Category: Austurland

In the spring of 2021, we were in quarantine on the east coast of Iceland, at Rauðaberg, not far from Höfn. This is Vatnajökull’s realm. Vatnajökull (8100 km²) is Europe’s largest glacier after Austfonna at Svalbard/Spitsbergen. The ice thickness is up to 1 km (!), with an average of 400 metres. The glacier outlets from Vatnajökull descend into each valley with its own name, mile after mile. It’s really huge!

Geologically speaking, fjords are seen as underwater valleys, formed by glacial erosion of the bedrock. The fjords in Norway and Iceland are carved out of glaciers, all the way into the sea. The word fjord comes from Indo-European, the verb ‘fara’, ie where one travels (to the other side). Because of the weight, the glaciers can also dig below sea level. They often have a threshold (ra) at the outlet, where it is much shallower than further into the fjord. The threshold is formed by sediments in front of the ice end. If you imagine a threshold fjord that never reached the sea, then you have the concept of a glacier lagoon. As the glacier retreats, a lake is often formed where the glacier has dug deep – before the end moraine. We wanted to swim in front of a glacier!

We checked the map and found a potential spot at Haukafell – Haukafellsjökull (the Hawk Mountain Glacier) seemed to have a lake in front of it. Even though we were in quarantine, we felt a tour here would be OK. At least no one could complain about the distance, we didn’t see another soul the whole evening…

There is a marked hiking trail all the way to the glacier. On the way, we saw many wonderful stones, where beautiful crystals had grown inside the gray or brown rock. You can read more about special Icelandic stones and mineral types at ‘Perlan’ in Reykjavík.

Once at the glacier, a bath was a good idea. Haukafellsjökull is an offspring from Vatnajökull and in decline. We therefore saw little danger in swimming in the glacier lagoon, since the lowermost ice was on dry land.

But of course we kept a good distance, and there were no signs of movement in the glacier. A splendid bath in a fantastic landscape, and a beautiful weather!

A (sun) bath in Haukafellsárlón is just right!

Höfn is located in the region Austurland, by Hornafjörður. Here you can find several guesthouses and good restaurants.

From Höfn you have a splendid view westwards to Vatnajökull’s plentiful extensions.

At the western side of Höfn, by the seaside, there is a nice hiking trail. The starting point is by the harbor, and the theme is astronomy. The solar planets are located along the path, sizes and distances are made to scale. Fascinating!  By a small headland you will find an outdoor exhibition, with beautiful pictures of Vatnajökull, local happenings, and also a stone exhibition.

Arriving Höfn one late evening in September, we went to this headland to have a bath. It was perfect. A cliff hanger to be used as a natural wardrobe – it couldn’t be better!

What wasn’t perfect was the weather – gale. It was a rather cool experience. Because of the wind, we were freezing cold long before entering the water, and the bay of Hornafjörður is affected by melting water from the glaciers. Besides the cold, the Höfn ‘beach’ consisted of small, pointed stones… Not the best bathing experience, really. But we were contended (and no, we have never regretted a bath). After the bath we went straight to a restaurant for a wonderful dinner.

Back in Höfn in March, we wanted to give our favorite wardrobe another chance, calm seas were a promising start. Knut was ready to enter the fjord first – wearing swimming shoes this time. But he didn’t throw himself into the water right away. Halfway out he stopped, wondering, looking around. ‘Strange. There are a lot of feathers here. Plenty!’ Then he was silent for a while, until he suddenly shouted: ‘We shall not swim here! Those are not feathers, but toilet paper!’  

The conclusion was basically that a bath in Höfn is not right. At least not right there, right then.

When driving around Iceland, it’s impossible not to notice all the abandoned farms.

If you add all that you don’t see as well – the number is high! Abandoned houses and barns built in turf (before the use of concrete took over), surrender to nature to such an extent that after a few years they are not visible except as small piles of grass.

However, the concrete structures are visible many many years. A lot of them are ugly, but some are actually quite beautiful in all their decay. By Highway 1, west of Höfn, not far from Rauðaberg, there are some ancient houses decorated with new and modern graffiti.

Iceland has undergone a period of heavy urbanization, and when it comes to the capital area – to the extreme. Of Iceland’s 350,000 inhabitants, 65% lived in Reykjavik and the surrounding area in 2021.

In the heart of Haukadalen, not far from Rauðaberg, we had our coldest bath to date, in March, only a few days after a nice bath at the same place in beautiful spring weather. This time minus 4 degrees and a fresh gale, so we were freezing long before we started to undress. Knut was first ready, and plowed the ice towards the pool while Idun took pictures.

Yes, it is also time for a bath in minus four degrees. But admittedly, the idea of a hot pot was clearly also rather present in our brains.

Getting dressed afterwards was a rather cumbersome affair, since the fingers had trouble cooperating. But regrets? We have a few! But any baths are not among them.

Exactly one year ago, we took the first of a series of baths in Iceland. Some of us were going crazy of day after day with home office, and Iceland had a corona infection rate close to zero and was excempt from the Norwegian governments general advice of not travelling abroad. That made Iceland a good place to visit, we thought.

With help from Jon Sveinsson, who runs the Facebook site “Iceland, the photographer’s paradise”, we got a very good deal for a guest house at Rauðaberg for our quarantine period!

The first 5 days we could not enter any hot baths due to quarantine, but that’s no problem when you like cold baths as much as the hot!

If you ever get out of Reykjavík: It is possible to find splendid hiking tours outside the lists of Icelandic tourist attractions! Actually, it is very nice to go for a regular walk along valleys or by the shoreline. Does this sound boring? Not at all! Calm down, breathe deeply in the fresh air, and enjoy going for a walk without planning and queues and crowds of people.

During the quarantine at Rauðaberg, one day we went along the ‘Hauka’ (Hawk) valley below the mountains.

On the way we saw several farms, houses, fenced clusters of trees and plenty of small, beautiful waterfalls.

There were a lot of birds in the mountains. Mostly seagulls, but also ravens. The ravens always appear in pairs. No wonder the Norse mythology equipped Oðin with two ravens: Huginn and Muninn.

Entering the end of the valley we found a field of trees; pines and larch. A memorial has been erected by the road in honor of the forester who started planting trees here. And finally we arrived at a two level waterfall.

This got to be our personal bathing waterfall during the quarantine week. It was an excellent experience to swim in the pool below the waterfall. Such a beautiful place, with a waterfall that does not even have a name (that we could find). The fascinating thing about all waterfalls is how much strength they have when you stand in them, but when you check afterwards what flows out, there is close to nothing! How is it possible that something that looks like a small stream roars and knocks the air out of you when it falls over the waterfall edge? Water for sure is powerful!

Oh, how nice it was to get out of the home office. Away office in Iceland was so much, much better!