Iceland pics

2012 Sep 16 - wildlife hiking iceland maps

I took 358 photos in Iceland, but I’ll limit myself to just a few to show you here… you had to be there to get the whole impression anyway.

Resting between two tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park.

My birthday card looked suspiciously unsuspicious and was opened by Icelandic customs. It made it in time anyway.

Pretty basalt.

My host in Stykkisholmur, performing Icelandic folk music.

My host took me on a day-trip on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, took some touristy pics of me.

Stykkishomur harbor at sunset.

Stykkisholmur lighthouse.

Stykkisholmur harbor.

Stykkisholmur

More basalt.

Beer on the patio of the KEX hostel in Reykjavik.

Catch of the day.

The purple thingies were edible, too, but I just tried the mussels.

In the old times, these were used as wicks (Dochte) for oil lamps. Now, they are just pretty.

Our walking trip: from Landmannalaugar (bottom left) to Langidalur (top right) hut in the Thorsmörk, and then over the Fimmvörduhals pass.

Description of the first day’s walk.

Sunset in Landmannalaugar, our starting point.

We had to camp the first night, because the hut was all booked out.

Soooo pretty!!

First stop, Hraftinnusker hut. Snow fields and steam from thermal springs to the left.

More pretty.

I believe this was after a tough climb.

Pretty in green.

Eerie.

Loved the green mountains next to the black, beach-like desert sand (volcano ashes?).

Third stop, Botnar hut in Emstrur. They had a shower (one).

Our dinner.

Fourth and last leg of the walk before a rest day and the Fimmvörduhals pass.

Vertigo, anyone?

Thorsmörk was pretty at sunset. During the day, too. I spent the rest day sitting in the sun.

Fimmvörduhals pass. We would go up, stay there over night in a hut, and go down on the other side to Skogar the next day.

This says we would have to go 850 m up.

Another sunset (I know, getting boring).

Arctic fox babies who had lost their mum and were fed by the hut wardens. Cuties.

Still smoking hot lava stream of the 2010 Eyjafjalljökull eruption.

One of the two mountains that were formed by the Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010. A walk through smoking lava. Apparently, on top of that hill you could lift small rocks and feel the heat.

Smoking lava and glaciers in the background.

Daniel and Silke walking over smoking lava.

The yellow stiles mark our trail.

Cool snowfield. Also, there used to be a lake here which had disappeared (?).

Hut on top of Fimmvörduhals pass. The warden had left the day we arrived. Water had to be made from melted and filtered snow. No biggie, expect that it would have been nice to be able to wash your hands after using the toilet…