We had intended to go Amsterdam to do some visiting and add a place to visit since we will be flying so far. After some thoughts, Iceland came into my mind. I had wanted to see the northern lights after both our kids shared their experiences. We could spent a week in Iceland and Amsterdam each. But flight connecting Amsterdam and Iceland seem not in our favour. If we fly KLM , our connecting flight to Iceland is fine but the returning is a torturing 11 hours with all the transits. If we do a separate flight, it's too expensive. After many tries, we decided to fly Iceland, transit at Helsinki with the lowest cost available.
We had planned to visit on end December to be able to celebrate the new year in Iceland. My girl shared that the new year's fireworks are really beautiful. I noticed the days will be really short, we don't like to drive in the dark, especially when we know there is going to be no street lamps most of the journey. We hope to go slow to enjoy so we decided to bring forward to October with more daylight hours. Even then, our daylight will be shorter each day. The sunrise will come later and sets earlier. Secondly, the weather will be unpredictable too. We hope we could get good weather.
Since we are only visiting Iceland, we will spent a longer time here.
(I had actually invited my sister-in-law, who told me they could go with us if we visit Europe since they are both retired there, but for some reason they could not join us, which gave us more flexibility to play around with our schedule.)
AY0132
S’pore -
Helsinki
T1 T2
|
AY0991
Helsinki – Reyjavik
T2
- (Keflavik)
|
23:25 -
06:15
(15/10) (16/10)
11hrs 50mins
|
0745 -
0835
16/10
1hr 30min
|
As I was planning our 15 days trip to Iceland, I was totally overwhelmed. I couldn’t decide which sites will be best for us. I marked them all and tried to read more and hoped for the best. The more I read the more I wantwd to go.
First thing I learned is that the weather in Iceland can change on a dime. Wow! four season in a day???
Next, everything is expensive. I should plan some cooking to cut cost so we could travel more . . .
Next, everything is expensive. I should plan some cooking to cut cost so we could travel more . . .
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| Singapore Changi Airport T1 |
As we took a red-eye flight from Singapore, we try to do as little and have a good rest on our arrival . Thus we could start our trip fresh and energetic tomorrow. .
Our flight wasn't full, I managed to sleep a few hours on a few seats. This was great for me. I just don't enjoy food on flight nowadays. bread and yogurt was good.
First, we collected our rental car from and was pestered to purchase the extra insurance. Mr. hubby give in and we parted with 400 euro.
( and these insurance didn't even cover the tyres portion, I think it is important to include this in general. a lesson we learned )
Then we bought the wifi which include local calls. This is also important too. You may need to call and confirmed your tour booking or call the stay. Most importantly (in our case) to call the car rental should anything happen to the car. They will asked tons of questions and at least a few call to make any progress. ( we had 3 experiences, how terrible :(( )
Our first destination was Stekkjarkot. It is a traditional 1800s fisherman's cottage made from turf, stone ; timber . It's free to visit!
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| relaxing @ Plaza premium lounge before our flight |
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| first glance of Iceland |
( and these insurance didn't even cover the tyres portion, I think it is important to include this in general. a lesson we learned )
same post?
we have 237,800 residents in 20.89sq, km. in my town. WOW!!!!
first alert at the airport
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| Stekkjarkot |
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Then, we visited the Bonus and Kronan @ Fitjar . Personally, I prefer Kronan. In Bonus, you walk into the freezer to buy the poultry and also a seperate room for vegetables and fruits. Kronan had it's poultry lay in the feezer as most supermarket does. We bought our groceries from both in our trip.
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| Issi fish and chips Read about this, so here we are. it is open at 11am. |
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| 18900 kr |
It probably seems impossible to walk from Europe to North America within a matter of seconds, but Iceland makes this unimaginable feats completely happens. The Bridge between Continents or Midlina is a 15 meter (50 ft) footbridge in the Reykjanes Peninsula spanning a gaping rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
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| Bridge America-Europe |
This steamy area has an incredible sulfur vapor.
A unique characteristic of the Gunnuhver hot springs is that the groundwater here is 100% seawater, unlike other geothermal areas on the island. The colorful minerals in the ground provide vibrant hues, but danger is very real with temperatures over 300°C (570°F) so it is important to tread lightly and stick to the trails. Iceland's largest mud pool resides at Gunnuhver; it is 20 meters (65 ft) wide of violently boiling earth., especially with the winds, it seem to be roaring.
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| roaring |
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| casting group |
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| Reykjanes Lighthouse |
The view at Brimketill lava rock pool was panoramic.
The waves was gigantic but it forms a beautiful backdrop
Seltun Geothermal area
the site is dotted with bubbling pools of mud, fumaroles and hot springs. There are well-maintained wooden walkways .
it is sad some choose to ignore the sign and take their risk.
the site is dotted with bubbling pools of mud, fumaroles and hot springs. There are well-maintained wooden walkways .
it is sad some choose to ignore the sign and take their risk.
screenshots from my video
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| boiling |
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| Seltun Geothermal area |
the lamb is tender and no gamy smell
distance travelled : 124km
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