Kristin Cashore's Blog, page 30

Iceland: Akureyri in November

Akureyri is my final destination in Iceland. I'm here for a few days, and I confess that my hours have been consumed by writing – which means less picture taking. But I have taken a few snapshots of this beautiful northern town! Some taken from my own windows – I've got some wonderful writing views.

This strikes me as a very sensible spot given the circumstances.
Akureyri's impressive (but closed to tourists in November) church.
A city on the water.
Possibly Iceland's favorite color? :o)

Look closely, or you'll miss the little wheels beside the big wheels...

I'm definitely not accustomed to sunrise this late.
(BTW, if the numbers puzzle you, those temps are in Fahrenheit.)
Sunrise view from my windows while writing.
Another view from my windows – the 11 o'clock sun, rising over misting water.
(Sorry about the glare! I took it through the window!)
Early sunset.
4 PM moon.
Writing view on a snowy day.
This may be my last post of pictures from Iceland, depending on how the next few days go. I had so much fun posting them, and I hope you've enjoyed them! I thought to myself, on one of my driving days, that now that I've been here, I hardly need to go anywhere else. Of course that's not true, but Iceland inspires those kind of feelings. I promise I'll come back.

Iceland: The Bus to Akureyri

I took the bus from Egilsstaðir to Akureyri (here's the route). For most of the journey, I was the only person on the bus who wasn't Icelandic, and I took so many pictures that they must've thought I was barmy. Especially when I started to cry. It was so beautiful, I couldn't help myself.

I took about 500 pictures! (Through the bus windows, so forgive any blurriness or weird splotches.) I've narrowed it down to 40ish, still an awful lot, so this post will contain a jump break. A warning that if you'd rather avoid pictures of snowy roads, this post does include one view through the front window of the bus that shows the road we were traveling on. (It is picture #4.) How happy I was to be in the hands of our imperturbable bus driver.

For some time after we set out, this was the view.
We began to see some shapes… water…
Ridges… snowbanks.
Dramatic stuff ahead.



 
Our shadow kept us company!

Click the link below for the rest!

Read more »

Iceland: Driving Through the East Fjords to Egilsstaðir

I drove from Jökulsárlón to Egilsstaðir, with stops in Höfn (where I got gas) and Djúpivogur (where I had lunch). Here's the route. This drive, through the East Fjords, was the most dramatic yet. I love driving on Icelandic roads! There's always either a gorgeous vista or a challenge (steep drops with no guard rail, sheep in the road, slow cars that you pass by crossing into the oncoming lane) or both, so it's never boring.

Sadly, the most beautiful things I saw were things I couldn't get pictures of, because I was driving. A herd of reindeer. After a (very!) long tunnel, an opening into a fjord at twilight with the water shining silver and the sparkling lights of a town. Also, the fjords – they're just too big and too grand for my iPhone (especially with the dreadful iOS update, have I mentioned the dreadful iOS update?).

Now that I'm in the northeast, I find the roads to be snowy and icy. They're drivable, but I don't feel like dealing with it, so here in Egilsstaðir, I'll turn in my wheels. But I do still intend to continue to Akureyri by bus, so there will be more pictures. It says in all the guidebooks that it's best to be a flexible traveler in Iceland when possible; I'm definitely finding that to be true. I'm also finding the Icelanders to be enormously helpful and kind, no matter what kind of help I need.

In case you're curious about current road conditions in Iceland, here's a link to the Vegagerðin website. Click on any section of the country for more detail on current conditions. There's also this Icelandic road conditions map; hover your mouse over one of the numbers and it will give you options to see pictures of the road surface, updated every few minutes. And as long as I'm sharing those, here's the Icelandic weather website. Click on any of the maps for a bigger view, and notice the little notch you can move below to see the forecast for the coming days.

 These sheep kept looking at me,
 then looking at their buddy,
 who kept looking at me,
 then looking back at them. That was the conversation while I was around.
Later I was told they were probably a mother and two babies.
Looking to her to say "Are we okay?" while she looked back to say "Are you okay? I'm here."
 They were the best,
 as were the landscapes around them.



