Cel mai frumos loc din lume – Islanda

 

Islanda e cel mai frumos loc in care am fost vreodata. Nu am fost peste tot, dar este, cu siguranta, cel mai frumos de pana acum.

E locul in care am avut parte de patru anotimpuri intr-o singura zi, si e tara in care am intalnit cele mai multe paradoxuri. E locul in care m-am simtit acasa, dar in acelasi timp, atat de vulnerabila. Este, de asemenea, locul in care prietenul meu m-a cerut in casatorie sub cerul luminat de aurora boreala, si e locul ale caror coordonate geografice ni le-am tatuat amandoi, ca sa marcam incarcatura sentimentala a momentului si spatiului respectiv.

Cam atat de mult inseamna Islanda pentru mine.

 

EN: Iceland is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s for sure the best so far.

It’s the place where we experienced all four seasons in one day, and it’s the country where we found the most paradoxes. It’s the place where I felt like home, but in the same time, I felt so vulnerable. It’s also the place where my boyfriend proposed to me under the aurora borealis skies, and it’s the place whose geographical coordinates became later our couple tattoo, to mark the beauty of that very moment and location.

This is pretty much what Iceland means to me.

 

 

Tot ce am facut acolo si toate ideile (sau sfaturile) pe care imi doresc sa vi le impartasesc nu incap intr-un singur articol. Asa ca o sa scriu mai multe, despre baile termale sau despre aurora boreala (da, e atat de minunata pe cum se zice, si merita orice efort). Dar, pentru moment, o sa impartesesc cateva impresii personale si o sa detaliez si initerariul nostru, pe zile.

 

EN: I can’t sum up everything that we did there, nor all the ideas that I would like to share with you, and write only one article. That’s why I will write some more posts about the thermal baths, as well as about the aurora borealis (yes, it’s as wonderful as you’ve heard, and it’s worth every effort). But for now I will share my personal thoughts about Iceland and I will also write down a detailed itinerary of our trip.

 

 

Ininerariul nostru pentru 8 zile:

 

ZIUA 1

• am plecat din Timisoara spre Budapesta cu masina, (am parcat in parcarea aeroportului – 30 de euro pentru o saptamana), de unde am zburat spre Reykjavik cu Wizzair (teoretic 5 ore, care s-au transformat in 7 din cauza vremii nefavorabile si necesitatii de a face o escala in Norvegia; zbor care a costat cam 300 de euro dus-intors pentru doua persoane, cu un singur bagaj mare la cala)
• am ajuns la aeroportul Keflavik, de unde am luat autobuzul spre centrul capitalei – Reykjavik
• ne-am cazat la Loki 101 Guesthouse, foarte central si dragut (a costat 110 euro pentru o noapte, iar baia era comuna, pe hol.

 

EN: Our 8-day itinerary:

 

DAY 1

• we left Timisoara, Romania and we drove to Budapest (where we parked in the airport parking – 30 euros for a week), from where we flew directly to Reykjavik with Wizzair (it should have taken 5 hours, but it was eventually a 7-hour flight, because of the bad weather conditions which led to the need to stop in Norway; the flight cost around 300 euros for two persons, with only one large luggage)
• we arrived at the Keflavik airport, where we took the bus to the center of Reykjavik
• we spent the night at the Loki 101 Guesthouse, which was very close to the city center and super pretty.

 

 

ZIUA 2

• am participat la un tur cu ghid, care a durat doua ore si a fost gratuit (pe baza de donatii), cu echipa City Walk, dar nu inainte de a vizita biserica Hallgrímskirkja si Harpa (pentru ca cei de la tur ne-au spus ca nu vom avea timp sa intram in acestea doua pe durata vizitei prin Reykjavik organizate de ei)
• am inchiriat un camper van de la Campeasy (care a fost rezervat si platit in prealabil – ceea ce va recomand); am ales varianta cu un camper van din doua motive: pentru ca am dorit sa fim independenti si sa vedem exact ceea ce ne doream, fara sa depindem de excursii organizate, si pentru ca am vrut sa economisim bani pentru cazare (pentru ca in acest camper van am si dormit 6 nopti); ceea ce tin neaparat sa va recomand este asigurarea masinii impotriva daunelor produse de pietris (gravel insurance) – pentru ca Islanda nu are autostrazi, si, mai mult decat atat, multe dintre drumuri sunt din pietris, ceea ce face traversarea lor cam riscanta fara aceasta asigurare
• am vizitat lacul craterul vulcanic Kerid, unde se plateste la fata locului o suma mica (nu tin minte exact pretul)
• am vizitat geyserul Strokkur, si alte cateva geysere mai mici din apropiere (vizitarea este gratuita)
• am vizitat cascada Bruarfoss (aici o sa va las un link spre un blog in care sunt date directii exacte pentru gasirea ei)
• am innoptat undeva pe o campie, habar nu am locul exact; in Islanda, camparea a devenit ilegala in urma cu cativa ani, dar pentru ca iarna multe camping-uri sunt inchise, poti innopta pe locul camping-urilor existente

 

EN: DAY 2

• we took a free 2-hour guided tour (donations recommended), with the City Walk team, but not before visiting the Hallgrímskirkja church and the Harpa music hall (because the guys from the tour told us there won’t be enough time to visit them while sightseeing the city)
• we rented a camper van from Campeasy (booked and paid in advance – which I recommend); we chose the camper van option because of two reasons: we wanted to be independent and to see exactly what we wanted, not relying on the organized day-trips, and because we wanted to save money (we also slept in the camper van for 6 nights); what I would like to advise you on is making a gravel insurance for the car – as Iceland doesn’t have highways and a lot of roads are made of gravel, it could be risky to drive without this insurance
• we visited the volcanic crater lake at Kerid, where you can pay a small fee as soon as you get there
• we visited the Strokkur geyser and some other small geysers nearby (free of charge)
• we visited the Bruarfoss waterfall (this article helped me find this hidden treasure)
• we spent the night somewhere on an empty field, but I really don’t remember the place; Iceland banned free camping a couple of years ago, but being given the fact that most of the campings are closed during winter, you can camp on their area for free
  

