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Dinner under Midnight Sun - Iceland
by Martina Merten | Date >
2006-09-10 | Country : Iceland | City : Reykjavik
| Area : Reykjavik |
| “Why Iceland”, I had been asked a dozen of times before we took off to experience the northernmost capital Reykjavík and its surrounding area, why, if one could enjoy a fine summer holiday somewhere in the Mediterranean? Besides the fact that we had just been struck by an incredible heat wave that made a piece of cold and fresh air a truly valuable experience, I had also a clear urge for unpopulated space and untouched, fascinating landscapes. Pictures that I had seen before drew a beautiful picture of a scenery that makes you wonder what nature had in mind when it was created.
My first impression after a three hour flight was, however, more likely to be in a sci-fi film rather than in a nature resort. Arriving at the polished, concrete-built Keflavik Airport, we travelled for about 40 minutes on one of Iceland’s “motorways” (comparable in size with London’s inner city streets) through former lava fields and empty wasteland into the capital Reykjavík. In this time, we made the first of many unusual experiences crossing over from America to Europe, by their tectonic plates, as Iceland is situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rift zone. From time to time, we saw steam flows in the distance and were told that because of the special geological situation with the high concentration of volcanoes, geothermal energy (visible to us in form of the steam flows) is very often used for heating and production of electricity. Iceland's second largest source of energy (next to hydropower) is so inexpensive that in the wintertime, some sidewalks in Reykjavík (meaning Bay of Steam) are heated and hot water piped to each of the 145,000 houses in the capital costs less than cold water!
Arriving in Reykjavík established in the ninth century by Norwegian and Celtic immigrants, I truly expected these typical colourful Scandinavian wooden houses – instead, each of the capital’s low buildings welcomed us in painted, highly seismic resistant concrete and steel, due to the ongoing earthquakes that shake the island up to 20 times a day! Icelanders are highly creative and every second person seems to be a writer, musician or artist. The same can be said of the city’s modern architecture and art scene. Reykjavík has a comparatively large number of sculpture gardens, mainly dating from the 19th century, containing both abstract and realistic representations of the Saga myth stories on which the nation’s culture is founded. With its 288,000 inhabitants, Iceland also boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Wandering through the city and up its hills, we stopped at Icelands tallest building, the Hallgrimskirkja church (74.5m) that had taken thirty four years to build and offers some spectacular views of Reykjavic and across the Faxaflói bay to the Snæfellsjökull glacier that inspired Jules Verne’s “Journey to Centre of the Earth”. While looking down on the small city and the impressive scenery of the surrounding volcanoes, my eyes got caught once again by the steam flows in the distance that should soon make our next trip a truly magical experience…
Next, we submerged ourselves into the magical milky waters of the Blue Lagoon situated in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge lava fields. The Lagoon contains therapeutic thermal water that is rich in minerals, silica mud and blue/green algae and this combination had created the milky blue waters of the lagoon. Everything about our surroundings was surreal. In the background stood the geothermal power plant, the reason for the lagoon's existence. Black lava and puffs of fluffy looking steam enveloped us while we were floating in the invigorating waters with a temperature of around 36C-39C. We made also use of the white silica mud taken from the lagoon and put this all over our face and body. When washed away ten minutes later, the mud had exfoliated our skin and left our bodies soft and silky!
The following day, we rented a car to experience the very popular “Golden Circle” and finally experience many of the natural, picture postcard phenomena of Iceland. The trip began in the high-temperature, geothermal area Nesjavellir situated in the wonderful landscape of Lake Pingvallavatn that supplies around 25% of the hot water needed to provide central heating to Reykjavic. From here, we were taken to the beautiful national park known as Pingvellir, where the first settlers held their annual parliamentary assemblies, and to the famous Geysir. The gradually build-up water explosions of the Geysers made everyone standing around tensely, anxiously waiting to catch that moment on camera. Unbelievable, but the next sight was even more amazing. We went one of Iceland’s most spectacular - if not the most spectacular waterfall - known as Gullfoss. The splashing waterfall, set in a mountain rift of an entirely unpopulated space, was dramatic, powerful and hypnotizing as it tumbled down a deep gorge.
Due to Iceland’s unreliable weather conditions, we did not make it to the Snæfellsjökull glacier. Instead, we travelled 200 km north along the whale fjords, more amazingly green-coloured former lava fields and farming grounds up to the fishing town Ólafsvík situated on the western end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. We had experienced Iceland’s “motorways” before, but when we decided to use Iceland's smaller roads in the interior, we were hold back by the gravel surfaces and forced to turn back. Therefore, on the next day, we chose another method of travel, the boat, linking beautiful views on the coast line with a stunning whale, shark and puffin watching guided tour. We completed our diverse and exiting trip with an expensive (better do not underestimate the living expenses in Iceland!) but indulging midnight dinner by daylight at the “Við Tjörnina restaurant specializing in all kinds of traditional Icelandic food. The unusual establishment looks like a fancy version of the stereotypical Icelandic grandma’s house providing a uniquely homey feel and a mix of privacy and intimacy; there are only a couple of tables per room in just a few rooms.
On the way back to Keflavik Airport, I recalled the trip and its diverse amount of phenomena, landscapes, glaciers, volcanoes, geysirs, waterfalls, lakes and the indulgencies we had experienced in such a short period of time! It was an experience of a lifetime and a very addictive county to see. Recently, I read about the beautiful scenery of the northern parts and already made up my mind – I will definitely go back soon…
Martina Merten
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