Land of Fire and Ice (And Darkness in January)

When we said we were going to Iceland in January, people would nod, smile at us and say, "Are you CRAZY?  Why would you go to a frozen place in the winter?"

Why indeed?

A Good Reason to go to Iceland

Well, Iceland is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).  And as seeing the Aurora Borealis was on my wife's bucket list, I started to look into places late last spring to see the Northern Lights. The choice came down to two. Yellowknife, NWT, or Iceland. 

To go to Yellowknife from Ottawa - 15 hours travelling time minimum, $3000 in airfares, 3 night tour to see the lights (2 evenings outside) around $2000, hotel included.  Total cost between $5,000 and $6,000. Typical 'viewing' temperature -25 to -30 Celcius. 

To go to Iceland - 10 hours travelling time (drive to Toronto, fly to Iceland), 4 nights hotel, breakfast included, extra flight in Iceland included , 2 nights viewing (second night guaranteed if on the first night lights not seen). Total cost between $2,800 with an Icelandair Package. Typical 'viewing' temperature -3 to -5 Celcius.  

We love Canada, but we also live to see other cultures and places in the world. And with the cost so much different, not to mention temperatures, it was a no brainer.

As the weather in Canada in January can make travelling difficult, we decided to go to Toronto a day early and also stay over the night we arrived back in Toronto. And staying the night in Toronto was worth it (if one can say a night in Toronto is worth it) because the day of our departure to Reykjavik it snowed - wet, sloppy snow that meant air traffic was backed up and we had to de-ice which delayed our departure by a couple of hours. But no problem really as it was an 'overnight' 5 hour flight anyway.

We arrived in Reykjavik at around 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EST). Iceland is on the same time as England. The Reykjavik airport is interesting in that we had to clear security upon arrival. But it was quick and efficient. With passports stamped, we descended an escalator towards ground transportation only to find ourselves in the duty free store, kind of like what happens at the end of a Disney Park ride when you exit through the store. We started to peruse the merchandise when a clerk came over and asked us if we were taking the Flybus into Reykjavik (the airport is a 40 minute drive from Reykjavik). When we said yes, he suggested we hurry to catch it as we were the only people stopping in Reykjavik (most travellers fly Icelandair to and from Europe via Iceland as it is much cheaper than other airlines). So we hurried out of the store and with 2 other people were the only ones to board the huge bus and head into Reykjavik. 

After checking in at our hotel at 9 a.m., we decided that since it was still dark, to do something that we rarely do when travelling 5 time zones - we took a 2 hour nap. When we got up at 11 a.m., we picked up our free bus pass from the hotel and headed downtown (about a 10 minute ride). 

Now, no matter where you are up near the Arctic Circle in January, there is a distinct lack of natural light. The sun rose (about the width of my thumb above the horizon) at 11:15 a.m. and set around 4 p.m. while we were in Iceland. Twilight began around 10 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m.  Photography in this lack of natural light was difficult. I have 'corrected' the white balance and exposure in most of the photos that follow, particularly those taken early and 'late' in the 'day' to compensate for the camera's light meter struggle.

Water's Edge

As we pulled into the bus terminal downtown, we could see the ocean about two blocks away, so like all humans, we were drawn to the sea and the water for a look. It was not very cold outside, perhaps even above freezing, but man was it windy. The wind blows incessantly in Iceland, and as we got close to the water's edge, we felt it full in our faces. To our left, we could see the Harpa Concert Hall and the stylized Viking ship that pays homage to the first settlers of Iceland. 

Now for a a bit of Icelandic history, albeit a really brief history. According to medieval texts (the Landnamabok), Iceland was first settled (it had been visited by Europeans for years before) in 874 CE by a Norse chieftan who built a house in what is now Reykjavik (there is a story of an escaped slave settling in the north in 870). There is also mention in ancient texts that Irish monks were already in Iceland, having arrived before 770 AD (and archaeological evidence may support this). The Irish left Iceland when the Pagans arrived. This obviously happened before the ubiquitous Irish Pub was invented. In 930, Icelandic settlers and chieftans formed the Althing (Alþingi in Icelandic), a Parliament that established the Icelandic Commonwealth. The language spoken in Iceland has not changed much over the years. The Icelandic alphabet has 32 letters; for purposes of this blog, I am using Anglicised 'translations' or representations of some of the letters such as the 'Þ' which is pronounced like the English 'th' . Iceland was part of Norway and then Denmark (and its derivatives - e.g. Kalmar Union) until 1944 when it declared independence. A notable footnote in Icelandic history is that during the late 1800s, because of the worsening climate and economy, about 20% of the population left Iceland with most eventually settling in Manitoba (I guess they did not read the Manitoba weather bulletins before they left). New Iceland on Lake Winnipeg is the result.

