Place like no other

Let’s embark together on a trip over Iceland, during which I will introduce my thoughts and memories from the Land of Ice and Fire.

I highly recommend listening to Light of the Seven in the background.

Niceland

I came up with the name inside the car, when everyone was looking through the windows and constantly someone was saying “nice”. It is a nice land indeed, but only saying it is nice is an understatement. To be honest, it is hard to put into words what one sees there. Maybe “nice” is not that bad of a word after all, because it leaves the place for interpretation. I will try to fill this void with photos and hopefully will manage to familiarize you with the truly remarkable world of this small distant island.

Variety of scapes

Something that amazed me and kept doing it through out the journey was how many different views there are to see. Less than one hour is how long it takes to travel to the other world on Iceland.

It really felt as if we visited multiple countries and climatic zones. I was used to more monolithic nature, e.g. when being in the mountains area one expects mountains-like views and nothing other. But not here…

Thingvellir National Park

Sólheimajökull glacier

Beach somewhere on the north

Jokursarlon glacier lake

Kerid crater

Bjarnafoss waterfall

Black Sand Beach Reynisfjara

Gullfoss waterfall

Svínafellsjökull Glacier

Kirkjufell

All the photos were taken in the span of a week and in the area three times smaller than Poland, but for me they do look like from different seasons and different continents.

Vastness of space

Immediately after jumping into the car at the airport I have noticed that Iceland is kinda empty, but not in the negative sense. Although it was middle of the night, I could see the very distant horizon on every direction. What really struck me is the way it is empty. It is not flat as central Poland, it is not hilly like south of Poland, it is all of it at once. Single mountain appears out of nowhere and disappear even faster. Coast shows itself only to quickly hide behind the hill. Waterfalls are more commonly seen from the car’s windows than it is to see other human being. Basically if you look at your phone for quite a while and take a glance after, you are surprised with something new.

I always had a dream to go to USA, turn “Country roads” on and ride behind the horizon. To be honest Iceland fulfilled this dream beyond the expectations. These were the car rides that I want to retake!

Power of nature

When choosing a destination I search for natural wonders, to see the things that I cannot anywhere else. Amazing building can be built somewhere else, art collection could be relocated, but some creations for nature are non-replicable. That is why Iceland seemed like a no-brainer to me, I have heard many good opinions about it, have seen amazing photos, and what is most important Sabina really wanted to go, so I was sure this would be a great travel destination. To be honest, I had high expectations before the trip, which was a bit risky… But Iceland just surprised me, how unique of a place it it. It exceeded my expectations. Natural wonders are the daily bread of Iceland, basically wherever you look you will find something. You drive and stop by a random waterfall, which in most countries would be a national treasure. You look through your window and it feels like a paid trip to see the national park. But what truly amazed me was how “bare” this nature was there. You could really see the natural processes here. That the glaciers melt, then the water turns into the waterfall, only to later enter the underground thermal ground and turn into the hot spring somewhere else. Nowhere in the world have I seen nature so “live”, you can truly feel that the Earth is a living organism, that the ecosystem is the perfect machinery that we do not notice on daily basis, when living in the city.

200m high waterfall

volcano that erupted two years ago

bay created by the melting glacier

bridge between two tectonic plates

small birds causing people to loose their heads in awe

Changing weather

There is a saying: If you are going to Iceland and have any expectations about the weather, then you should not go. More than anywhere in the world you have to obey the nature, and you understand how small you are compared to the Earth. And I am not saying it theoretically, I have felt it on my own skin. Iceland welcomed us with a nice weather on the first day, but the next morning we woke up on the absolutely different island, the land of ice and snow. The snow fall was so big that at some point I was afraid we will get stuck and not drive any further. Here is the photo…

And all of that has changed after one hour drive, when suddenly the snowing stopped and the landscape has changed, no snow at all!

It’s different

Iceland really and truly amazed me with its wonders, the barebone nature and everchanging weather. It was beautiful. What is interesting is the way this beauty felt, it was just… different. It is not like going on a walk in Poland and seeing an amazing scape. Iceland feels out of this world, as if you are looking on the other planet. You are charmed when looking at this, but it almost looks unreal. I do not know how to put it into words. It is not the beauty that you can easily relate to, you rather feel hypnotized than comfortable. Maybe an analogy would be great: In Poland when I go for the trip and see something beautiful I feel total relax, as if in the heaven on earth. In Iceland you rather feel like on the rollercoaster where everything you see is giving you ecstasy.