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Ozbrecht 2019 - Iceland & The Baltics
United States
August 9
I think she's ready!
Dallas layover
Iceland
August 10-14
Welcome to Iceland!
One of our first images of Iceland - guy pulling a cement truck
Icelandic horses. Iceland is very careful to protect the breed; if one leaves the country, even for a show, it cannot return.
Approaching Vik and its famous Vik i Myrdal church on the hill. We stayed in Vik tonight but continued past for the afternoon.
Waterfalls in abundance
Along the southern coast
Svínafellsjökull Glacier, near Svartifoss Waterfall. Due to time, we were unable to visit the waterfall.
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon. Another hike we didn't have time for. It was close to 9 pm, and we'd been awake most of the past 36 hours.
Day 2 in Iceland - our hotel just east of Vik
Today, we made our way west to Reykjavik. First stop - a closer look at Vik's charming little church
Vik's black sand beach. Pretty sure most if not all of this island's beaches are black sand from lava.
The shoes we all wore for 99% of the trip
Lots of sheep in Iceland
Lighthouse at Reynisfjara Beach & Dyrhólaey Arch Viewpoint
Reynisfjara Beach
Dyrhólaey Arch
Sheila introduces Skógafoss Waterfall
Hi Ric!
Hey guys, let's walk to the top!
It was probably blowing 50 mph at the top
Lots of these huts built into mountains and hills - perfect temperature control
The famous Bra Fence
Our next waterfall
This one we walked behind - no worries, we are prepared!
Andy & Sheila
Ric & Kathy
Wet
Behind the falls - (slo-mo video)
Andy, Sheila & Ric waving to Kathy
An unnamed waterfall between Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and the next waterfall, which is...
...Gljufrabui, a canyon waterfall with a narrow, wet path to its base
Gljufrabui is behind the camera, Seljalandsfoss is farthest right in this picture
Checked into the Reykjavik Lights Hotel. Lo & behold, an Ed Sheeran concert unfolds from our room windows; it's included in the room rate tonight!
Day 3 in Iceland. Now based in Reykjavik, we headed north and west a couple of hours
KIrkjufell, or Church Mountain, located on a large peninsula on Iceland's western coast. It claims to be the most photographed mountain in the country
Kirkjufellsfoss, just across the road from Kirkjufell
The church in the village of Grundarfjörður, just across the bay from Kirkjufell
We wanted to have lunch at this charming little restaurant, Bjargarsteinn, but it is only open for dinner. Instead...
...we found a Pizzeria in town
Great Icelandic pizza and beer!
One final view of Kirkjufell
Translation: Welcome to Snæfellsjökull National Park
This is the farthest north any of us have ever been, and the farthest north we will be on this trip. It's less than one degree latitude from the Arctic Circle
Here is the church, here's the steeple, open the door, and - where are the people?
Incredible lava-formed coastline
It was probably in the mid 30s with the wind chill. At least Ric was wearing a ski jacket
"Turn the heater up!"
"It's hot in here!"
Gestastosa Visitor Center, at Malarrif Lighthouse. Cute little gift shop with locally-made goods.
Malarrif Lighthouse
Views of the drive back to Reykjavik
One of the two long tunnels we took underneath Iceland's fjords
Hallgrimskirkja, the main Church of Iceland (Lutheran) church in Reyjavik. It is named after Hallgrímur Pétursson, an Icelandic clergyman and poet, and author of the Passion Hymns
Old Town Reykjavik
We first went into this place because it had restrooms. But you have to buy something to use them. The drinks were excellent!
Day 4 in Iceland. First stop - Þingvellir National Park. Anglicized, that's Thingvellir
Þingvellir claims that it is the only place where the collision of the North American and Eurasian continental plates can be seen above ground
In places, the collision of the plates form these shallow but sheer canyons
Öxarárfoss Waterfall
Iceland is very geothermally active. Here at Geysir (named for its largest geyser), about an hour east of Þingvellir, is the highest concentration of geysers, steam vents and hot springs.
Strokkur Geyser is the most faithful. It erupts every 6-10 minutes, and is about 50-65 feet high.
Strokkur Geyser erupting (video)
Geysir can erupt as high as 230 feet. It is very unpredictable, sometimes going years between eruptions. We didn't wait.
A calm Geysir
Another 10 minutes to the east is Gullfoss Waterfall
The highest volume waterfall we saw. Spectacular!
We sure wish we could have spent more time here, and walked to a couple other viewpoints. But we had reservations coming up, and a few miles to drive.
The drive to our next destination, along the southwestern coast. Cutting through the lava fields
Arrival at our destination, the famous Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is a large geothermal spa. The water is supplied by a nearby geothermal power station. The water's milky blue shade is due to its high silica content
The entrance is carved into the lava field
The Blue Lagoon is very popular. Thus the reservation, which we made a few months earlier
Views from the waiting area
Since arriving in Iceland we had been going nonstop. This was a nice respite
Making our way back to Reykjavik
Back in Reykjavik for our final evening in Iceland, we found Snaps, a marvelous restaurant. What a way to finish!
The next morning at Kevlavik Airport. On the way to Bergen, Norway!
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