 The harbor at Djúpivogur.
 Another view.
 Snowy outlook en route.
The church in Egilsstaðir.
After I took this picture, I swam in the geothermally-heated outdoor pool –
along with some school kids, whose teacher watched them from the side wearing a snowsuit.
On the way home, I saw these kids playing at recess...
minded by another teacher in a snowsuit.
 Around 4:30 PM as the sun gets low…
 looking out over Egilsstaðir, where everything turns violet.

Jökulsárlón: Where I Fell in Love with Iceland

Jökulsárlón is a glacial lake full of icebergs that have calved from the glacier. One of the many single-lane bridges of the Ring Road passes right above it. On one side is the lagoon full of icebergs and the glacier; on the other side is a black sand beach covered with chunks of ice.

I spent hours there. I'll be as selective as I can, but this place is like no other on Earth and so this 20+-photo post will contain a jump break.





Read more »

Iceland: These Hotel Backdrops Are Killing Me

Morning views from Gerði, Suðursveit...

Iceland: Driving Through the South

I drove from Vík to Skaftafell (the route). I'm going to try to be really selective with my pictures, but the thing is, in this part of the country you encounter the GLACIER that takes up a huge portion of southeast Iceland, Vatnajökull. It's difficult to contain oneself when there is a glacier.

When you're on the Ring Road in the south, most things you're photographing are
to the north, and it is REALLY HARD to keep your own shadow out of the picture
(because you're only a few degrees south of the Arctic Circle and the sun is very low.
I took this picture at noon.)
I'm being followed by my noon shadow. (*cough* sorry)
Seen along the way…



Then, suddenly, a glacier flow!
And another.
Svartifoss, in Skaftafell National Park.
Some of the water freezes where it lands.
For some reason, I had an irrepressible urge to follow one of these signs.
It was windy at the top of the ridge. I took a self-portrait.

Park staff presumably live here… overlooking the GLACIER.
Sel, an old farmstead inside the park that's open to visitors.

Turf roofs at Sel!
And finally, a couple more shots of the glacier…
...the glacier.

Iceland: Slowly Beginning the Drive East

I drove from Thingvellir National Park down to Eyrarbakki, then on to Vík with a stop at Skógafoss. If you're wondering where those things are, here's the route.

 Landscapes and colors at Thingvellir...

… where it was not balmy.
Eyrarbakki, by the sea, was so colorful!
 Here's one of the beautiful farms I passed driving east along Route 1 (the Ring Road)...
... another...
...another.
Skógafoss.
Vík. Make sure you notice in the far right, just above the land – this town is on the sea. I checked the weather on my phone when I got to my final destination for the day.
I was much more impressed with the destination than with the weather.
(Actually Þykkvabæjarklaustur, but I guess that's too Icelandic for my phone.)

Iceland: A Farm Hotel Stay Near Laugarvatn

 After visiting Gulfoss
 and watching Strokkur erupt
 (and watching other people enjoy the geothermal activity at Geysir),
I moved on to my farm hotel for the night, Efsti-Dalur II,
 where the views – and the smell – brought tears springing to my eyes –
 because even though I am far, far away from home in a country oh so different,
 it reminded me so much of where I grew up (surrounded by farmland in Northeast Pennsylvania).
 The smell is sweet and sour. Sour grass, and the sense that there are cows in the vicinity.

 I had the most delicious dinner in the restaurant, with all-local ingredients –
the tomatoes and other vegetables grown in nearby greenhouses.
 The delicious caramel ice cream in the picture above was made on the farm with the farm's cream.
While I ate upstairs, these guys were eating downstairs.
 At breakfast, this milk made my tea AMAZING.
Thank you, Efsti-Dalur II, for a beautiful visit. I'd like to stay for weeks and weeks while writing a book. :)

A Few More Pictures of Reykjavík Before I Go

On Laugavegur.
 In the botanical gardens.
Höfði house, which is said to be haunted :)
  I could not agree more.
PS -- love to Red Sox Nation! :) :) :)

Around Reykjavík's Old Harbour