Iceland

Even though the idea of Iceland always intrigued me, my decision to go was utterly spontaneous. Tickets were relatively cheap for last minute (£300) and after a three-hour flight the volcanic coastline came into view. There is only one international airport in the country and it’s about an hour and a half from the capital city of Reykjavik. You land and immediately board a coach for a journey through the lava fields before the first houses come into view. Talk about a dramatic introduction.

I spent three nights in Reykjavik, a small city (but then it would be – the population of the entire country is smaller than Bristol!) that boasts a lot of charm and some great attractions. Don’t miss the ‘Whales of Iceland’ exhibit (the largest whale exhibition in Europe) – a must see if you plan on doing some whale watching later in your trip. There are a whole host of other quirky museums dedicated to Iceland’s Nordic past, but the strangest of all I stumbled across opposite my hotel – the ‘Icelandic Phallological museum.’ Here you can find the dried, pickled, and otherwise preserved… ‘members’ of just about every creature native to the country – as well as some unusual art! The gift shop was interesting to say the least.

Make sure you climb the impressive ‘Hallgrímskirkja’ – designed to resemble Iceland’s mountains and glaciers and the largest church in Iceland. From the top the pastel colors of the city come to life around you as you survey the ocean ahead. It’s not the tallest building (standing at only 74.5 metres) but you can’t help but feel on top of the world.

At this point I couldn’t drive – and a rental car is definitely the best way to see Iceland. The buses are almost non existent and aside from the inland planes to the north the only way to get there is via the single A-road that runs the circumference of the country. Don’t do what I did. I can’t stress that enough. Do not do what I did.

In my idealistic planning I’d decided to cross the centre of the country, dubbed ‘Europe’s last true wilderness,’ on foot. As I later found out, no one does this. I also chose to do it in Autumn – just before the winter snows set in and it becomes utterly impassable. Not my smartest move. Nevertheless, I bought my way onto a ‘Golden circle’ tour – these run all year and are very popular; incorporating the Gulfoss waterfall, the Strokkur waterspout at Geysir, and Thingvellir – the world’s oldest functioning Parliament. I decided to make life difficult for myself however, choosing (after realising there was no way to get to the starting point of my trek by public transport) to get off the tour early and begin my walk towards the centre (mercifully close by) where I joined Route 35 – the only way through the interior.

This region houses very few living things – chiefly patches of moss and the occasional lonely Ptarmigan – widely hunted. Over the course of the next few days I hitched a lift with one of these hunters, bathed in a volcanic hot spring, ran out of water twice, and frantically assembled my tent each night with frost covered hands before lying in my sleeping bag under the most perfect stars I have ever seen.

I can safely say that this journey is the most terrifying and rewarding thing I have ever done. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to have a hot shower when I got to Akureyri though (the so called ‘Capitol of the north’) and it was from here that I did everything else on my trip – whale watching, visits to hot springs and sulphur fields, even exploring volcanic caves. All these activities and more run from this charming port town. It is also home to the only airport in the north. You can fly from here cross country back to Reykjavik as I did, and it was from there that I carried on home. Iceland remains the best place I have ever visited. I cannot recommend it enough – though maybe plan it a little better than I did!