes Peninsula
August 26, 2021
•
1 Comment
After a stormy night, we woke up to some glorious weather at Kirkjufell Guesthouse, with a view of several waterfalls from the window.
After packing up and self-administering rapid COVID tests (required for plane travel the following day), we began our day of exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula by heading towards the nearby Kirkjufell mountain...
Read the Full Post »
Day 11 - Northwest Iceland
August 25, 2021
•
33 Comments
We took it easy in Northwest Iceland, pretty much just driving and soaking in the scenery as we drove southwest. The Icelandic horses are everywhere in this region, roaming wide swaths of (their owner's) land, We stopped on a remote dirt road and watched this group of horses frolick (and mate) and graze for a while.
We went out to this remote ch...
Read the Full Post »
Day 10 - Goðafoss and Tröllaskagi in Northwest Iceland
August 24, 2021
•
26 Comments
Woke up at Guesthouse Stong,
ate breakfast,
and headed East on the Ring Road. We stopped at the beautiful Goðafoss, a U-shaped waterfall of the Skjálfandafljót river.
By this time the kids were getting pretty tired of waterfalls.
They had to wait while I flew my drone around.
We continued east through the city of Akurey...
Read the Full Post »
Day 9 - Lake Mývatn and Northern Iceland
August 23, 2021
•
356 Comments
We stayed at a small cottage at Guesthouse Stong near Lake Mývatn.
We headed north to the town of Husavik, a small fishing town well known for whale watching.
We were hoping to see some humpbacks, blue whales, and orcas, but struck out. It turned out to be a pricey boat ride, albeit with beautiful coastal scenery.
We saw some bottlenose wh...
Read the Full Post »
Day 8 - Fjords and Studlagil Canyon
August 22, 2021
•
1 Comment
We woke up in Breiðdalsvík in the east fjords, and set off on an insanely scenic drive along the coast of the fjords.
As usual, lots of beauty off the side of the road:
We made an early stop at a unique place called Petra's Stone Collection--thousands of people visit this home every year to see the rock collection garnered from the Iceland...
Read the Full Post »
Day 7 - Glaciers and Icebergs (Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Diamond Beach)
August 21, 2021
•
Leave a Comment
We woke up at Guesthouse Gerdi with a beautiful view of the ocean.
We slightly backtracked to visit the Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier (a tongue of the massive Vatnajökull glacier). It has steadily developed into a lake over the last few decades as t...
Read the Full Post »
Day 6 p.2 - A grand canyon (Fjaðrárgljúfur)
August 20, 2021
•
Leave a Comment
After lunch (probably hot dogs at a gas station), we headed to the beautiful, ancient, massive, Fjaðrárgljúfur river canyon, near the small town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The canyon is up to 100 m deep and 2 km long, with the river Fjaðrá running through it. The hike along the rim of the canyon was amazing, with each view changing as you turned a cor...
Read the Full Post »
Day 6 p.1 - Volcanic Beaches (Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara)
August 20, 2021
•
1 Comment
We woke up in Vik and headed to the nearby black sand beaches of Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara. Dyrhólaey (which literally means "the hill island with the door hole"), includes beautiful grass and moss covered volcanic rock formations over black sand beaches. It was windy/chilly.
We kept ourselves warm hiking a picturesque trail along the cliffs....
Read the Full Post »
Day 5 - More Waterfalls
August 19, 2021
•
Leave a Comment
The abundance of waterfalls in Iceland was truly astonishing. Simply driving form point A to point B may reveal dozens of waterfalls seen along the cliffs from the road. Two of the more famous waterfalls in South Iceland are off the ring road between Hvollsvollur and Vik, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss.
Seljalandsfoss is a 60 m tall waterfall off of...
Read the Full Post »
Day 4 - The Golden Circle (Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss)
August 18, 2021
•
310 Comments
Woke up and headed out to do the Golden Circle, a popular group of attractions east of Reykjavik. At least half the enjoyment of visiting places in Iceland is the drive there. It's hard not to pull off the road to take a picture.
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the site on which the original Icelandic general assembly (Alþing) was established around 9...
Read the Full Post »
Day 3 - Reykjavik
August 17, 2021
•
1423 Comments
We woke up in Grindavik, packed up the car, and headed towards Reykjavik. Outside Reykjavik we went on a horseback riding tour as a family, and had a blast riding these authentic, short-in-stature but powerful Icelandic horses.
We then went back to Reykjavik and explored a bit more, eating authentic Icelandic food at Loki, and pastries from Brau...
Read the Full Post »
Day 2 - The Fagradalsfjall Volcano
August 16, 2021
•
1 Comment
One of the reasons we wanted to visit Iceland this year was to see the lava flows at the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula. No eruption has occurred on the peninsula in 800 years, until a fissure vent opened here in March 2021. The eruption is effusive (not explosive!), and has been continuously spewing lava and changing the landsca...
Read the Full Post »
Day 1 - Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon
August 15, 2021
•
1 Comment
Left Seattle.
Arrived at the airport in Keflavik, Iceland.
After a tired struggle to get the rental car secured, we made our way in to Reykjavik to explore a little.
We went to a strange flea market where I saw this indescribable painting. Tempting, but we passed it up.
We then drove down to where we were staying in Grindavik (about...
Read the Full Post »
Paris (3/11-3/12)
March 13, 2013
•
1 Comment
We took a TGV from Angoulême to Paris and arrived in the evening. It was cold and raining but that did not discourage us from exploring. I decided to focus my attention on enjoying the night with Lindsay so I left my camera at the hotel. I did get a few iPhone shots of our night though. We took the metro to the Hotel de Ville, and walked in a bit o...
Read the Full Post »
© Aaron Rutman Photography