Six Days Around Iceland | Part 2 of 2

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We continue our journey around the Ring Road with part two of our Iceland adventures! As you may recall, Cassie and I closed out our epic third day of the trip in Hofn. We then continued on our counter-clockwise road trip around the country by visiting some small towns on the eastern side of the island.

We stopped for fish n chips at Við Voginn in a small fishing town called Djúpivogur.

 

They have these sculptures of various types of bird eggs called Eggin í Gleðivík.

Lovely coastlines.

More waterfalls! Sveinstekksfoss and Folaldafoss.

We continued northward to Egilsstaðir.

And then we made our way over to the town of Seyðisfjörður, which took us through this unexpected, unusual-looking winter wonderland.

So much white. And a complete lack of trees.

I later watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty upon Cassie’s recommendation, and Ben Stiller longboards down this winding road past this waterfall (Gufufoss) and into the town below, but it looks completely different in the summer!

Our lodgings for the night were this cute hostel, which would normally involve dorm-style shared bathrooms, but true to form, we were the only ones here so we had the run of the place.

Dinner at the only spot open in the off season: Skaftfell Bistro.

Cozy reading + tea time back at the hostel.

Ok I know this isn’t the greatest photo of them, but wild REINDEER! Look closely. There are three. We spotted them just on the side of the road.

Our first stop for day five, another waterfall: Rjukandi.

And then over to the most powerful falls in all of Europe, Dettifoss.

Next, Mars. Or Hverir, a land of crazy geothermal activity.

Gurgle gurgle.

Looks crazy. Smells like bad eggs.

Such fast-moving steam coming out of the earth.

Oh no, Cassie is walking into the sulfer clouds.

Wild.

Geothermal energy being harness for human use.

And then we visited Grjótagjá, a.k.a. Jon Snow and Ygritte’s love cave. It’s too hot in real life to go into. And very steamy inside! But pretty cool too look at.

Next, we visited the lavafields of Dimmuborgir.

And one more set of waterfalls for the day, Goðafoss. I loved the beautiful blue-green water here.

And finishing up Day 5, we made it to our airbnb in Akureyri, which is more like a small city. Cassie cooked for us this last night! Delicious tikka massala fish and brussels sprouts.

Last day of the trip! Day 6! Since most itineraries that go around the entire island are for one week or more, we basically skipped from Akureyri back to Reykjavík (about five hours of driving) without too many more stops or detours along the way.

More horses!

Our last falls of this trip: Kolugljúfur Canyon.

And just like that, we were back in Reykjavík. A stop by Sandholt Bakery.

A photographer’s shop on the main shopping street, Laugavegur.

And after walking around for a while, we had a delicious dinner at Messinn.

And that was it! Early the next morning, I flew out to Switzerland, taking advantage of Icelandair’s free stopover in Iceland to make the fare the same even if I went all the way to Europe. And I had one more little round of misadventures on my way back through Iceland on my layover from Switzerland back to California. But it was such a wonderful journey altogether!

Here’s my illustration (real size: credit card) of our entire trip around the Ring Road in Iceland!

And here’s a little compilation of video clips from our trip as well– one second at a time!

Around Iceland’s Ring Road in Six Days!

Day 4:

  • Stop in the small fishing town of Djúpivogur and have fish and chips at Við Voginn. Visit the Eggin í Gleðivík egg scuptures.
  • Stop by the waterfalls Sveinstekksfoss and Folaldafoss.
  • Stop by the town of Egilsstaðir, perhaps for a fuel or grocery store break. We picked up sandwiches for lunch a few times on our trip.
  • Enjoy the beautiful drive through the mountains down to the town of Seyðisfjörður. Say hello to gufufoss along the way.
  • Stay in the Halfadan Hostel. They even have laundry (paid by honor system) available.

Day 5:

  • Visit another roadside waterfall, Rjukandi.
  • Drive over to the most powerful falls in all of Europe, Dettifoss.
  • Visit Mars. Or Hverir, and be prepared for the smell of sulfur and mud on your shoes.
  • Stop by Grjótagjá, a.k.a. Jon Snow and Ygritte’s love cave. Be sure to go the right way, because the wrong way will take you down an unpaved road.
  • Visit the lava fields of Dimmuborgir.
  • Stop by Goðafoss.
  • Stay in Akureyri, a small city with plenty of shops you can browse. I picked up an adorably illustrated book about Icelandic birds (Birds) in a Te & Kaffi bookstore there.

Day 6:

  • There’s only one goal for today: drive back to Reykjavík!
  • Stop by one last set of waterfalls in Kolugljúfur Canyon.
  • Back in Reykjavík, browse the main shopping street Laugavegur. Visit the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church. Have dinner at Messinn.
  • That’s it! Reflect on your beautiful time in this wondrous place and start dreaming about your next return.

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She creates beautiful, soft, and timeless imagery while capturing the most fleeting of moments. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, and contact her to book your own session today.

 

That’s part two. See below for part one!


Iceland

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