What happens when we say ‘I am on top of the world’? Of course you say it when you are happy, and what if you really are on top of the world? yeh, literally…well I will tell you, you feel the sky above and the earth below!
I had always seen Iceland in maps and felt it like the farthest land and beyond my reach, today I feel lucky having earned the opportunity to visit this beautiful country 🙂
I wanted to cover Iceland in not more than two posts but trust me it will be an amazing experience to live it with me through my write up, photos and of course experience. After travelling (yes, you know I like to travel, ok love to :)) extensively in EU, there are two places I found unique, Norway and now Iceland. I felt so mesmerized by nature and its innovative working that I felt speechless and it confirmed that no human technology or architecture can give the pleasure that nature can.
With 4 days in my pocket I decided on Iceland, no 4 days is definitely not enough to see the country but that is what I had and made most of it. I opted for Easyjet which flies to Reykjavik (pronounced as Rekavik), the capital of Iceland (60% of Icelandic population stays here)every Saturday and Tuesday.
Some quick facts about Iceland:
Iceland is a Nordic country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean with a population of 329,100 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe.
Iceland is volcanically and geologically active country, there is a major volcano every 4 years.
The interior consists of a plateau characterized by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial river flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
So in spite of being so affected by volcanoes and no vegetation, Iceland still is a very progressive country. Geothermal fields cover up to 20% of the country’s electricity needs.
About 11% of the country’s territory is covered by glaciers.
And some interesting facts too
Icelandic horses are beautiful and display two additional gaits as compared to all other breeds.
In Iceland, if something is sold at a sale price for six consecutive weeks, that discounted price becomes the new regular price and it cannot be advertised as the sale price any more.
Iceland does not have army, navy or air force, only the coast guard. If an Icelander wants to serve in the military, they can join the Norwegian army according to an agreement between the two countries.
The sale of food items containing more than 2 grams of trans fat for every 100 grams is forbidden. No doubt the men were so handsome (I didn’t eye the women hehe).
The majority of Icelanders don’t have surnames. This should be followed in India too, how would one know the caste then 🙂
Women do not take their husbands’ names, because usually there is no such name to take. See no women empowerment issues too 🙂 I love this country!!
The mosquitoes are not found in Iceland and Faroe Islands, the only countries in the world where they do not exist.
Now this one is interesting, Iceland is not a very cold country. The average temperatures for January is -0.4°C. Because of the mild climate, Iceland is very green. Icelanders like to say that Iceland should be named Greenland and Greenland should be named Iceland.
In 2010, 97.6% of Icelandic population had Internet connection. Awesome right?
Eyjafjallajökull was probably the most complicated word the newspersons around the world had to learn in 2010. You can’t leave this post unless to pronounce this right!
So since I didn’t have a lot of days, I booked day trips from Extreme Iceland for two days, 14 hours per day 🙂 all worth it. Today I’ll share my experience on Jökulsarlon which means glacial river lagoon- is a large glacial lake in southeastIceland, on the edge of Vatnajökull National Park. Situated at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, it developed into a lake after the glacier started receding from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake has grown since then at varying rates because of melting of the glaciers.
It was a long bus ride as we had to travel all the way to south of Iceland, the temperatures dipped as we neared south and it was very very breezy.
It is now 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) away from the ocean’s edge and covers an area of about 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi). The size of the lake has increased fourfold since the 1970s. It is considered as one of the natural wonders of Iceland.
The icebergs that calve from the glacier edge move towards the river mouth and get entrenched at the bottom. The movement of the icebergs fluctuates with the tide currents, as well as being affected by wind. However, they start floating as icebergs when their size is small enough to drift to the sea. These icebergs are seen in two shades: milky white and bright blue, which depends on the air trapped within the ice and is an interplay of light and ice crystals.
When I read about the colors of the glacier I understood that when sunshine falls on the glaciers, it absorbs all colors of the rainbow except for blue with surfaces and give the glaciers a beautiful blue tinge.
I leave you to enjoy the pictures and in the next post of the iceland series.
I will share with you my experience of Iceland waterfalls, they were the biggest I have seen and splendid!
All pictures are copyright www.sunshineandzephyr.com 🙂
breathtaking picturesque j and such a beautiful and informative post! 🙂 I feel the cold and breeze already. Another one of such places you’ve been to that I really want to go 😀 (this one sure shot going) Amazing Ananya 🙂 mast!
Well Shashank Ananya is amazing lolz….yeh it was super duper breezy, something i ain’t that good handling 🙂 Yep this should be on the list for sure..its just out of this world 🙂
The pictures are soo amazing. Lucky you! The names of places and their pronunciation is a little difficult though;)
You bet Sarah it’s just so difficult 🙂 thanks you like it 🙂
You are an amazing photographer as well. Europe is a beautiful place, no doubt.
Glad to see Iceland through your lens. 🙂
yayyyy…happy happy you liked it Anoop 🙂 yeh and Iceland is even better in EU…watch out for more 😉
I liked your Humor a lot here…few takeaways for India 🙂
Nice pictures, Europe is my favorite any day…I don’t like US that much.
Humor…kahan….not my forte, well Saru ko invite hain so you are default invited 🙂 happy you liked it 🙂
Someday i will surely be in Europe…i am saving for it and time is a constraint right now.
Fascinatingly beautiful and interesting!!
Thank you Deepak ji 🙂
Wonderful post Shweta. I really wish to go to see Iceland. Have alawys been interested in knowing more about the culture of the Nordic countries. In a glacial land like Iceland about 98% internet connection is truly awesome. And how do the wives address their husbands?
yay….my bestie gang has given such positive feedback so am super happy Somali…missing Kokila too much! wait for more Somali 🙂 well the wives address their husbands by their first name 🙂
Excellent Photographs with a nice Narrative…. The Journey is truly worth remembering for a life time!