Open for early risers

Iceland, being so close to the Arctic Circle, has almost 24 hours of light in the summer and 24 hours of darkness in the winter. The long periods of darkness in winter maybe explains one of the first things we saw as we headed down towards the old part of the city. We had just started walking down Laugavegur street, the main shopping street, when we noticed the museum across the road. With more than 200 penises from most of the mammals and marine animals found in Iceland (including Homo Sapiens). We did not go in but apparently 71,000 other visitors did in January according to the museum's web site. They must have quite an uplifting collection. 

Not Cafe Equipment

We instead continued our journey down (or up, as we were ascending a small hill) Laugavegur, doing some window shopping and looking for a place to eat. We did not want a large meal as our bodies were still not sure what time it was. A small sign board caught our eyes that pointed to a basement spot called the Tiu Dropar (Ten Drops) cafe so we went down the stairs and went inside. It was a very cosy place; most people were having coffee and small cakes. We ordered Icelandic meat soup and coffee at the small bar and found a table. One of the oldest cafes in Reykjavik, the soup and dark bread at the Tiu Dropar were delicious. 

Flower 'Pots'

Suitably refuelled, we continued our walk along Laugavegur, but turned and backtracked as we had walked past the street up to the Cathedral. Hallgrimskirkja is the name of the Cathedral that is visible from just about anywhere in Reykjavik (including our hotel window out by the domestic airport) and as it is a must see, we headed back towards it. On the way, we checked out some of the street art and other interesting building adornments along Njalsgata, the street we were now on. What I found interesting was the way people had added colour to their houses, either through richly painted exteriors or by adding small touches through decorations to brighten up their places. Houses varied considerably along this street as well; some were small like cottages while others were part of what appeared to be apartment complexes. Several of the exteriors were corrugated sheet metal, apparently a style that caught on during and after Word War II when Iceland was occupied by the US, Britain and Canada. Icelandic people used the sheet metal 'left over' from construction projects carried out by the occupying (and mostly welcome) Allies.

Hallgrimskirkja

We turned onto Frakkastigur which led directly uphill to the large square and open area where the Cathedral is located. The Cathedral was built in the Expressionist Style; the architect portraying the lava flows from Iceland's volcanoes. It is a striking building. With the sun very low in the southern sky, the Cathedral tower, which is 73 metres tall, cast a large shadow towards us. Accordingly, it was somewhat difficult to photograph the front of the church. Particularly difficult was getting a shot of the interesting statue of Leif Ericsson (Leifur Eriksson in Icelandic) in front of the Cathedral. (I knew I should have brought my new variable density filter with me- it would have compensated for the bright sky against the shadows cast by the church).

Inside the Cathedral

As a Lutheran Church, we expected and were not disappointed to find it to be fairly stark inside and lacking in the trappings and religious decorations found in Catholic Cathedrals for example. Painted white throughout, with honey coloured birch pews, and large brass pipes taking up the whole wall of the entrance, the interior was austere yet at the same time very calming and pleasing to the eye. As I wandered around the quiet interior, I noticed an archway to my left that led to a stained glass window where the light streamed through to add to the glow of the muted overhead lights. 

Down to the Sea

Back outside, we headed past Leif and following his gaze, looked down Skolavorthustigur street to the harbour below. This was our next destination. The area around the harbour is where Reykjavik got its start. Although Vikings had lived in the area for hundreds of years, it was not until the late 1700s that Reykjavik actually became a real community. Once it was granted a trading charter by the King of Denmark, it grew fairly quickly. Today, there are over 200,000 people living in the Greater Reykjavik area - about two thirds of Iceland's total population.  We poked into some of the shops along the way, more to check out what was for sale than to actually buy anything. One thing we did notice was that many of the shops had their doors open to the outside air. Apparently, heating is so cheap (done with naturally occuring hot water) that if some heat escapes to the outside, no big deal. Actually, I did not mind. Icelanders love to be warm, hot even. We found the hotels, restaurants, buses and other public places much warmer inside than we keep our places in Canada.

