Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The Kría is a classy hotel at Vík í Mýrdal a perfectly suited for people travelling by car. From the restaurant and breakfast room you can enjoy views on the mountains, on the other side of the building the black beach is waiting for you. It would also be a good opportunity to play golf as a golf club is also directly next to it.
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At Skógar you can discover another magnificent Icelandic waterfall, the Skógafoss. Between green rocks it falls over a cliff and you can take a shower underneath if you want. The waterfall is an excellent starting point for a hike: on the right-hand side of the waterfall steps give you the chance for a step and rather long ascent to the top.
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Iceland has many beautiful waterfalls, but Seljalandsfoss is one of the best. It is the largest one of a series of three waterfalls underneath the Eyjafjallajökull volcano (remember when it stopped air traffic in 2010 completely?). Seljalandsfoss has a specialty that makes it very entertaining: you can walk behind the waterfall without getting too wet. It is an amazing photo opportunity and if you have sunshine you’ll almost all the time see a colorful rainbow.
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The golden waterfall (‘Gullfoss‘) is a two-level waterfall northeast of Reykjavík and together with places like Þingvellir part of the so-called Golden Circle of Iceland. The waters of the Hvítá river are running over wide cascades and then falling into a gorge, creating a massive amount of spray. It is an amazing sight you can view from different angles: for sure from the top, but you can also take some steps down to the gorge and hike down a path to the cascades – then you’re directly at the center of action and in-between the two levels.
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Geysers are a wonderful natural phenomenon: water is heating up underground and every now and fountain of hot water is splashing out. Maybe the best place to see this on Iceland is the geyser Strokkur at Selfoss (not to be confused with the waterfall carrying the same name). It is very reliable and shooting out water every five to six minutes; a fountain that is 20 to 30 meters high. That is why there is always a large crowd surrounding the hot spring and waiting for the next eruption.
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Northeast of Reykjavík you can find the Þingvellir national park, an area with wonderful nature and special in different ways. First of all, the Eurasian and the American plate drift apart there and form the Almannagjá (‘all men’) valley. You can hike between the high rocks and the Öxará river runs there, forming the beautiful waterfall Öxarárfoss. But this place was also always important in Icelandic history as the location of its ancient parliament, the Alþingi.
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On a hill called Öskjuhlíð south of the city center of Reykjavík you can find Perlan (‘pearl’). It is a wonderful place especially for evening hours with nice views on the region (plus it is open until 10pm). Perlan is a double-usage facility: in first line it is a storage for hot water and the city is supplied from their. In 1991 six water storages made of aluminum and covered by a glas cupola were activated. In 2017 the second usage started in addition: it is now also a natural history museum.
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One of the most important sights of Reykjavík is the Hallgrímskirkja church. It is a Protestant church in expressionist style, the building looks like a row of basalt columns with different height and therefore fits really well to the island. The 74.5 meters high tower is located on a hill close to the city center and you can buy a ticket to get by elevator to the top – giving you fantastic views on the capital city. The church was built from 1945 on and was finally finished in 1986.
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The Norðurey Hotel at Reykjavík is the perfect motel if you’re exploring Iceland by car and want to have a pitstop at the capital city. The check-in is fully automated, you’ll receive a five-digit code upfront to your stay by e-mail. This code opens the front door of the hotel as well as your hotel room. The region around the hotel is quiet and there are parking lots in front that might be already full if you arrive late; but than you’ll easily find space to park your car in the streets surrounding the hotel.
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Close to Reykjavík you can find two airports which might be a bit confusing: The Reykjavíkurflugvöllur (RKV) is very close to the city center and flights inside the country (as well es to Greenland and the Faroes) are operated from there. For most international flights the Keflavíkurflugvöllur (KEF) 50 kilometers afar is used. It is the most important airport of the country and it is the starting point for tourists and travelers on the island.
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