Sunday, July 16, 2017

Marianna Zaslavsky 's notes

General notes:

We went for 7 days but 5 were driving. Timing was tight to make it across everything and we definitely drove very fast / didnt sleep much etc. So I would say including 1 day and 1 night Reykjavik (which is all you need really there), you probably wont be able to drive the entire country in the time you have. 

So....I would say then that there are some "dont miss" places I would highly encourage you to make sure you see and you have to plan out the route in advance if you want to get to them. The most beautiful stuff I found to be in the Highlands and in Southeastern Iceland. 

Tips:
- Rent a car that can ford rivers - do you or someone on the trip know how to drive stick shift? I can get you the name of the car and place we rented from if you want. You will want a car like this: http://dmc. nordicvisitor.com/resources/ gallery.aspx?GroupID=545
- Get wifi for the car - we used it to navigate all the time (better than TomTom)
- Get camping gear and dont rent places to stay in advance. You can always call around to small cabins / B&Bs day of and if all else fails, set up camp. My recommendation is to avoid trying to "make it" to a certain place to sleep if you can - the roads and sites may take you off your course and thats kind of the beauty about a trip to Iceland. Set up the tent in the store before attempting to do this at 2am in the rain like we did :) Took us an hour to figure out our tent. 

Here are the main places we saw:
- Jökulsárlón - surreal ice on black sand and glaciars up close. Spend time here. 
- Hike to Viti in the Highlands (two hour hike on a crater - http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Viti)
- Hit up a hot spring along the way on whatever route you do. Blue Lagoon is touristy and cool but nothing beats a hot spring in nature: https:// guidetoiceland.is/best-of-icel and/the-5-best-hot-springs-in- iceland
- Golden Circle - must do touristy but Gulfoss is amazing- and this geothermal area is near by http://natureodes. wordpress.com/2012/10/10/icela nd-2012-day-2-haukadalur- geothermal-area/
- Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss
- Vik - gorgeous caves, cliffs by the sea - spend lots of time in this area 
- Namafjall / Krafla geothermal site. If you cant make it here then search for any of these and check them out. Surreal. 
- I think Hofn was a place we stopped for seafood - if not, google crustacean in Iceland and make sure you eat some in eastern iceland!

I labeled some of places in my photos: https://www.flickr. com/photos/125809998@N07/

So basically: our route was from Reykjavik towards Jokulsarlon and then towards Hofn and then towards Viti and back down to Golden Circle. We couldnt hit up the fjords in eastern iceland nor much of the north (and none of the north west). Highlands and off route 1 driving takes A LONG TIME. Some of the best stuff is off road but it depends how you want to prioritize. 

Research:

Key POIs - Southeast iceland

1) Jokulsarlon - the iceburg filled lagoon that is perhaps Iceland's most photographed area. Its between Hofn and skaftafell off the ring road. The lagoon is only 80 years old and growing. We should spend some good time here, preferably as the sun rises or sets if possible to get the light on the ice. We should walk down to the river-mouth to see the ice boulders resting on black sand. 

No camping by lagoon is unofficial but can be done. There are boat trips we can take here too. 

Sites around Jokulsarlon area coming from Skaftafell: 
a) Svinafell glacier and the svinafell farm 

Campsite: Svinafell (alternative is Skaftafell)

b) Hvannadalshnukur, Icelands highest mtn and biggest active volcano. The best climbing is done by pros only, requires a guide. 

c) Hof - pretty church 

d) Ingolfsjofdi - nature reserve with nesting puffins, seabirds and whales and seals 

e) Breidamerkursandur - breeding ground for iclandic birds called skuas and arctic foxes as a result; beautifuk panaoramas here of mountains and deep lagoons. Off the ring road, we can walk into the valley and see some beautiful sites including too lagoons (Fjallsarlon and Breidarlon)

2) Hofn: recommended we eat here

The road from Jokulsarlon to Hofn is lined with rural properties offering food and Hofn itself is a town with plenty of restaurants 

a) Viking cafe if we want some good coffee etc  about 7k east of Hofn turn off just before the ring road enters a tunnel to Almannaskaro pass. 
3) Skaftafell (Vatnajokull national park- south) - lots to do and see here. Hiking, mtn biking, glacial hiking, lots of amazing waterfalls and sites.Recommended to book a glacial hike if we want**** GLACIAR WALK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Campsite: Visitor center campsite 

3) Laki - peak with a crater. Can be climbed in 40 mins. 360 views  of the fissure, lava fields, , glaciers in the background. 