Parliament House

We eventually reached the centre of town and checked out the parliament house which was built in the 1880s. There are restaurants and hotels in this area of the city, but it is a quiet (or at least was in January) downtown compared to other world capitals I have been in. We did not go much further than this as by now we were starting to get tired from jet lag and the sun had just set. It was 3:30 p.m.. So we headed back to the bus terminal and watched for our number 19 bus to take us back to the hotel.

Reykjavik house art

However, it did not take us there. Apparently the number 19 bus stops at two different places at the bus terminal, so when we got on where we got off a few hours before, we actually were getting on the leg that went out into the suburbs. Over the course of the next hour, we got a city tour (not narrated) through industrial areas (mostly warehouses and small businesses), past schools (the kids were just getting out for the day and several rode the bus with us) and lots and lots of different houses. An hour later, we came to the bus terminal again, and after commiserating with a British couple who got on and had done the same long ride the day before, were soon back at our hotel. Where we rested, went to happy hour (happy hour is a good thing in Iceland - the average cost of a beer is $10 Canadian), then had a good meal in the hotel restaurant. 

Later that night, we kept checking outside our window for the Northern Lights as our room looked out to the North. Other hotel guests had seen them in this way the night before. However, all we saw, which was also delightful, were fireworks exploding all over town, including in the Y junction of the roads in front of the hotel. It being January 6, the Twelfth Night of Christmas, the last of the elves and Yule Lads (more on them later) leave for the mountains and celebrations are held to mark the fact that daylight hours are getting longer.

The next morning we were up very early for breakfast which was included with our hotel stay and to get ready for our flight to Akureyri, a town of about 17,000 - 20,000 (I found that population statistics in Iceland varied considerably depending upon who you asked and what source you consulted) that is about a 45 minute plane ride north east of Reykjavik. Akureyri, situated about 60km south of the Arctic Circle, is where we were to do our "Northern Lights" tour. After a $20 dollar taxi ride that took us about 2 kilometres around the perimiter of the domestic airport - the hotel being located on the opposite side from the terminal (and I thought Ottawa taxis were expensive), we entered the terminal and went up to the counter to check in. And found out that the counter would open 15 minutes before the flight. Eventually we were issued a ticket (it resembled a bus transfer), our luggage was taken and we walked out to the plane (no security to go through). About 10 of the people going north were tourists like us. 

Akureyri Thermal Complex

We were met at the Akureyri terminal by our guide company which took us through some of the old part of town before delivering us to our hotel, on the top of a hill overlooking the harbour and town below. Our room looked across the street at Sundlaug Akureyrar, the large thermal bath and swimming complex. As it was now getting close to 10:30 a.m., and our tour company was going to pick us up at 12:30 p.m., we decided to hang out at the hotel. After calling maintenance to fix our radiator (it was on full and we could have had a thermal bath in our room it was so hot) I booted up my small notebook I take when I travel and discovered it was broken - only half the screen worked. So we went downstairs to the lobby and used the hotel computer. Soon it was time to head out on our tour.

There were 7 other people on our tour; three women from Taiwan, a young couple from Connecticut, a honeymooning couple from Britain and us. Our guide, Armann, was also our driver of the large van. He was an easy person to get along with, humourous, proud of his Icelandic upbringing and very knowledgeable. On the way out of town, he told us that if we could say a certain Icelandic word, the tour would be free. Of course, the word was probably 50 letters long and unpronounceable to non Icelandic speakers so no worries there. I am telling you this because of what happened the next day (stay tuned).

Our Travel Van

We crossed the fjiord and headed up the mountain on our way to the Lake Myvatn area. As soon as we started to ascend the mountain, the drizzle that had been falling changed to a pretty heavy snow. Armann did not seem to be too worried about the snow or the condition of the road. Almost all vehicles in Iceland have studded tires and our vehicle also had four wheel drive. So we cruised along, comparing winter driving conditions in Canada and Iceland with Armann to the bewilderment of the rest of the folks in the van.

