21
Jul 15

Stykkishólmur – Reykjavik

We checked out Stykkishólmur in the morning, probably the first town we see in Iceland with nice ‘scandi-style’ architecture. If Stykkishólmur can, why can’t the others? Nevertheless, not much to do, so we set out on our journey back to Reykjavik.

'Scandi-style’ architecture

‘Scandi-style’ architecture

Þingvellir

Þingvellir

As we had some time, we decided to take in Þingvellir on the way, the only point of the ‘golden circle’, which we hadn’t seen yet. Þingvellir is a site of immense historical importance to Iceland, as well as geographical, it being the meeting place of the Northamerican and Eurasian tectonic plates. Despite that, it is kinda boring on the face of it, and most of the time I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to be looking at. Nevertheless, check!

"The Sun Voyager"

“The Sun Voyager”

Glass wall at Harpa

Glass wall at Harpa

From there we went straight to Reykjavik to return our car, and back to our campsite. We then walked to town to check out the main sights, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the wind finally quieted down. Delish lunch by the Tjörnin, but not quite sure there is much left for us to do in town tomorrow…

Gina's silhouette at Harpa

Gina’s silhouette at Harpa

Photoshoot at Sæbraut

Photoshoot at Sæbraut


20
Jul 15

Reykjavik – Stykkishólmur

Sleep in we did, which was nice, and then we rolled in to the camp reception to get ourselves a car for a day. It more or less worked out (they were a bit late on the delivery but also gave us a much bigger car than we paid for), and soon we were zooming up north from Reykjavik onto the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

A stupid stop in Borgarnes, of which our guide says it has a nice small-town vibe (it had nothing of that sort), and then a beautiful drive along the southern coast of the peninsula.

Rainbow!

Rainbow!

Our Icelandic wheels!

Our Icelandic wheels!

Southern landscape of Snæfellsnes peninsula

Southern landscape of Snæfellsnes peninsula

We did a nice coastal walk between Hellnar and Arnarstapi (and back, that’s what happens when you need to get back to a car). Which was really scenic, plus we saw some new birds too.

Coastal walk

Coastal walk

Nesting sea birds

Nesting sea birds

Iest and the sea

Iest and the sea

Gina and the rugged view

Gina and the rugged view

Incredible Raven

Incredible Raven

Beautiful Raven

Beautiful Raven

Hellnar and Arnarstapi peninsula

Hellnar and Arnarstapi peninsula

Then we continued around the peninsula, taking in nice views in the strong winds. Stopped by the famous Kirkjufell mountain and its waterfalls, although in quite uninspiring light conditions.

Coastline looking West

Coastline looking West

Snæfellsjökull

Snæfellsjökull

We checked out camping spots in Hellissandur and Grundarfjöður on the way but didn’t really like them, so we ended up driving all the way to Stykkishólmur. Where we got at about midnight.

Kirkjufell mountain

Kirkjufell mountain