Frequent readers of this blog will know that this summer, I did a truly mesmerizing round-trip along Iceland’s ring road. However, this wasn’t my first encounter with this stunning country. My first time in Iceland was in winter, together with my friend Dominika. And it’s pretty amazing how much we squeezed into a short but magical winter weekend in Iceland.
It all started with a deal we found on Wowcher (Groupon and the likes are offering similar deals frequently in winter). We opted for the two-night option of the deal, which included the stay at the great value, clean and pretty Centerhotel Klopp as well as return flights from Luton. The entire trip came in atunder 200 GBP (223 EUR).
We hadn’t made any arrangements whatsoever with regards to what we would be doing in Iceland but we both wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon and see the Northern Lights. Since we both knew that we’d be very lucky to catch a glimpse of this natural spectacle on a two-day stay, we decided not to lose any time. We walked right up to the travel desk for Reykjavik Excursions at the airport to check their tour catalogue. For our first night, we booked the ‘WarmBaths and Cool Lights’ tour followed by the classic ‘Golden Circle’ tour as well as entrance and shuttle to the Blue Lagoon on Day 2 of our stay (all with the same company). We worried about not having enough time for sightseeing, however since it was literally freezing and it doesn’t get very light in winter, we felt in hindsight that we did the right thing.
Warm Baths and Cool Lights
Our Warm Baths and Cool Lights-Tour started late afternoon when it had already been dark for a while. The bus picked us up close to the hotel and took us to Laugarvatn Fontana (the ‘Hot Baths’-part of trip). Several hot pools filled with water from the thermal springs at different temperatures awaited us for a relaxing bath. The pools are located outside though so it took a little while to convince ourselves to move outside of the changing room facilities and get to the closest one. Running wasn’t an option as the floor was covered with ice in many places, including the stairs to some of the pools. We carefully manoeuvred towards the pools and thankfully sunk back into the blissful waters under the night skies.
After the spa part of the evening was over, we moved on to a buffet with an impressive range of Icelandic delicacies, including many different types of fish, breads and pickles. We hadn’t really sat down to eat when someone shouted that the Northern Lights were already visible outside. Naturally, we just abandoned our filled plates despite the appetite we had built up in the hot springs, and ran outside. There they were, in all their beauty: Like silky scarves, the lights were dancing across the sky. They were just of a very faint green at this point, but I still almost cried. How lucky we were to see the Northern Lights on our very first of only two evenings in Iceland!
Note: These pictures were taken without tripod, hence they’re a bit blurry.
The search for the Northern Lights continued after dinner, with the bus following the lights away from cities and townships, into the snow-covered wideness of the country. At some point, we even witnessed a red edge to the otherwise green lights, an even rarer sight than the spectacle in itself. It was nearing one o’clock in the morning when we returned to the hotel, tired and incredibly happy.
The Golden Circle
On Day 2 of our trip in the morning, we took off to the Golden Circle. Again, there wasn’t much daylight; it actually looked as if it was dawn all day. We were content to sit in the warm bus and being chauffeured through the muffled stillness of the white scenery made us feel very relaxed and a bit sleepy. The Golden Circle is an accumulation of popular sights nearby Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, consisting of Gulfoss waterfall, the Geysir geothermal area and the Þingvellir National Park. Together with the city of Reykjavik and the Blue Lagoon located close to the airport, the Golden Circle is the busiest when it comes to visitors in Iceland. Saying that, the number of visitors in winter is definitely smaller than in summer.
The bus stopped at the different locations, long enough to have a nice little wander and take some pictures, before we moved on to the next location. Having been back at the Golden Circle this summer, I have to admit that I found especially the partly-frozen Gulfoss waterfall even more impressive in winter than in summer. You can read more about my summer trip to the Golden Circle here.
The Blue Lagoon and the blizzard
Despite the fact that there was a blizzard in the forecast, we decided to stick to our plan to go to the Blue Lagoon in the evening. What could possibly go wrong? The water in the lagoon is nice and warm so we didn’t think it would be an issue. We were laughing in the bus when we noticed how bad it really was outside – I wasn’t very amused anymore once we were actually in the water. The wind was so strong that I could hardly keep my eyes open to see any of the nice surroundings of the beautifully located, stone-edged pool. The snowflakes, which the wind blew into my eyes, felt like needles and I couldn’t see a thing. I was cold despite the warm water. As the wind created some impressive little waves in the water, it wasn’t a comfortable affair and definitely not relaxing. Whilst Dominika made the most of the experience, I just got more and more annoyed with every minute outside. Until the point where I ended up waiting inside, sulking until we left and a hearty dinner with a large glass of red wine lifted my spirits again.
I’m sure the Blue Lagoon is a great experience but when there is a blizzard, I’d just stay clear of it.
