After landing in Keflavik, I drove to Pingvillar National Park to see some mountains and glaciers and lakes (oh my). I saw some beautiful Icelandic horses along the way, including one being ridden tolt (running walk where the rider does not bounce at all). Then it was up to the Stokkul Geysir to watch it blow its top, then to one of Europe's largest (and perhaps most beautiful) waterfall, Gullfoss (note the tiny people on the left in the first waterfall shot). Back in Reykjavik, I took some shots of Hallgrimskirkja, the modernist church across the street from my hotel and took a self portrait at the trendy (think $32 cheeseburgers) 101 Hotel.
The 389 km drive from Reykjavik in the west to the second largest city in Iceland, Akureyri, in the north is quite stunning. I stayed at Jokull Bergmann's grandfather's farm in the Klaengsholl Guesthouse in Skidadalur. The next morning, we climbed Holarnhjukur, 1300m.
(NEXT PAGE OF PHOTOS) From Akureryri in the North (not that far from the Arctic Circle), it's a few hours drive past Lake Myvatn and the Krafla Caldera with more geysers. This area looks so much like a moonscape, Neil Armstrong trained here for his moonwalk in the late 60's. Then it was on to the Eastern fjords. Seydisfjordur is a lovely small town in the east. After the fish processing plant closed here in 2003, it has had a tough time, but a ferry comes in with passengers from mainland Europe, and this keeps at least tourist dollars flowing.
The stunning drive from the Eastern Fjords back to Reykjavik, about 700km, is truly beautiful. On your left is the ocean and on your right is Vatnajokull, the world's third largest icecap after Antarctica and Greenland. A stop at the lagoon at Jokulsarlon is bittersweet as the beauty of the ice floating in the water is overwhelming, but since the Vatnajokull glacier recedes by 333 feet every year, future generations will probably not have the chance to enjoy it.
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