Iceland

Flying from Dublin to Iceland required some advance planning. We decided to drive up the day before and spend a night in the Hilton Hotel. we parked the car in their underground car park and paid to leave it there till we returned. Then we availed of the free hotel shuttle, which runs every 30 mins, to and from the airport. after a nice hotel breakfast we went to the airport with plenty of time to spare due to recent delays being reported there. we had decided to travel with carry on luggage to avoid extra delays. We sat in the business lounge until our flight was called. we flew business class with Iceland Air and the flight was very pleasant, we were the only people in business and were very well treated.

from the airport in Keflavik we took a 60 minute shuttle to Reykjavik and then another shuttle to the Hilton Hotel. it was a little outside of the town but a nice setting. We had two adjoining rooms, a large buffet breakfast and access to a club lounge with free food and drinks from 5-7 each evening, a boon in an expensive town.

We walked to town and enjoyed all the sights on the way. Reykjavik has lots of interesting sculptures and murals. We stopped for coffee down at the harbour.

We also returned to the Settlement Exhibition, a museum built around a long house dating back to 785 but only discovered 30 years ago, an interesting overview of the history of the country. We opted to use the word ’exhibition’ instead of museum to maintain the boys’ interest!

We refrained from buying any of the Icelandic knitwear on display in every shop window, however, we did track down some of the lava chocolates served on the flight and some black lava seasalt too. Hungry boys meant food was our next stop so we returned to the lovely 101 Bistro for some wood fired pizza. and then we stopped for a happy hour drink at Saeta Svinid – the sweet pig.

The walk back to the Hilton was uphill so we were ready for some club lounge refreshments when we arrived. later the adults enjoyed some time at the hotel spa where they had a sauna and indoor and outdoor hot-tubs while the boys caught up on their ipad time!

A short flight on a small propellor plane and we were in Egilsstadir, near the fjords in Eastern Iceland. Flying on these internal flights is similar to taking a bus, no major security, liquid check or passport control and all bags get checked in as cabins are too small to house all the hand luggage.

We hired a car at the airport and headed north for Borgarsfkordur Eystri. The road was mostly an unpaved gravel road, tricky to negotiate but very quiet. We drove up through a steep mountain pass and then descended into the valley and on to the coast. we stayed in Blaborg guesthouse in the harbour, a lovely place with a harbour views and a steep mountain backdrop. After a quick walk through the tiny village we enjoyed the hot tub and sauna before dinner in the bar.

Hoping to spot some puffins the next morning we headed for the new harbor a short drive up the coast. unfortunately they were all out at sea fishing and the colony was deserted. The boys enjoyed some fun in the snow and then we visited the little church and an old cottage built around 1900 from turf, and almost covered in grass.

A short drive 25kms over a snowy mountain road was Seydisfjordur, an attractive town at the base of the fjord. A former Us naval base it now serves as an international ferry base with links to the Faroe Islands. we checked into the IYHA Hafaldan, a hostel in a wing of the old hospital where we had a large family room. It was a lovely scenic place to walk around and there was a big playground and a river walk. we went to an arty bistro for some pizza and played a game of scrabble. we had a late dinner at Kaffi Lara, a wood panelled cafe. the hostel had a nice sauna and shower area downstairs, a nice way to end the day.

After breakfast in Hotel Alden it was time to head back over the snowy mountain pass. We had a nice lunch stop in Djupivogur at an arty cafe overlooking the harbour. Much to Shea’s delight we discovered a cool egg exhibit in the harbour! After some grocery shopping we left the fjords and headed to our remote cabin for the next two nights.

The beautiful views were shrouded in mist when we arrived but the following day we were greeted with an amazing vista. we enjoyed some walks on the beach and hills and some chocolate treats for Easter too.

Next stop was Jokulsarlon, the glacier lagoon and one of the highlights of the trip. the first evening it was overcast but the next day it looked like a different place with the sunlight. Eoin managed to catch a piece of the iceberg as it floated by and we used it in our drinks later on.

We stayed in a little yellow house and had dinner in the hotel restaurant. There was also a museum on site dedicated to an author which we visited the next morning.

A lunch stop at Vik was nice, the boys played on a bouncy playground installation and we walked on the black sand beach. We stayed at the black suites hotel which was lovely. Next day after lunch in Vik we stopped at Lava the earthquake museum.

last stop of the trip was in a hostel, fludir. Near the secret lagoon. we went to see the geysir and the Gullfoss waterfall and finished up the trip in the secret lagoon.