Thank you sir, I so agree that I wouldn’t ever forget this journey my entire life 🙂
That was good read Shweta….!! And awesome pictures
Thank you Bhavani, happy happy you liked it 🙂
A great account Shweta! And awesome captures:) Thank you for taking us around:):)
You are most welcome Amitji, it can be a great inspiration for some hindi haikus isn’t it 🙂
Awesome pictures, Shweta 🙂
Awesome thank you Ravish 🙂 🙂
breath taking natural beauty … snow white ice and a bone chilling experience ! you have just conveyed so much with those images ! tempted to visit there once … in the bucket list for sure !
Hey AZ (if I can call you that :)), kaha na open invite to all blogger pals and we go to Iceland, well if all my pals get together then I would prefer Amsterdam and not Iceland 🙂 thanks AZ you liked it 🙂
I love this place already 🙂
And I am glad to pronounce the name of the capital correctly for the first time 😀
I am stuck on this page until I can pronounce any of these place names properly 😀
This is surely THE PLACE to visit :O
Come over Teny to Swiss, we have have an Blogger gang go to Iceland what say!! yes hang on till you pronounce it right buddy, Ill publish the next post by then!
Wow! Breathtaking!!! Looking forward to more!!!
motivates me to start working at the rest soon Vyomi 🙂
wow.. You are one lucky girl to be here 🙂
Ah thank you babe!
Iceland is such a stunner …. and amazing pics …. the flights are so expensive from India that I can only dream abt Iceland
I agree Iceland is a very expensive country, but it was like a once in a life time visit 🙂
Amazing pictures, dear..you are so lucky!! Also loved the account…:-D 😀 I was waiting for this post…. 🙂
and some more mesmerizing stuff coming bestie!! super happy you liked it…hugs!!
I am officially jealous of you. I don’t want to see those waterfalls pictures, not until you extend an invitation to me.
On a serious note, lovely pictures! 🙂
noooo, the invite was in the last post, you don’t need an invite as such, but you plus Alok (i end up reading his post more often, dont kill me) are invited to Basel, Swiss and then we can (if you want me to join that is ;)) hop to a place you put your finger on the EU map….see!!! now it’s official 🙂 wait for the coming post, trust me I haven’t seen a thing like that ever!!
Thank you, thank you. And please accept the same invite for US as well. We will be more than happy to have you.
Land without ice! Global warming effects. Awesome !
Thank you dear, happy you liked it 🙂
Wow! Such an amazing post. Loved the pictures and the facts. Such a cool country…no surname. Looking forward to your next post about Iceland waterfalls 🙂
Its coming next Purba, and sooo happy you liked it 🙂
Awesome photos and post
Thank you Rupam, happy you liked it, when it comes from a photographer its even better!!
Looking forward to learning more about Iceland
It would indeed be my pleasure to share my experience and information about this beautiful place 🙂
Amazing photos……
Thank You Kirti 🙂
Nice one. Informative too. Liked the images very much.
Thank you Ashish, happy you liked it 🙂
Super! Love the pics, atmosphere and your enthusiasm Shweta!
Thank you Sunaina, really glad you liked it 🙂
Excellent images and so much of info.Great!
Thank you Uppalji 🙂
Nice pictures. Good to know about the transformation where glaciers absorb all colors from sun light except blue which in turn results in blue colored glaciers. Enjoyed reading this post. 🙂
Thank you Vishal, happy you liked the pictures and the information shared 🙂
I have been and lived in Oslo, Norway and I can totally relate when you say the beauty is awesome there. Iceland, definitely looks amazing. Great pictures. You have reminded me to write more about Norway as there are still many stories to be told.
I had been to Tromso, Norway a year back and it’s awesome…I loved the place and its the most unique experience of all times. Thank you my post made you nostalgic 🙂
The narration and photographs are so beautiful that you feel like visiting immediately. I am waiting for your next blog with waterfalls to know more about Iceland Shweta.
Wow…I got you so interested Aditya purpose achieved to write this post 🙂 Thank you and stay connected there are two more posts on Iceland 🙂
Wow…what a place Shweta 🙂 But Bad you…you have made a vacation deprived girl drool like mad with this hehhe. very well narrated
AWWWW….may you have a vacation soon girl 🙂 happy you liked the pictures and post 🙂
yes i loved the post Shweta. And yeah girl I badly need to take a vaccation :XXXX
you are so lucky to visit this beautiful place.. lovely photos and awesome narration.. superb Shweta 🙂
Thank you Meera, so glad you liked them 🙂
Wonderful! Loved the photos and your description of the place…! 🙂 🙂
Thanks Jatin, happy you liked it 🙂
Love your account of Iceland…amazing place!
surely is Moon a must go place, thank you for liking it 🙂
Awesome article. I just could not stop but read every line you wrote. The pictures are also too good. You are a good writer. I wish you all the best. Keep going..
Thank you Sabina, am glad you liked it 🙂 Am happy you read the entire post really happy 🙂
My God bestie !! how small you look against that Enormous vehicle !and the pics .. the blue light trapped inside ice is .Breathtaking! And then as always I love your info .. simple pointed and crisp. Icelanders don’t have surnames – Wow !
Enjoyed it thoroughly dearie 🙂
Iceland since long, has been my dream destination and your post made my longing even more stronger!
woooooooooooooooooow
Wow.. beautiful descriptions with the photographs. Many details I was not aware of. I like the idea of the single name. So much hassle here.