Getting away from people and being isolated is pretty much how my trip can be summed up, and for the most part I couldn’t have asked for anything better. This trip started off rough and being surrounded by people probably would have made it worse. As things got better and started running smoother, it was just nice to be alone in nature for a few days. Away from the constant coming and going back home and just breath and sort through my own thoughts. Now, it was time for me to leave this little harbor town and head back to the capital, but not before heading toward another national park for more photos and some hiking!
The Snaefellsjokull National Park is on the far west side of the island and is an hour and a half away from Stykkisholmur and two and a half hours away from Reykjavik. The park is slightly smaller than Thingvellir National Park which is the most famous of the national parks. It is different, however, in that there is mountains and oceans on each side, with stunning views. Keeping with the last couple of days, the weather was really cold and windy to start – 28 degrees Fahrenheit, 22 mph winds and felt like 18 degrees. Once again, I pulled over constantly to get pictures of the mountains that were just coated in snow. I did not do a lot of hiking here as it was just too damn cold for me, however there is a TON of hiking options around this area. You can find a hiking trail every two or three miles. Some of the pictures I took are to the side!
I did end up going on a short mile and a half – one way – hike near the city of Hellnar. By this time the weather had improved and was a tad warmer so the hike was more bearable. There are two large rock structures that you can see from the road and I figured it would be a nice and easy hike to get some pictures of the sun over the ocean. More details are found here, but it is a really easy hike that is wel marked and relatively flat. As you get closer, if you are like me, you start to feel tempted to climb all over everything. Not highly recommended but, you know, don’t let me stop you. The rest of the day was spent getting to Reykjavik, which took longer then expected because of so many places to pull over.
Once in Reykjavik I went to my hostel, Kex Hostel – more covered later. After arriving I laid down for a few minute and prepared for the cold night that was coming for me.
Navigation
Quick tips:
1) Make sure to configure your camera to the correct settings when shooting the Northern Lights
2) Fish and Chips are really fresh here, as you would expect. Treat yourself!
3) Go and visit the national parks, prepare to spend a couple hours hiking around
More information in the article.
This was the first Northern Lights tour that I planned to go on, in my attempt to see the Aurora Borealis. Granted, I had seen them the night before, but only briefly and the photos that I took were not great, in my opinion. So it was nice to hop on a bus to Thingvellir National Park so I did not have to drive all the way there. Once again, I got really lucky. The auroras were showing the minute we left Reykjavik. We pulled off once before reaching the national park and then saw them dance across the sky the entire hour we were there. The whole tour only lasted about two and a half hours, but it was worth it to see the lights dance across the sky at such an important place for the Icelandic people. Tour cost me ~34 USD. The tour was a giant bus filled with people, however you get what you paid for. I would recommend, it doesn’t really matter how many people are going where you are. You can always find a secluded spot to take your photos.
The next day was more relaxing, kind of unwinding in the preparation for returning home, and trying to catch up on so much that I was behind on. I woke up at 7 a.m. and went to watch the sunrise near the Sun Voyager sculpture. After that, I put in a few hours of work until I started to get hungry. Went looking for a good fish and chips place, amazingly I had not had any seafood up to this point, however ended up finding a good place and a fulfilling lunch (more information below).
After that I returned to my hostel and relaxed until 8 p.m. when I got picked up for my second Northern Lights tour. This tour took us to the Northern Lights Museum first, where we got to learn the science behind the lights and somebody was there to help adjust camera settings. I had adjusted mine earlier thanks to a friend who helped walk me through it (Instagram is here). Around 9 p.m. we took off away from the city to go fishing for the Northern Lights. Once again, I got lucky. There was a lot of atmospheric pressure all day, so the lights were clearly visible and dancing across the night sky. First place we pulled off was near the highway, which was slightly irritating. It was a good spot, just a lot of traffic and light pollution which made it harder to get clearshots. Second spot was much better and there was minimal light pollution. Some of my photos from that night are below.
If you want to read more specifics about the Northern Lights, go to this post about the Aurora Borealis.
The next day would be my eleventh day in country, and after eleven days and ten nights it was time to return home to the cold and snowy Colorado.
Accommodation
Kex Hostel – probably the worst hostel I stayed at while I was in country. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t horrible, I have stayed at far worst places in my travels, but not good either. There is a restaurant and bar on the second floor which can make things easy if you do not want to go out and explore Reykjavik’s famous night life. However, and this is common in Nordic countries, you have to pay for a blanket. Cost roughly ~10 USD, and it is that or your own sleeping bag (did not have) or layers upon layers when sleeping. Because I am cheap, I chose to not pay the money for covers, thinking it would be warm enough with layers to get some good sleep. However, I quickly discovered I made a mistake. This hostel is in an old biscuit factory and it is not insulated AT ALL! So the cold weather outside just leached into the building, so without covers it was difficult to fall and stay asleep.
There are quite a few bathrooms and showers on each floor, however not enough for the number of people who can stay in the building. There are ~10 facilities that are single with a door split among men and women, with two facilities that are gym style. The hostel can fit around 200 people on both floors, so 100 per floor, so get up early to take a shower or do so really late at night. Facilities always smelled really weird and did not seem overly clean, despite being cleaned twice a day. I would highly recommend having sandals when showering here.
The kitchens themselves were ok, a little tiny once again for the sheer number of people and not enough space for everybody to fit their food. Only one of everything, so during prime cooking hours good luck getting your turn.
Kex Hostel
You get what you pay for, and I paid ~58 USD for two nights.
At those prices, you simply cannot expect overly high standards.
Food
Day 9 food was going to a local restaurant called Brewdog for dinner. Had really good reviews, supposed to have a good burger and a good beer selection. For me, personally, the beer selection was really tiny. However, this is coming from a dark beer drinker, so my options were limited anyway. I might not have mentioned this before, but Icelandic beer culture is relatively new, only 20 to 30 years old I believe. Beer was illegal for a long time in the country so they are still finding their way. I ended up ordering a Chocolate Stout, and it taste exactly like its name. I could only taste chocolate, followed by a burnt coffee aftertaste. Not my favorite. I also ordered the Patriot Burger, which was a relatively bland burger. Paying ~35 USD for the burger and beer did not really play out well for me, but there was other food that looked really good. If you have a wider taste range then me, I am sure there were better beers available as well!
This was followed up by going to a local spot, Valdis – Laugarvegur 42B – to get ice cream! I did not care that it felt like 15 degree Fahrenheit outside, I wanted something sweet. I did not try any one of the more “out there” flavors, stuck with Oreo and Mint. It was pretty good and, from a pricing perspective, really low by Icelandic standards. I got two large scoops for ~8 USD. Would highly recommend to others, no matter the weather conditions!
Day 10 was going out to eat for lunch, needing to find at least one fish and chips place. I found a placed called Reykjavik Fish and Chips (I know, so straightforward!). Showed up around noon (place opens up at 11:30 a.m.) and ordered the fish and chips with a jalapeno dipping sauce. Cost me ~18 USD for two large pieces of fish, fries and water. Not bad in the grand scheme of things and the meal was really good. The fish was crisp, not overly greasy and was really fresh, which you would expect from an island. One order could be split between two people but is also quite filling for one person. For dinner I went and grabbed a small pizza at Domino’s (it was right by the hostel and open at 1:30 in the morning, do not judge!) Pricey meal, but welcome to Iceland!
