Adventures in Iceland

We're back in Sweden now after a great week in Iceland with Pelle, Åsa and Vendela. Just under 300,000 people live in this country, which has about the same amount of land as England. It is still pretty modern although it's a small country. One Icelander described their culture to us as "The best in the world - it's a mix of the American and European cultures." We don't know if it's the best in the world but it's definitely a mix.

The middle of Iceland is similar to the middle of Australia in terms of not being habitable but for different reasons - the middle of Iceland is full of glaciers, ice fields, and lava and ash deserts from volcano eruptions while the middle of Australia is desert (or "The Outback"). We visited the south and west sides of Iceland, driving on the Ring Road that follows the coast line. We stayed in the larger cities of Reykjavik and Keflavik and the smaller country towns of Anarstapi and Vik.

While there weren't many buildings to tour, there were many beautiful natural sites to see. We saw Þingvellir (where the tectonic plates are separating causing a rift), waterfalls, cliffs, black beaches, geysirs and hot springs, and lagoons. And the highlights - besides spending time with our family of course - were going horse trekking on Icelanding horses down to a beach, dog sledding on the Myrdalsjökull glacier, and relaxing in the heated Blue Lagoon.


Þingvellir


Þingvellir


Kerid Crater


Western peninsula

Arnarstapi

Horse trekking on Icelandic horses


Horse trekking


Skogarfoss waterfall


Skogarfoss waterfall


Vendela provided entertainment in the car


Dog sledding on the Myrdalsjökull glacier


Our dog sled team - they were featured in the movie Tomb Raider