[//M]

The Silent Piano

It was drizzling the entire morning but we didn’t want to miss a chance to have a dip in the hot tub so despite the drizzle, we jumped into the hot tub.

After an hour or so, we made breakfast and prepared for the long drive ahead. We thanked the hosts and told them about our amazing experience seeing the Northern Lights last night.

We also bought some fresh dairy products from the dairy farm as they were priced much lower than the usual supermarket prices.

The V6 Grand Cherokee was a great tool. Although 182000 kms done, it never gave a hiccup and started at the first crank every morning despite the sub-zero temperatures. Petrol power !

We drove past the West Fjords and reached Isafjordur, an absolutely stunning Viking village in the far north.

The drive from Holamvik to Isafjordur was spectacular. We saw Puffins and Arctic Terns and Glaciers and Waterfalls throughout the drive.

We enjoyed watching Ballet Dance in Isafjordur, played snooker at a pub, spent considerable time walking through the streets, bought essential stuff, tried out some delicious Icelandic cuisine and then after a while drove to Flateyri - our destination for the day.

The Isafjordur to Flateyri drive is very short but it goes through a 6.5 kms long tunnel. None of us had ever driven through such a long tunnel so it was a new experience for all of us. The single-lane tunnel was monotonous and if one keeps on staring at the overhead lamps, he/she might well go into sleep !

Soon we reached our apartment in Flateyri. Later in the night, we realized that the sky was clear and the weather was perfect, so we went out for a drive to explore the region and as soon as we were far away from the city limits, we could see the Northern Lights dancing up in the sky like the melody of a silent piano. The experience cannot be described in words, but the green, pink and the occasional purple hue of lights constantly dancing in the sky left us spellbound.

We parked our cars at a safe camping site and enjoyed nature’s drama. We had the highlands in front of us and the ocean behind us and the dancing Aurora Borealis above us - an experience that I will not forget ever.

After spending a couple of hours admiring the phenomenon, we realized it was getting very cold. The sub-zero temperatures and the sea breeze were freezing us so after clicking some pictures, we returned back to Flateyri.

I could not capture the beauty of the Northern Lights extensively on my camera but what my eyes saw left me spellbound. I can visit Scandinavia again just for the Aurora Borealis.

The experience was total paisa-vasool !


The drive to the West Fjords





















Finger-licking delicious Icelandic cuisine



Hunting down the Northern Lights, braving the cold



Northern Lights - the Silent Piano up in the sky

[//M]

The White Christmas

We left Flateyri, crossed the massive Vestfirdir Tunnel, bid adieu to the lovely coastal town of Isafjordur and drove past the spectacular West Fjords. It was quite cold and soon it started snowing !

I had read somewhere in some article that people often think that Iceland is always frozen, but infact Iceland is green while Greenland is white.

However, now Iceland had turned white. The Winter had arrived, it was freezing outside but we could not contain our excitement so we parked our cars safely and jumped out to play in the snow, the very first snowfall of the season.

Just yesterday we drove past this road while on our way to Isafjordur and it was all green and today everything has turned white. No wonder the weather is very unpredictable in Iceland.

Soon we descended down and everything turned green again and it was sunny and warm near the coastal town of Budardalur.

We drove through some gravel roads and entered the Snaefellsnes region.

Snaefellsnes is a peninsula in Western Iceland popular for the Snaefellsjokull Glacier and the Snaefellsnes National Park region.

We had booked a Guesthouse near the Tunga Beach. The Guesthouse had a private beach and all the cottages were sea-facing. Additionally, it also had a hot tub to relax if one is not in a mood to head to the beach.

Due to incessant rains, we could not enjoy the beach but we thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub experience. It was cloudy so we could not see the Northern Lights after dark. Infact we were a little sad that we will be leaving Iceland the next day. This small little Nordic country had left a lasting impression on all of us.


Couple of Arctic Foxen at the Sudavik Arctic Fox Center





The handsome Americans





The winter drive through the West Fjords

[//M]

Of Crags, Seals and Volcanoes

We visited the Tunga Beach in the morning and saw a colony of seals basking under the sun. After spending some time at the beach, we headed towards the western peninsula. Our first stop was the Budir Church, also known as the Black Church.

Budir Church is situated between the lava fields with the sea on one side and the snow-covered mountains on the other side.

Our next stop was Arnarstapi but as soon as we reached Arnarstapi, it started raining cats and dogs so we could not cover the Arnarstapi to Hellnar walk as initially planned but we did walk upto some distance when the rains stopped. The walkway from Arnarstapi to Hellnar is spectacular, it goes through cliffs and crags with panoramic views of the ocean.

We returned back to Arnarstapi and drove towards the Snaefellsnes National Park. We had pre-booked a volcano tour at the Vatnshellir Volcano. We walked thorugh the lava tubes beneath and it was a sight to behold.

After our volcano tour, we drove towards Reykjavik. It was a long drive so we took breaks to soak in the views. We stopped at Borgarnes en route for a late lunch and then drove past Reykjavik to the famous Blue Lagoon.

Blue Lagoon is a massive geothermal spa situated in the Reykjavik peninsula much similar to the Jarbodin Nature Baths but a lot bigger.

