Iceland 4

On our last day of going to see tourist attractions we went to Aldeyjarfoss waterfall as we loved  Gullfoss yesterday. Its located in the north of Iceland within the Highlands of Iceland. One of the most interesting features of the waterfall is the contrast between the black basalt columns and the white waters of the fall. The river Skjálfandafljót drops here and the basalt belongs to a lava field. Tumbling through a narrow passage into a wide basin, the black basalt columns provide a stark contrast against the thrashing white foam.

To finish off our trip that evening we went to visit Dynjandi  the largest waterfall in the Westfjords region of Iceland and is considered to be one of the most impressive waterfalls in all of Iceland. The waterfall in made up of 7 waterfalls, each with its own name, one of which is Dynjandi (thunderous). I was in awe of the height and complexity of the waterfall it was truly amazing to look at and a perfect end to the trip.

Iceland was such an amazing country to visit as it was so picturesque it was one of my favourite countries and I would go back in a heartbeat. I can definitely see why it's so famous for it's Volcanoes and Waterfalls with each of them being equally magnificent. I really don't want for this trip to end and go home but we are leaving for our plane in about ten minutes where we will fly back to Dublin.

Iceland 3

After an spending most of the trip so far outdoors in the scenic part of Iceland we wanted to try get more of a feel for the culture so in the morning we went to Landakotskirkja the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland which is often referred to as Kristskirkja (Christ's Church) located in the western part of Reykjavik. It has a distinctively flat top, as opposed to the standard spire because of the community's request for a Neo-Gothic church, it is more conservative in style than Samuelsson's other creations but still has clear modern elements and glacier-inspired lines. The interior is traditionally Gothic, with a patterned tile floor and no aisles or transepts. It was very interesting to see how their church compared to our Catholic Churches back home they were much the same with a few variations.

Iceland is famous for its waterfalls so of course we had to visit some this evening we decided on going to Gullfoss (Golden Falls) Iceland's most famous waterfall. Its found in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. It is amazing I was so awestruck by the waterfall a bit above the falls it turns sharply to the right, flows down into what looks like a three step staircase and then quickly plunges in two stages. When you first go toward the falls the crevice is hidden from view, so that it appears that a mighty river simply vanishes into the earth. Glacial water is brownish, since it carries lots of sediments that the glacial ice has carved off the earth on a sunny day the water plunging down the three step staircase and then tumbling in two steps down into the deep crevice truly looks golden. It was one of the most magical things I have ever seen.

Iceland 2

Today we decided on staying outdoors because they weather was looking good with clear blue skies and the temperature wasn't that bad once we wrapped up. We went to the Vatnajökull National Park where we visited one of its sites yesterday Askja to see what else it has to offer.

It is one of the three national parks of Iceland. Vatnajökull is Europe's largest glacier, the glacial ice hides a number of mountains, valleys and plateaus. It even hides some active central volcanoes. Nowhere in Iceland except the Mýrdalsjökull glacier gets more precipitation or water drained to the sea than on the south side of Vatnajökull. The scenery surrounding the glacier is beautifully varied. Near the north, the highland plateau is divided by glacial rivers and the volcanoes of Askja, Kverkfjöll and Snæfell as well as the volcanic mountain Herðubreið. In the east broad wetlands and expansive ranges distinguish the areas near the glaciers around Snæfell. The south side of Vatnajökull contains many high mountain ridges, with outlet glaciers descending between them onto the lowlands. The southernmost part of the glacier envelops the central volcano Öræfajökull and Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur. It was a great day even though we were all so tired from walking so much we though we didn't mind that much as we got to experience the Volcanoes and glaciers first hand.

Iceland 1

We arrived in Reykjavik (Iceland) Airport in the start of winter we knew it was going to be cold but we were still very excited!

We wanted to get stuck in straight away so we went to Askja a volcano in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. Öskjuvatn is a large lake that fills much of the smaller caldera resulting from the 1875 eruption. When the lake originally formed it was warm, but today it is frozen over for most of the year. Víti is a smaller explosion crater on the north east shore of Öskjuvatn. It contains a geothermal lake of mineral-rich, sulfurous, opaque blue water, which is suitable for swimming even though its not a good idea to swim in the craters. It was also formed in the eruption of 1875. It is a gorgeous scenic site and it was a great way to start our trip in  Iceland.

That evening we went to the National Gallery of Iceland as we were feeling tired and wanted to go somewhere near our hostel Reykjavík Hostel Village. It is located in Reykjavík, and contains a collection of Icelandic art which features artwork of famous Icelandic artists and artwork that helps explain the traditional Icelandic culture. It holds rotating exhibitions that reflect its collection or display work by individual artists, Icelandic as well as foreign ones. The NG’s buildings at Fríkirkjuvegur 7 houses several exhibition halls on three floors, an art store and a café. It also has a restoration laboratory and a specialist library, containing archives, documentation, and photographs to the preservation and the dissemination of material that relates to the research field of the institution, i.e. Icelandic art. Personally my favourite exhibition was TREASURES - Beasts in Cages in Room 4. It's a selected modern and contemporary works from the collection based on several master works of the pioneers of Icelandic contemporary art Jóhann Eyfells (1923), Magnús Pálsson (1929) and Dieter Roth (1930–1998) with the addition of works by the generations who followed in their footsteps. I love art so seeing this was a perfect end to my day.