Godafoss

Our first stop on the tour was at Godafoss waterfall, or in English, Falls of the Gods. We parked the van and walked to the edge of the river to get a view of the falls. It was difficult to see well because of the falling snow, the ice that coated the ground around the falls and twilight conditions, but you could tell by its sound and fury that it would be something to really check out on a summer's day. The name of the falls comes from the legend that in 999 CE when Iceland accepted Christianity, A Lawspeaker from the area, who converted Iceland to Christianity, upon returning from the Parliament meetings, threw his 'Pagan' god statues into the falls, thus ceremoniously and permanently severing ties with the Norse gods. 

The Home of the Yule Lads

The next stop, after a bathroom break at a Restaurant/Gift Shop, was to see the Dimmuborgir lava fields close to the shores of Lake Myvatn. The whole of the Lake Myvatn area is still an active volcanism zone, with several lava fields in the area. The Dimmuborgir fields were formed about 2300 years ago when a massive lava lake flowed out over a marshy area. As the water in the marsh boiled, the steam and vapour created lava pillars in the lava lake. As the lava underneath the crust flowed away, the crust collapsed leaving the lava pillars behind. Dimmuborgir means Dark Cities and that is what the eroded pillars resemble today.  

Yule Lads Leftovers

The Dimmuborgir area is also the home of the Yule Lads when they are visiting over Christmas. Children can visit with the Yule Lads in Dimmuborgir around Christmastime, otherwise they are usually not seen. The 13 mischievous children of two Trolls in Icelandic legend, the Yule Lads are connected with Christmas in that starting 13 days before Christmas, one Lad comes each night from the mountains and will leave a small gift in a shoe of children who have been good (or a raw potato is the child is bad). Each of the 13 has a unique name, often connected with stealing food, which is about as rotten as you can get in this formidible land. The last of them leaves to go back to the mountains on January 6, thus the fireworks we saw in Reykjavik the day before. We saw evidence of their visitation as we walked among the lava pillars. Signs they had painted, skis, wineskins, sheepskins, firepits and other materials were left behind for us to see.

Back in the van, we headed to our next stop. As we did, Armunn told us about the ducks and other water birds that make Lake Myvatn one of the best birding areas in the Northern Hemisphere for the variety of waterfowl. Fully thirteen different species of duck nest in the area, with a mixture of European and North American breeds raising their young here. We saw some of the ducks that overwinter in the relatively warm outflow from underground springs that feed the lake. 

We soon passed by the Hverfjall volcano, a large tephra cone explosion crater. It was too dark to photograph it but as it is over 400 metres tall and more than a kilometre in diameter, it does make its presence known even in the twilight. In summer, one can hike the rim of Hverfjall.

A split in the earth

But we were off to see the earth split. The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates come together, or to be more accurate, come apart in Iceland and we went to see where this is happening. Moving apart at up to 2cm a year, if we could have jumped a metre or so, we would have been able to jump from North America to Europe. Or was it the other way around? It was hard to tell in the gloom of twilight which way was north. As the two plates are torn apart, lava wells up to fill the rift. Which is a good thing because close to Reykjavik, you can actually walk at the bottom of the rift on a pathway.

Within a few metres of the rift, Armunn took us to see a cave that had formed as part of the rift. I had brought flashlights with me in my camera bag, and with Armunn leading the way and me lighting the way for my fellow travellers, we climbed down into the cave for a look around. A warm water pool was at the bottom of the cave, but it was difficult to see much, even with our lights so we climbed back up to the surface, jumped into the van, and headed off to see the steam vents at the Krafla lava fields.

It was getting pretty dark and we had to drive off road (or at least down a gravel road that was covered in snow drifts) to get in to see the steam vents and see and smell the sulpher pools, but it was sure worth it. The video that follows provides an indication of the sound and sights of the steam venting from the ground. Note that the light you see in the video comes from Armunn's flashlight.

