Iceland in Winter by ferry and plane

[bPeteb]

So onboard for this one. After five days in Iceland in summer last year we both said we need to go back in winter. We might change our minds after this TR

 

[24601]

So onboard for this one. After five days in Iceland in summer last year we both said we need to go back in winter. We might change our minds after this TR

Nah, just wait. It was simply fantastic. But now I'm keen to see it in summer! If you like crowds, Reykjavik still had those. But apparently that ferry is absolutely packed in summer. It is the only way to bring your own car or campervan to Iceland.

cheers,

24.

 

[kermatu]

Winter is definitely on the way here in Canberra - but seeing some of these great real winter TRs makes me realise it ain't so bad...

...but I still put my heating system on today

 

[suze2000]

Brrr! Looks beautiful, thanks.

 

[blueythecat]

Great trip report, fascinating time of the year to visit too!

 

[amaroo]

Love a winter getaway - looks good.

 

[24601]

Seydisfjordur, East Iceland.

It was only about 9am when I arrived at the East Icelandic port town of Seydisfjordur. It is really a small village with a population of about 700. It has a couple of outlying light industrial buildings near the water and lots of colourful little wooden houses. There is also a school and an indoor swimming pool, thermally heated of course. It all clusters around the end of a long, calm fjord. It is surrounded by 1000m+ mountain peaks. In winter it is very quiet and eye-wateringly beautiful.
I was booked into the Hotel Aldan, one of a handful of places in this little village. As usual check-in was supposed to be 2pm, but I hoped they’d let me in early or, at worst, leave my bags while I looked around.

The streets were deserted, there was no one about. Besides a couple of trucks moving trailers away from the ferry, I only saw one car. The snow was too deep on the footpath to drag my suitcase through, so I stuck to the hard-packed ice/snow road. They don’t salt and grit the small roads there; people just drive on metal-studded tyres. It was well-ploughed, though. To each side of the road was a sometimes waist-high bank of snow. The footpaths were ankle to knee deep in snow. It was cold but also very dry and not at all slushy.

When I arrived at the hotel it was all locked up and deserted, not good. Luckily within minutes a 4-wheel drive pulled up and the manager let me in. Hotel Aldan is spread over two buildings. The main one, an old bank, was reception and a small restaurant. I think they had some rooms upstairs too. My room was a five-minute walk away in a separate cottage. It was warm and comfy, a simply furnished fairly rustic-style bedroom with bare wooden floors. I think there was one other guest there, but couldn’t be certain. In summer it is busy, especially when the ferry is due. But in winter it, like the whole town, is very, very quiet. I loved it.
Seydisfjordur has many old wooden houses, brightly painted in various colours. The majority were brought there and assembled by Norwegian fishermen many years ago. There was still a little fleet of fishing boats frozen into a small harbour by a jetty. The town is also a kind of centre of the arts and is inhabited by artists and musicians from many countries. At lunch time a bunch of the emerged from somewhere to eat at the Aldan dining room. Meals are served there for guests and the public. Lunch was a tasty vegetarian buffet and soup. Very artsy, like the crowd. I enjoyed listening in to snatches of pretentious, student conversations ranging from philosophy and politics to pot.

There were a couple of other places to eat in winter in the town and a small supermarket which is where I bought my dinner. If you ever visit, beware that there seem to be no ATMs in the town, none I could find anyway. Credit cards are accepted everywhere throughout the country, though, including on the mini bus that I caught the next morning out of town.

I enjoy walking, and there would be beautiful hiking in summer, but in winter it wasn’t possible outside the town to leave the road without wading through waist-deep snow. There are walking tracks and camp sites etc, but all were well and truly buried. It was cold outside but not dreadful, so long as I was dressed for it. Of course, by night it was much worse. I went outside at about midnight in the hope of catching a glimpse of the northern lights but, like the previous night on the ferry, they didn’t show themselves. I left early in the morning to catch the only bus out. Someone came and opened the dining room for me and made me breakfast, far more food than I could have eaten - not in the rush I was in, at least! You do NOT want to miss that bus.

