by Wendy
When blogging about an Iceland road trip, images take center stage. I asked my fellow travel companions Jack, Mom (Cindy) and Joe (Dad) to choose a favorite photo or two and write a few sentences to accompany it.
Jack
Thingvellir National Park has a fascinating dual significance. One of the few places in the world you can see the convergence of two Tectonic plates, it is also the site of an annual gathering dating back centuries which led to the formation of Iceland’s Parliament, one of the first in the world. It seems an interesting coincidence that an ancient culture with no knowledge of its geological importance would single out this spot. Maybe the stunning natural beauty had something to do with it. Its political relevance continues to this day, the white houses in the distance are the summer residence of the Prime Minister.
Cindy
Foss means “waterfall” in Icelandic. There must be thousands of waterfalls in Iceland. As you drive the ring road around the island, waterfalls seem to appear on every mountain.
One of the best known foss on Iceland is Seljalandsfoss. It is a 213 foot tall fall that can be hiked up to and walked behind. Very cool experience. Wear your rain gear, because you will get sprayed!
Joe
Is it Ireland or Iceland? Iceland is the land of fire and ice. It is the Northern Lights and ice blue glaciers. It is a land of black sand beaches and waterfalls. But many of its hillsides are a lush green and volcanic black, dotted with sheep and horses. The small red roof farms that hug the same hills for shelter, access to water, and what flat land exists, are quaint and picturesque. Point a camera in any direction and there is natural beauty waiting for you to make your favorite photo. I have so many favorite photos from this country I can’t say which one is number one or the one I’ll eventually blowup and hang on my office wall. It’s why all my electronic devices have a different Iceland picture for its wallpaper. What an awesome problem to have.
Icelandic Farm
On the magical side of the islands most beautiful landscape has to be some of the high cliffs coastline. This photo was taken at a cliff on the ocean that also had a light house and rock out-cropping that turned the atmosphere into something out of Lord of the Rings.
Lighthouse hill near Vik
Wendy
When people ask “What was the most amazing thing you saw in Iceland?” I answer that it was the glacier. I had never seen a glacier before. I was awe-struck. So what better photo to choose than my darling travel companions in front of the glacier. If you only have a couple of days to spend in Iceland, I would recommend staying at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon for 1-2 nights – you can visit the glacier park (I think it’s called Jökulsárlón) and also see many of the famous waterfalls during the drive. Then spend at least one night in Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina. Walk around the city, visit the Blue Lagoon, and have dinner at the restaurant Forretta, located right across the street from the hotel. Great food, and we enjoyed talking to the friendly waiter who is a big American football fan.