After getting back out to the road, Armunn declared that it was time to go for dinner. Our tour included an Icelandic dinner at a nearby farm. Literally at the farm, in the cowshead. Vogafjos Cafe is unique in that the cows live on one side of the cowshead and the restaurant is on the other. Large glass windows keep the two separated, which is good so that humans can savour the food that is prepared here. All natural foods, most of which is grown or raised on the farm, made for a delicious and nutritious dinner. One had a choice of oven roasted leg of lamb or grilled Arctic Char as the main course, with salads that featured the farm's goatcheese, geysir bread (bread cooked in the ground from the heat of the magma below), and geysir bread icecream. Chased down with a local Christmas beer, and with conversation with our fellow travellers, it was a memorable meal.

After dinner, we were off to the antipenultimate event of the tour, the Myvatn Nature Baths. Using the water from a nearby geothermal power plant, the water is cooled from 130 C to about 36-40 C for bathing. The lagoon is huge and the water, being alkaline and with sulpher in it, is said to be very therapeutic. Not to jewellery, mind you as the sulpher can destroy silver and brass, but it felt good on the skin.  Natural steam baths are also availble to enjoy. There is something about bobbing around in the lagoon that was surrounded by snow in the middle of winter that I found very restful. 

After being in the water for about an hour, I got out, showered and dressed, and had just struck up a conversation with one of the staff when Armunn called through the door of the dressing area that he could see the Northern Lights. Well, sort of see them. There was just too much cloud tonight to get a good look and all we could see was a faint glow behind the cloud. Armunn tried to find them by taking us to several different areas on the way back to Akureyri, but to no avail. But he told us as he dropped us at the hotel, that because we had not really seen the lights, his company would take us out again the next night starting at 9 p.m.

Akureyri 10 a.m.

The next day, the clouds had still not disipated to any degree, however, the rain/snow mixture had at least stopped. After enjoying breakfast in the hotel, we waited until around 10:30 a.m. for daylight to begin and then set out down the hill to see Akureyri. 

Downtown Akureyri

Akureyri is the second largest urban area in Iceland, but the downtown area and what is called Old Town can be easily walked (except for going up the hill to the hotel). It is a major fishing port, located on the longest fjord in Iceland (Eyjafjordur). Permanent settlement started in 1778 although Vikings had lived here since the 9th century. The town did not start to grow, however, until the late 1800s, partly because it is an ice free port year round, but also because the agricultural lands around it are productive. During World War II, British airmen flew from Akureyri in an attempt to protect convoys from German submarines. Today, tourism is becoming an important industry, both in winter (Northern Lights, skiing nearby) and summer (cruise ships, Lake Myvatn area and whale watching - and eating. Iceland is still one of three whaling nations - the other two being Japan and Norway).

Concert Hall

We did a quick tour around the downtown, checking out restaurant menus (for dinner) and some of the shops on the main street. Many of the shops are multipurpose. The book store is also a library, a stationery store for business, a tourist shop, a toy shop and even sells clothes, jewelllery and small agricultural products. There were not a lot of people walking around the town. We saw some preschoolers out for a tour but most people may have been shopping to the east of downtown where larger stores are located. We walked down along the waterfront and through the striking concert hall. It is a very beautiful building both inside and out, albeit the people of Akureyri struggled to raise the funds to finish it when Iceland suffered its economic meltdown from 2008 to 2011.

Oldest House in Town

From the concert hall, we wandered up the fjord's banks to Old Town. This is where the oldest house in Akureyri can be found. It is also where we were told to try the ice cream at a local shop, Brynnja, our guide declaring it the best in Iceland. Perhaps we chose the wrong flavours; I thought the ice cream at the farm the evening before was better. But the ice cream turned out to be our lunch, because with the large buffet breakfast, we were not hungry again until later that evening. Old Town has a couple of interesting buildings in it, but the museums were closed so we were unable to really check out the history of the town.

A Step Up

We slowly walked back from Old Town and instead of climbing back up the main street that went to our hotel, we decided instead to climb the steps in front of the Cathedral. There are 112 stairs and while there is an annual race to see who can get to the top the fastest, we declined to enter it or even practice for it. Instead, we paused a couple of times on the ascent to check out the scenery below us (and above, like the little enginethat could, saying yes we can, yes we can). Huffing and puffing, we eventually reached the top of the stairs. We did not go into the church, but circled around its left side and continued the slow climb up towards the street that passed in front of our hotel. On the way up, we met the three ladies from Taiwan who were on their way down. They asked if they were going the right direction to get to the main part of town. I told them that there was basically no way to get lost in Akureyri, just head to the church and go down.

