Elements of Iceland

[Okayyou]

Now entering the middle act of the Euro tour. For those who may have missed previous installments you can see them here: Norway, Netherlands, Spain, South England, London, Edinburgh

After leaving Edinburgh I flew to Reykjavik, Iceland. This was the furthest north I had ever been, 65° from the equator. I timed my visit to coincide with the longest day of the year so I could experience almost never ending daylight. The sun set just slightly before midnight, then after a quick dip below the horizon, it was back up, ready for another day. The golden hour lasted more like 3 and created some interesting photo ops. Being so far north, the air temperature never really warms up. Daylight may be plentiful but heat is scarce.

I spent 2 days in Reykjavik which is much smaller and quieter than I pictured. I expected Stockholm when I visited Oslo and expected Oslo when I visited Reykjavik. Note to self, when visiting Nuuk don't expect Reykjavik. The city center felt pretty run down, lots of shuttered buildings and graffiti. I saw a few stalled condo projects and other remnants from the GFC. I took a puffin tour from the harbor and actually got to see a rare wale, or at least its back. The honeycomb building is the new opera house, it was still under construction when I was there.

I spent another 2 days driving around the country, starting in the golden triangle, famous for the Gulfoss waterfall, and geothermal activity. I then drove along the south coast to the glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón. Possibly one of the coolest places I've ever seen. The ice was was crystalline and amorphous, colorful and monochrome, transparent and opaque.

Like the title says, the thread's theme is the classical elements: Earth, Air, Water/Ice, and Fire (didn't see any lava so I had to substitute the sun).

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Next up, the tropical latitudes of Paris.

[ZeDgE]

Beautiful!

[Centropolis]

Jesus.

[plinko]

I'm not even sure if 'stunning' is appropriate enough a term for what this thread is.

How expensive was it to stay and travel around the country now that their economy is wrecked?

[10023]

I'd love to just ride a bike around that whole country with an iPod full of Sigur Ros.

[xzmattzx]

Stunning pictures! Iceland is a place I'd like to see some time, and it looks a little different than I expected. For instance, I didn't think that I'd see trees and horses.

One suggestion: I love your threads on your travels and follow it as much as I can, but it's hard to know if I missed a thread since you don't provide a list of previous threads. Could you start doing that at some time? Then I (and others) can go back and follow your trail, see what we've missed, bumped your older threads, etc.

[Nineties Flava]

I agree with plinko. In this case, words are inadequate...

[destroycreate]

Wow...this thread was amazing! Thank you for this!

[pallo]

Beautiful thread, what camera did you use ?

I went to Iceland in the middle of winter a few years ago

By the way for those Americans interested, there are direct flight to Reykjavik with Icelandic Air from Boston, New York and Seattle

[arkitekte]

Full of wins. Damn.

[Danny]

Wonderful thread and pictures. Beautiful photography and landscapes!

Thanks for sharing. Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain!

[Lipani]

Holy. Shizzle.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Groovy.

[R@ptor]

Brilliant photography

[ColDayMan]

Uh...yeah. This is good.

[Coldrsx]

Stunning

[Okayyou]

plinko - It was still pretty expensive. I think prices had dropped from their peak but my beer index I use to gauge prices around the world pegged was pretty high for iceland, $6+ for a pint. My hostel was ~ $35/night but that was in the summer season. It was also the most comfortable and enjoyable hostel I've been to, KEX hostel for anyone interested. If you want to visit on the dime, go during the winter. A lot of places cut their rates in the winter, downside is lots of darkness.

xzmattzx - thanks for the suggestion. I edited the links of my previous stops at the top of this thread. I'll keep a list of recent ones listed in my next threads. As always, to see more than just my recent sets check my signature where I link to all my photothreads.

pallo - I'm using a canon 7D. I think there is a direct Iceland express flight from Chicago and NY too.

Thanks everyone.

[Evergrey]

I echo ColDayMan's sentiments.

[wisla_krakow]

the song was a perfect fit. i visited iceland briefly on a layover once. wish i had trekked into Reykjavik though. icelandic people always seem so gentle and kind.

[stepper77]

Iceland is a remarkable place. It is on my must-visit list. Your photos are equally incredible. Thanks!