Kirkjubaejarklaustur is the tiny town between vik and Hofn before getting to Laki and Landmannalauger. Theres some cool sights here from laki's explosion in the late 18th century. Recommend we poke around the village a bit. 

Theres also nearby the crater field of Landbrotcholar, the canyon of Fjadrargljufur (can walk on lava fields here) and a waterfall called Foss a Sidu & Dverghamrar 

Lakagigar area is within Vatanajokull park and is a huge resrve with lava fields. Camping here isnt allowed. 

Fagifoss is a waterfall that is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the country; on the way to laki  along the F206

The Sandar region is also recommended - "soul destroyingly flat" and empty region 

6) Scale icelands highest peak: Hvannadalshnukur 

7) Snowmobile across Vatnajokull ice cap- we shouldnt plan to drive on it. Its apparently asking for a rescue bill if we do this. I would love to snowmobile tho...we should look into booking if we want to do this. 


POIs - East Iceland:

Its all about the Fjords here but there are some other POIs.

1) Most important town to see: Seydisfjordur - very picturesque snow capped mtns and waterfalls, musicians and artists. We can get there by Rte 93 from Egilsstadir. 

Campsite: Ranargata 

There are some nice restaurants in this town. If we know a set date to be there, LMK I can make us a res. 

2) Other beautiful towns / POIs in the Fjords area:

a)  Borgarfjordur Eystri is a village that has a stunning location, framed by a backdrop of rugged rhyolite peaks and the Dyrfjoll mountains. Its a little village but has a very photogenic harbor and islet home to a giant puffin colony (Hafnarholmi). Theres a viweing platform to observe them. Theres also Lindarbakki, a bright red hairy little house thats a private home but a fun photoop. 

Campsite: beside the church, has showers

b) Around Borgarfjordur Eystri is the Dyrfjoll mountain range - one of icelands most dramatic mountain ranges; hiking here is nice and there are half day hike trails

c) Eskifjordur is a little town streched out along the fjord and has a very old boathouse dating back to 1890 called 
Randulffs-sjohus  

Other POIs in East Iceland....

3) Snaefell - an extinct or sleeping volacano; Icelands highest peak outside of Vatnajokull massif. Theres raindeer and hot springs here. Its dangerous hiking and recommended to do with a guide. 

Campsite: Snaefell Mountain hut. Sleeps 45, kitchen and showers 

4) Jokulsa a Dal - is a beautiful stream. Continuing on Rte 923 leads to Hrafnkelsdalur full of sites related to the Hrafnkell saga. Some cool farmhouses here like Saenautasel and Adalbol

5) Hengifoos & Litlanesfoss - Icelands second largest waterfall ; climb up the canyon to see the falls (one hour walk there and back)

6) Pitstop along the road between Egilsstadir and Borgarfjordur is a funny pistacio colored hut surrounded by nothingness. Inside the hut is a solor powered vending machine. 



Restaurants:

REYKJAVIK
Restaurants (nice places)
Grillmarket http://www.grillmarkadurinn. is/. One of the best restaurants in Iceland and very popular. A lot different type of meats and fish, all from Iceland. The place is located in the downtown area.

Seafood Grill - http://www.sjavargrillid.com/# !en-heim/ctv3. One of my favorite places in Iceland. They have both meat and fish options. They also of a taste of Iceland tasting menu, which I think is very good.

