Category: Travelling
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Svörtuloft Lighthouse: Orange Lighthouse on a Black Background (Iceland)
If you like lighthouses and/or enjoy Halloween, then Svörtuloft Lighthouse on Iceland’s Snæfellsnes Peninsula might be the place for you. Located on the western edge of the peninsula, it offers some beautiful views of the ocean as well as Snæfellsjökull, the active volcano with a glacier that gives the Snæfellsjökull National Park its name. Located…
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Skarðsvík Beach: One of Iceland’s Few non-Black Beaches
Skarðsvík Beach is located on the northwestern end of Iceland’s Snæfellesnes Peninsula overlooking the ocean. While most of the beaches in Iceland are made up of volcanic rock, and are therefore blacks, dark browns and bits of red, Skarðsvík Beach is one of the few “blonde” beaches, meaning that the sand has a golden brown…
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Snæfellsnesvegur View Point: Views from a Mountain Pass (Iceland)
Route 54 – the main road around the Snæfellsnes peninsula – goes through the mountains that give the peninsula its name. Similar to places like Rest and Be Thankful, on this mountain pass are two pull off areas where you can look down the valley. This view captures not only the mountains and valley that…
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Búðakirkja: Black Church on a Gorgeous Mountainous Background (Iceland)
Búðakirkja – the Black Church – is located on Iceland’s Snæfellnes Peninsula and is the iconic black church on the island. While you can find the rainbow of colours of other churches, Búðakirkja is completely black. This is very much in stark contrast to the landscape consisting of multicoloured mountains, fluffy white and grey clouds,…
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Guesthouse Hof: Cabins overlooking the Ocean on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula (Iceland)
About Guesthouse Hof Guesthouse Hof is an acommodation comprising apartments and standalone cabins. Offering accommodation for 2 people per cabin and many more for the apartments, it sits on a desolate, very windswept coast. It advertises itself as having WiFi for all accommodation and hot tubs for the apartments. It also says that: Popular activities…
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Rainbow Road: Celebration of Diversity and Equality in Reykjavik (Iceland)
As you are walking around downtown Reykjavik, you will no doubt come across “Rainbow Road” or Skólavörðustígur, where a large rainbow covers the main part of the pedestrian street. The rainbow road has been painted several times, starting out initially as a temporary as a celebration of Reykjavik Pride. However it became a permanent feature…
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Hallgrímskirkja: Rekyjavik’s Basalt Column-inspired Cathedral (Iceland)
At the heart of Reykjavik sits Hallgrímskirkja, the island’s largest church (I want to call it a cathedral but it is not) and its second tallest building (74.5 metres/244 ft). Named after a famous Icelandic poet and clergyman, Hallgrímur Pétursson, construction on this Protestant Lutheran church began in 1945 and was completed in 1986. The church…
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Harpa Center: Reykjavik’s Answer to Modern Art and Architecture (Iceland)
Near downtown Reykjavik is the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre – or Harpa – which opened in 2011. Since then it has won several awards since then, including the 2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award, which is very prestigious. Harpa’s façade is primarily made of glass. The…
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Flið Fisherman’s Village: Beautiful Ocean Views near Reykjavik (Iceland)
About Flið Fisherman’s Village Flið Fisherman’s Village is located in Álftanes, a town just to the south of Reykjavik. By car it takes about 15 minutes to get to the capital. The hotel consists of a series of semi-detached cabins as well as some row housing, offering rooms for 2, 3 or 4 people. The…
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Sun Voyager: Modern Art to Iceland’s Viking Past (Iceland)
Sitting on the water in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, is a modern alt sculpture that captures the history of the island. Created in 1990 by Jón Gunnar Árnason, the Sun Voyager is in the shape of a Viking longboat and, in the artists own words, embodies a sense of exploration, promise and freedom. The installation is…
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Kleifarvatn Lake: Stark Contrast to Volcanoes and Lava Fields (Iceland)
Located on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland approximately half an hour from Keflavik airport, Kleifarvatn is the largest lake in the Setlún Geothermal Area. Meaning “draining lake” as there are no visible inlets or outlets (they are underground), it a stark contrast to the volcanoes and lava fields that make up this area of…
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Setlún Geothermal Area/Krýsuvík: Steamy! (Iceland)
Sitting at the heart of the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland, the Setlún Geothermal Area/Krýsuvík is an area of high geothermal activity. Steam rising from both streams and pools of mud in this area where lava sits close to the surface. Located just north of Grindavik, which has seen repeated volcanic eruptions since 2021 and…
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Bridge between Continents: Mind the Gap (Iceland)
Driving Iceland’s coastal Route 44 on the Reykjanes Peninsula, you suddenly come across a bridge in the middle of nowhere. While the bridge itself is nothing special (my personal opinion is that it is a bit of a metal monstrosity and the reason why there are no photos of the bridge itself), what it represents…
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Shiroi Koibito: Japan’s take on ‘European Cookies’
If you are in the city of Sapporo on Japan’s Hokkaido island and have a bit of a sweet tooth, you may be interested in visiting Shiroi Koibito Park. Known for their ‘European cookies’ of the same name, Shiroi Koibito are one of the typical gifts given for omiyage after visiting the city. What is…
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Jemez Scenic Byway: Discover Northern New Mexico by Car
The Jemez Scenic Byway is a 132-mile / 212-km road that stretches through parts of northern New Mexico, extending just north of Albuquerque towards the Four Corners region, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah touch. It is known as New Mexico Route 550. The road runs next to the Jemez Moutain Range, a largely…
