In order to get maximum pleasure, you just need to have no expectations, then you will have more space for amazing emotions! This is exactly what happened to me with Iceland. When I was choosing which way to fly to Greenland, via Copenhagen or Reykjavik, the choice fell on Iceland, because I had never been there before. Of course, this island of unearthly beauty deserves a separate trip, but when else will there be an opportunity to escape to one of the most expensive countries in the world for travelers? Iceland is one of the few countries where, having visited its capital, you can confidently say that you have seen NOTHING. People come here to see unusual landscapes: waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, volcanoes, but not architecture. So I rented a car to really see Iceland. But I did not even expect that it would impress me so much and never leave my heart
Iceland is a large island, although about 350 thousand people live here, the majority of whom live in the only large city of the country, its capital Reykjavik. Therefore, in order to really travel around absolutely everything, and even enjoy it to the fullest, you need about two weeks. But for those who do not have so much time or money, there is a wonderful route called the “Golden Ring”, a kind of Iceland in miniature. The majority of tourists travel along it, there are also excellent bus excursions, the infrastructure for these purposes is developed here at a high level.
But I wanted to get involved with organized tourism and we chose freedom by renting a car. This allowed us to go beyond the Golden Circle and drive to the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano, not to mention managing our time independently
If you start searching for cars to rent in Reykjavik, you will probably come across the Procar office. Their prices are suspiciously cheaper than their competitors, sometimes twice as cheap. This certainly made me wary, but in the end I took a risk and ordered a Toyota Yaris for 180 euros for two days with full insurance coverage. Early Sunday morning we went to the company's office, but instead of a Yaris we got a new Hyundai i10, and as compensation they gave us a discount of 50 dollars and free Internet in the car. All the employees were very friendly, and most importantly, they did not take a deposit from our credit card, they did not freeze a penny, which is undoubtedly a big plus! So I recommend the office to everyone. In just 15 minutes, having loaded the car with everything we needed, we were leaving Reykjavik
Driving around Iceland is a pleasure! Perfect roads and almost no cars, it reminded me of the scenes from the movie “I Am Legend” when Will Smith was driving through a deserted New York
On the way out of the city there are speed cameras with a speed limit of 50 km/h, you can see them in the photo above. We were immediately “snapped” for exceeding the speed limit by 15 km/h. In the end, the fine never came. In the future, I was more careful. Radars are extremely rare on the highway and can be seen from afar. The speed limit outside of cities is 90 km/h. On empty, ideal roads, it is very difficult to roll at such a speed even in a small car. In fairness, the locals do not really observe the speed limit either.
Along the way, your head will spin from the beautiful views.
About 40 minutes later we had already reached the first stop. Thingvellir National Park, the famous tectonic rift of the lithospheric plates between Europe and North America. I will of course tell you about this place separately.
The longer we drove through Iceland, the more I was surprised by the local nature. The complete absence of trees, volcanic mountains, green bushes…
Sometimes we stopped to just stand and feel how time stood still.
Of all the roads I have ever driven on, these are the most picturesque and breathtaking.
It is worth telling separately about our “little Ferrari”. This is a new Hyundai i10, we received it with a mileage of only 9 thousand km. - that is, almost new. In August, they were not even in the official Hyundai showrooms of Odessa. To be honest, before that I was quite biased towards this Korean brand, although I recognized their undeniable progress. But even when renting a car, I overpaid 30 euros for a Toyota, and when I received it I was even a little upset, although I understood that I would only drive it for two days, and not my whole life. But I quickly changed my mind as soon as I got behind the wheel of this baby. The liter engine gives very good acceleration dynamics up to 70-80 km / h, which is very cool for the city (and this car is clearly an urban one)
But we had to drive on the highway. And again the little Ferrari did not disappoint us, the car confidently held the road and when entering turns at speed it held the asphalt dead. For me, as a driver of a Subaru with all-wheel drive and a boxer engine, this was simply a shock, although probably not the least role in this was played by the high-quality road surface. When we drove back to Reykjavik late in the evening, we got caught in a strong wind and a heavy downpour, but this did not become an obstacle for our ashcan. The car's interior is quite ascetic, but the leather steering wheel makes it pleasant for the driver and all this for very reasonable money. Fuel consumption on Icelandic gasoline is about 5.5 l / 100 km on the highway
Of course, there are some disadvantages too. At speeds over 110, the car has a hard time, it starts to shake and the engine accelerates with difficulty. I squeezed out 130 as much as possible, I did not dare to go further. But for a city car, especially in a country where the speed limit is 50 in the city, 90 on the highway, this is not a problem. Further, the lack of cruise control, on the highway it is inconvenient without it, and in the city this function is not needed. And the last disadvantage that I noticed is that there is no room for rear passengers. Between the front and back seats there is not even a backpack, I can not imagine how people take such a car for four, for example, and why does it need 4 doors then? Of course, I can not say anything about technical operation. But I can give a good piece of advice: when you open the doors, always hold them with your hand, because the gusts of wind in Iceland are crazy, they can easily damage the neighboring car in the parking lot, or even tear it off
But let's get back to Iceland. Our next stop was the great Geyser, where we drove for another 35 minutes. It is full of tourists, restaurants and shops. I will also tell you about this place in a separate post
After the geysers, we headed to the last and most significant attraction of the Golden Ring – Gullfoss Waterfall. Doesn’t this landscape look like something from another planet?
The weather wasn't very kind to us, it rained at times, the sky was always gloomy. But this is real Iceland, exactly how I wanted to see it. As expected, the waterfall impressed me the most! I didn't think it could be so beautiful
We still had half a day left. After a quick bite at a local cafe, the question arose of where to go next, either towards home or somewhere else. It was completely unclear what to expect from the weather. And I decided to take a risk, to have time to get to the Skogafoss waterfall. On the way we pass the amazingly blue rivers of Iceland
Very soon we were driving along hills covered with volcanic ash.
Along the way we came across many fields with cows, sheep and a local breed of horses.
I prepared a disc with music in advance and with such a landscape I turned on the good old track “I am free” at full volume. Indeed, you rush with the wild wind and feel complete freedom
But before we had time to reach our destination, we saw another waterfall in the distance.
Taking a closer look, we saw a fascinating sight, as if we had entered a country from a fantasy world.
It turned out to be the Seljandafoss waterfall, we stayed there for about 20 minutes and then drove on. The road became more interesting
It seems like a volcano could erupt here at any moment.
And suddenly there it is on the way! That same volcano that paralyzed air traffic over Europe in 2010, I haven’t learned to write it yet, but I pronounce it perfectly in Icelandic – Eyjafjallajökull!
The very same horses that cannot be exported from Iceland are walking nearby
And finally, the final point of our route is the majestic Skogafoss waterfall
Of course, I will write about all these beautiful places separately. We drove a little over 400 km in one day and were not tired at all. I remember the road from Odessa to Chisinau (190 km) full of stress, when you arrive squeezed like a lemon. Iceland and its landscapes amazed me to the depths of my soul. And I think I had seen photos before, but can it compare to seeing it all in person?
Source: travel.ru