Without your own car there are two ways in and out of Seydisfjordur in the winter: the ferry from the Faroe Islands or a once-a-day bus inland to the regional centre of Egilsstadir. The bus is a mini bus that leaves early in the morning, well before dawn and is packed full of locals on their way to school, uni, or work. It has a trailer and luggage space in the back. You pay the driver by credit card when you arrive at Egilstadir. The route goes over a high mountain pass as Seydisfjordur is surrounded by peaks. In very bad weather the pass can be closed. The bus stops at a school, then at a small shopping centre in “downtown” Egilstadir, and then continues a couple of km to the airport (EGS), my next destination.

 

[24601]

Hotel Aldan. Reception and the dining room is five minutes away.

 

[24601]

 

[24601]

 

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[bPeteb]

Just bloody amazing!!! Ok, not scared off yet! Just want to go back even more!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for this, fabulous photos.

 

[24601]

Part 3: Egilsstadir, East Iceland.


By the time the bus from Seydisfjordur arrived at EGS airport, I was the only passenger left. It was around 8am and first light. There was a morning flight out, but I had a ticket for a late afternoon flight, giving me a day to wander around Egilsstadir. When tourist guidebooks say that a place is basically very boring, surely that presents a challenge. There is interest and beauty to be found everywhere. In fact, I enjoy seeing the everyday things in faraway places that don’t make it onto postcards; glimpses of everyday lives. Especially in a remote and icy place like Egilsstadir in the winter.

It is a small town with a population of about 2300 people. It is a transport hub, a minor commercial center servicing surrounding farms, and also is growing thanks to nearby mining and energy developments. Tourism may be a big thing there in summer, though it seems to have no good hotels. It is set by a large lake, Lagarfljót, apparently the third-largest in Iceland. The lake is supposedly home to a Loch Ness-style monster called Lagarfljótsormur (or the “Lagarfljót Worm). You can see various videos claiming to be glimpses of this beast online. Sadly, Lagarfljótsormur didn’t make an appearance during my visit.

Early arrival at EGS. Well, not really that early at all, but it was still dark:



EGS airport:


Lagarfljót


Lagarfljót. Can you see the monster?


Egilsstadir:

 

[24601]

Egilsstadur (cont.)

I wasn’t allowed to check my bag in yet but they did let me leave it behind the Air Iceland check in desk. Air Iceland (Flugfélag Íslands), NY, is the main domestic airline in Iceland and not to be confused with the international airline Iceland Air.

It is a couple of km walk back into town from the airport, but an easy and picturesque one. The lake is off to one side and sparsely-wooded hills to the other that lead up to a bleak, frozen landscape of mountains in the distance. I walked by a couple of schools. Ice and snow draped the roof of the high school in curvy blankets looking like white chocolate fondant. At the primary school kids rugged up in puffy suits played happily in the snow.



I saw a few of the local sights (I’ll admit, there aren’t many) including climbing up to a local high point for a great view over the town and lake and looking a small forest on the outskirts. The town was suburban. There were a few pedestrians about and quite a lot of traffic on the main roads passing through. I sat in the lobby of a small commercial building to eat some lunch out of the cold. It was -11 that day but not windy, so not bad. Chilly all the same. I bought a couple of things at an outdoor shop, 66 Degrees North, that had a factory outlet on the highway and then headed back to the airport.

 

[24601]

Egilsstadir (cont.)

There isn’t really anything at EGS airport except a pleasant enough waiting lounge upstairs with a café. My flight was NY 337 EGS-RKV, Reykjavik domestic. It was a 4:10pm flight so I would have half an hour or so of daylight to see great views of the desolate interior of Iceland from the plane. The views were indeed spectacular. The flight was on a Fokker 50, TF-JMN. It was fine for a 1-hour flight and made for good views from my window seat with the top mounted wings.

I arrive on time in the early evening at Reykjavik domestic airport, my next destination.

 

[24601]

Some more photos of Egilsstadir.

 

[24601]

Lonely Planet says EGS is boring and lacks charm. But they're wrong, EGS has these street lights:







Desolate interior of Iceland seen from the plane:



Near Reykjavik:

 

[bPeteb]

These photos are taking my breath away. Even a bit of of eye moistening and I'm sat at work eating my lunch! Wish we'd bought at least a beanie from 66 Degrees North in Akureyri.

 

[kermatu]

Don't think I've ever flown on a Fokker-50, but used to fly constantly as a kid on the F-27s -- loved them for the great views as you say.