Humarhusid (e. Lobster House) - http://humarhusid.is/Default. asp?Page=269. This place has really good Icelandic lobster. You can get lobster at other places in Iceland but this place is known for its lobster dishes. Icelandic lobster is much smaller than what you are used to in the US (it’s very good)

Tapas barinn - http://tapas.is/. This is a fun place to go to with groups. They have tapas dishes with Icelandic flavors. I think you can get puffin and whale tapas here.

Fish Company and Fish Market - http://fishcompany.is/ & http://fiskmarkadurinn.is/ Two good fish restaurants. I have eaten at both of them. Very good food.

More casual places
Laundromat Café - http://www.thelaundromatcafe. com/is. Very good place to lunch or light food during the day. They have very good sandwiches and are located in the downtown area. This is also a good place to grab a drink early in the night in a less noise environment.

Vegamot (e. Crossroads) - http://vegamot.is/English/ This place has been around for a long time and they have great menu with a very wide selection. Everybody should be able to find something here. This is a great place to grab lunch or snacks during the day. This place also turns into a popular bar during the night.

Slippbarinn - http://www.slippbarinn.is/en/ slippbarinn/food-and-drinks I haven’t tried this place but it looks good. I think the chef came in second in a Nordic chef competition.

Kopar - https://www.facebook.com/ koparrestaurant This place opened up in May so I haven´t tried it but it looks really good. They have good seafood and meats.

Bars
B5 - http://b5.is/ This was the most popular place when I was there over Christmas. They have been around for a while.

Kaffibarinn – http://www.kaffibarinn.is/ This place has been around forever. More of an arty crowd. Usually I end the night at this place (means go there around 3am).

Austur – This was a happening place when I was in Iceland

English pub – Decent place to grab a beer.

For the bars I would just walk around during the evening and see what looks like is popular. Almost all the places are located on one street called Laugarvegur, which is in the downtown area. In Iceland people often pre-party at home and go to the downtown area around 1-2am. During the summer places will be open past 5am….

RESTAURANTS OUTSIDE OF REYKJAVIK
Slippurinn - https://www.facebook.com/ SlippurinnEyjum. (In the Westman Islands). This is supposed to be the best place in the Westman Islands. I haven’t tried it but it looks good.

HumarHofnin http://humarhofnin.is/menu/? lang=en (In Hofn)  There are not a lot of places in Hofn and this looks like a good one.



Tips from others:


Iceland will be beautiful at the end of June, although be prepared for 24hour daylight! I've attached several PDFs of day trips I've taken and you can tailor them to your route. One of my favourite places to camp in Iceland is at Berskerjahraun (on the Snæfellsnes peninsula). I was camping there at the beginning of June when my friends and I discovered a hot spring you can bathe in nearby but I'm waiting on directions from a friend, which I can pass along to you if you're interested in heading west.


If you're doing the Golden Circle route, which I recommend despite it being quite touristy, you can add a dip in a hot spring to your trip around. The hot spring is in a farm called Hruni, just outside of Fluðir. Look for small signs for Hrunilaug once you pass the chapel in Hruni. There's also a great Ethiopian restaurant called Minilik in Fluðir, which is famous by word of mouth in Iceland although is only open in the evenings.
Reykjavik city centre itself is quite small and the centre of town is roughly between the Hallgrímskirkja cathedral and the harbour. There are two fantastic restaurants overlooking the old harbour, Kopar and Höfnin. Ask to be seated by the upstairs window if possible. Fiskmarkaðurinn (The Fish Market) is another lovely restaurant off one of the main squares with a great tasting menu. Try not to miss the famous Icelandic hotdogs at B æjarins Beztu hotdog stand - there's an unspoken understanding that it's our national food. You can find the hotdogs in any gas station but this particular stand is the original. If you haven't had quite enough of soaking in hot springs by this point, any of our public pools are worth a visit. They are all open-air, geothermally heated, exceptionally clean and have hot pots of various temperatures and steam rooms. 

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