Personally I loved Jarbodin over Blue Lagoon but Blue Lagoon is also equally spectacular. We tried out the famous Silica Mud Mask at Blue Lagoon as well.

After spending considerable time at Blue Lagoon, we headed back to Reykjavik.

We explored the Downtown area, had a sumptuous dinner and admired the laidback charm of the capital city.

Late at midnight, we left for Keflavik airport as we had an early morning flight next morning. We reached Keflavik by 1:30 AM, dropped off our luggage at the airport and then two of us drove to the car rental office near the airport to return back the cars. It was a seamless process but since there were people ahead of us, so we had to wait for sometime before we could handover the keys.

They inspected the cars and arranged a drop till the airport. Since it was already 3AM, we decided to arrange our loose stuff in our bags and proceed with the security check-in procedure for our 5AM flight.

Before leaving, Iceland threw another surprise. The Reykjavik airport was unmanned !

There is nobody to assist you with security check-in, everything is automated. Amazing !

After some shot of espresso, we boarded our flight to Amsterdam.


Colony of seals at the Tunga Beach



















Budir Church



The amazing Arnarstapi to Hellnar walk along the sea

[//M]

Snaefellsjokull National Park



























Vatnshellir Volcano Tour















At the entrance of Blue Lagoon

[//M]

And more Shenanigans

After a long roadtrip across Iceland, we were a little exhausted so the two days in Amsterdam was nothing but a healer. Some of our college friends from Berlin and Southern France had joined us in Amsterdam for a reunion.

Frankly, museums were not my cup of tea. So I did not visit even the popular Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam but we explored the Central and Dam Square region on foot. My friend, who was in Amsterdam for some official work, was familiar with the city so he showed us around.

[//M]

Urbanscape

We took a morning TGV to Paris and reached 3 hours later via Brussels. Later in the day, we explored the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, explored the streets till we arrived at Champs-Élysées. While my friends did some shopping, I was busy admiring the cars. The Fiat Caffé at Champs-Élysées had a stunning Maserati Levante on display along with a Fiat 124 Spider.

From a Merc GTS AMG to a Brabus G63 6x6, Champs-Élysées was a wet dream for an automobile enthusiast !

We then headed to Bastille as the Saturday night crowd near the Opera was wonderful, more so because it was the Halloween Weekend.

[//M]

The Mouse's Hideout

Finally this amazing trip had come to an end. The last day in Paris was booked for Disneyland.

We took the metro to Marne-la-Vallée, super excited to see the Halloween Carnival at Disneyland Paris. However since it was a Sunday plus the Halloween weekend, so the Disneyland was very crowded. That did not dampen our spirits though.

We explored the Walt Disney Studio and then went to the Disney Castle. We had already shortlisted the rides we wanted to do, as covering all rides in one day is a very difficult task. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the carnival parade was wonderful. Needless to say, Disneyland took all of us back in time to our childhood !

After a tiring day, we got back to our hotel and packed our stuff.

Tomorrow we leave for India !

[//M]

Some more pictures taken at Disneyland Paris :

[//M]

Next morning, we boarded our Qatar Airways flight to Doha. As mentioned earlier, the Hamad International Airport in Doha is magnificent. After a customary visit to the Duty Free Shop, we boarded our Mumbai bound flight.

The experience with Qatar Airways was very good, much better than I had initially thought of.

Soon we were in Mumbai and after spending some time in Mumbai, I headed back to Pune.

The 17-day trip had come to an end, but the memories from this trip will last a lifetime !

Iceland - a tiny island country in the world map - had left a lasting impression on me and my friends. The couple of days spent at Amsterdam and Paris were amazing as well, special mention to Disneyland where we could re-live our childhood in a span of few hours.

We met some amazing people during this trip, made new friends, met old friends and cherished every moment enjoying the lovely roadtrip that took us across Iceland.

Ever since we returned back to our daily monotonous lives, we realized that its easy to take our thoughts out of Iceland but it is very difficult to take Iceland out of our thoughts !

Thanks for reading.

[ampere]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!


Awesome is the word! 5 Stars from my side!

[Leoshashi]

Mesmerising pictures. I'll be drooling over them for days to come. Thanks for sharing.

Rating this travelogue a well deserved 5 star!!

[saket77]

What a stunning log this is! And unbelievable pictures. Loved the way you have titled the posts. What an amazing journey this would have been. And great display of your outstanding writing abilities.

Really happy that despite all the odds you guys made this trip a success.

Rating 5 stars!
Regards,
Saket.

[vnabhi]

Amazing pictures of an enchanting trip! Thanks for sharing with us. Definitely one of the best on the forum. I never imagined Iceland would be so scenic. The Northern Lights were fantastic!

By the way, i could not pronounce any of those places except the capital. Could you? And how did you speak to the locals and hosts in the homestays?

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by //M

I could imagine myself having an expression similar to that of Steve Harvey in the pic below.

Keenan Thompson of SNL impersonating Steve Harvey. Funny none the less.
http://www.steveharveytv.com/snls-kenan-thompson/

[Thad E Ginathom]

Amazing.

I never thought that the wonderful big-cat pictures from some of your members could be rivalled, but you have brought us... Whales!