Red and White

We passed some houses that had Danish influences in their architecture and these places, behind the church seemed to be the wealthier ones in town. Or at least the older part of town that we had visited. I was struck by a house at the top of the hill - a church and a house actually. Maybe because it was painted in Canada's national colours, but it was a striking property as we turned down the street to our hotel. 

After resting at the hotel for an hour or so, we walked once more down the hill into town to have dinner at Bautinn, a restaurant that served authentic Icelandic food and which was recommended to us by our guide and the hotel staff. We declined to eat whale meat (one of the specialities) but the food we did have was very good. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for the bus to come and get us to try once again to find the Northern Lights.

Imagine our surprise when Armunn showed up on the bus - he was the guide but not the driver. We were the first ones on the bus, so got the front seats. On the way out of town, Armunn again challenged everyone on board to say his Icelandic word for a free tour.  Imagine his surprise when we told him we had studied it all day and could repeat it. He momentarily looked frightened until we started to laugh and told him it was impossible to study a word that we had not understood in the first place. And so our second tour with him began. 

We started to drive east on the highway to Reykjavik, but the clouds persisted. We climbed over a range of mountains and the driver flagged down one of the many transport trucks coming our way. The driver told our driver and Armunn that about 50 kilometres away, there were no clouds in one of the valleys. So that is where we went. And sure enough, the stars soon became visible. The driver found a safe place to pull off the road, we descended and set up our cameras. Or at least 4 of us did on tripods. Others tried to handhold their cameras or actually tried to use flash photography. Like they were going to light up the Northern Lights. And waited for Mother Nature or the Norse Gods to start the show.

Within a half hour the show began. And the crowd went crazy (I may have even let out a bit of a cheer). A faint glow off to the north east soon turned into a brilliant green curtain with tinges of pink and red higher up in the sky. For the next hour we watched as the Aurora Borealis dazzled us with what Armunn called a 7 out of 10 show.  The photos below are a few of the ones I captured that night. Unfortunately, as they are in a table, they cannot be clicked on to make larger like the other photos in my blog. 

Around 1 a.m., Armunn reluctantly told us that he had to take us back to the hotel. The Northern Lights had started to flag by now, so we did not argue with him much, but piled back on the bus and, with all of us in a positive mood, had a good ride back to town.

The next morning, we were up early again to get ready for our flight back to Reykjavik. We landed around 11 a.m. and shared a cab with the British couple back to the hotel. Marie decided to have an extended nap; we were tired from being up late the two nights before, but I decided to head into town one last time as the next day we were scheduled to fly home.

Reykjavik Doorway

So I once more got the free pass from the hotel desk and headed in. I strolled down along the harbour, checking out the large concert hall and then wandered over to the old part of town. I decided that a beer would be nice, so I found an English themed pub and headed in. Sitting at the bar, I chatted with the barman, a Jamaican who had settled in Iceland a few years before. He told me he liked the people and had an Icelandic girlfriend so I guess this overcame the fact that he'd gone from the tropics to the Arctic. 

After finishing my beer, I went back outside into the waning light and wandered back to the bus terminal. We ate dinner again in the hotel after spending some time in the bar during happy hour. We ventured outside once more to see if we could see any Northern Lights from the backside of the hotel where we were looking out over the airport, but no luck. So we headed back inside and called it a night.

The next day, it was raining and generally miserable. Our flight back to Toronto was leaving Kaflavik at 4:30 p.m. local time, but the Flybus to the airport was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. So we caught the bus and after a 45 minute ride through the city and lava fields outside Reykjavik, arrived in a driving rainstorm. We grabbed lunch in the airport, bought some Icelandic liquour in the duty free and then boarded our flight. We chased the sunset across Greenland, Labrador, Quebec and on into Toronto, arriving at 5:30 p.m. Toronto time. Then it was off to the airport hotel for a quiet night and a drive home the next day through more rain. So ended our journey to Iceland and as they say in Icelandic, verkefni leikinn.