Travel / Reykjavik
flJúga Icelandair takes a mere three hours to fly you from Schiphol to keflavíkurflugvöllur. Also worth mentioning, the airplane food at Icelandair is not half bad! especially try the tiny cheeseburgers with fabrikkusósu (‘factory sauce’) and the Hjónabandssæla (‘happy marriage cake’). If we can mention one disadvantage about flying with Icelandair, it’s that their return flight to Amsterdam leaves at the ungodly hour of 7:40am, which means that including the time it takes you to get to the airport and check in your baggage, your last night in Iceland is not going to be a lengthy one. when you’re all done with the airplane’s wide selection of films, series and music (do some prep work by checking out Alienprequel Prometheus – filmed in Iceland – if only for the gruesome abortion scene), you can always sit back and have your TV-screen provide you with an extensive number of
pretty useless facts about the surroundings. ‘The most amazing thing about Iceland is not Vatnjaokull, the largest glacier in europe or that the country uses 99% renewable energy. It is the fact that the most popular restaurant in Iceland is a hot dog stand.’ Right…
natura The best way to see a big chunk of Icelandic nature in a short amount of time, is to participate in the famous Golden circle Tour. A bus drives you past hordes of stationary mini-horses, which should not in any case be referred to as ponies (but will be brought to your attention in a enthusiastic, shouting fashion by your travel guide every single time you drive past them), minuscule communities (consisting of four houses and one church each) and plenty of icy mountains and valleys. After about an hour, you will end up at the magical Güllfoss: an astonishing waterfall, that, when the
weather’s clear enough, will silence even the most talkative individuals amongst you. The pathway leading you to the aquatic miracle is surrounded with surprisingly few railings. TLc once uttered the wise words: ‘Don’t go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to’ and now we know why. The view, however, is more than worth it. On the trip, you’ll also visit the geothermal valley of Haukadalur, where you’ll be able to check out hot spring brothers Geysir (namesake of the natural phenomenon) and Strokkur. Geysir has been inactive for quite some time now and will probably need another earthquake to wake up, so you’ll have to make do with the no less impressive Strokkur. It’s more than worth the 5-minute wait to see this seemingly dormant pool transform into a 52ft high column of water and steam. A SARS mask is highly recommended to fend off the nauseating scent of rotting eggs (bloody sulfur). The Golden circle Tour ends with a 23