 

 

ZIUA 3

• am vizitat  trei cascade: Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss si Skaftafellsfoss (toate superbe si cu vizitare gratuita)
• ne-am relaxat la baia termala Laugarvatn Fontana (unde o intrare costa cam 10 euro)
• am campat la camping-ul de la Skogafoss, care era inchis teoretic, dar toaletele curate si functionale
• aici am vazut pentru prima oara aurora boreala, si am stat treji pana pe la 4 dimineata, urmand sa ne trezim din doua in doua ore ulterior, ca sa vedem cum se mai schimba imaginea cerului 🙂

 

DAY 3

• we visited 3 waterfalls: Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Skaftafellsfoss (all of them amazing and free of charge)
• we chilled out at the Laugarvatn Fontana thermal pool  (where the entrance fee is around 10 euros)
• we spent the night at the Skogafoss camping, which was closed but the toilets were in fact clean and functional
• this is the place where we saw the aurora borealis for the first time, we stayed awake until 4am, and we woke up every two hours to check out the sky again 🙂

 

 

ZIUA 4

• am mers la canionul Fjadrargljufur, un loc minunat, care (cel putin iarna) e gratuit de vizitat, si pana la care se poate ajunge cu masina; dar noi am mers pe jos vreo 2 ore, pentru ca drumul era deja blocat din cauza zapezii
• am vizitat orasul Vik
• am vizitat plaja cu nisip negru la Reynisfjara
• am vizitat ghetarul Vatnahokull (doar l-am privit si am atins cateva bucati mici de gheata – excursiile organizate incep de la 150 de euro pentru cateva ore)
• am innoptat in parcarea de la baza ghetarului, pentru ca se anunta furtuna

 

EN: DAY 4

• we went to the Fjadrargljufur canyon, a breathtaking place which is free of charge (at least during the winter), and which can be reached by car; but we walked around 2 hours to reach it, as the road was already covered in snow
• we visited the city of Vik
• we visited the black sand beach at Reynisfjara
• we visited the Vatnahokull glacier (we just gazed at it and touched some small pieces of ice – organized tours costs are no less than 150 euros for a couple of hours)
• we spent the night in the glacier’s parking lot, as the storm was about to come

 

ZIUA 5

• furtuna de care va spuneam era, de fapt, cea mai puternica furtuna din acea iarna, in care a nins cel mai mult din ultimii 65 de ani; fapt pentru care drumurile au fost blocate si a fost interzis sa plecam din acea parcare pentru aproape o zi intreaga; erau acolo, totusi, angajatii centrului turistic, care ne-au proiectat filme si ne-au tinut la curent in legatura cu starea vremii, si multi alti turisti care asteptau si ei, deci nu ne-am plictisit prea tare
• spre seara, furtuna s-a ameliorat si am putut sa plecam (planul era sa facem inconjorul insulei, dar din cauza vremii am fost nevoiti sa ne intoarcem spre Reykjavik)
• am facut o baie la Selfoss Swimming Pool
• am campat in parcarea de la craterul Kerid, unde am mai vazut aurora boreala inca o data

 

EN: DAY 5

• the storm I was telling you about was in fact the strongest storm of this winter, and it snowed the most of the last 65 years; the roads had been, thus, closed and it was forbidden to leave that parking lot for almost a day; the employees of the touristic center were helpful enough to play us some movies and keep us up to date regarding the weather, as well as plenty of other tourists that were waiting, so it wasn’t that boring
• we were finally allowed to leave, so we started driving back to Reykjavik (our plan was to drive around the whole island, but because of the storm we had to go back)
• we bathed at the Selfoss Swimming Pool
• we spent the night at the Kerid crater’s parking lot, where we saw the northern lights for the second time

 

ZIUA 6

• am baut o cafea, respectiv un ceai la barul hostelului Kex (care inseamna biscuit in islandeza) – un loc care merita vazut
• am mancat mai multi hot-dogi din carne de miel la Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur
• am mancat o ciorba de miel la Cafe Babalu
• am fost la festivalul anual de bere islandeza, care a avut loc la hostelul Kex
• am ascultat niste trupe de muzica islandeza live, tot la hostelul Kex

 

EN: DAY 6

• we drank a coffee and a tea at the Kex hostel’s caffeteria (kex means biscuit in icelandic) – nice place to try out
• we ate several lamb meat hot-dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur
• we ate a lamb soup at Cafe Babalu
• we went to the annual Icelandic beer festival, which took place at the Kex hostel
• we attended a live concert of some local bands at the Kex hostel

 

 

ZIUA 7

• pentru ca vremea s-a mai imbunatatit, am pornit spre Grundarfjordur, un fiord din nordul orasului Raykjavik
• am vizitat muntele Kirkjufell si cascada Kirkjufellsfoss
• am vizitat si am mancat o prajitura de casa in Arnastapi
• am vizitat Olafsvik
• seara am pornit spre Blue Lagoon si am campat intr-o parcare din apropierea acesteia

 

EN: DAY 7

• because the weather got better, we headed to Grundarfjordur, a fjord in the north of Reykjavik
• we visited the Kirkjufell mountain and Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall
• we visited and we ate a cake in Arnastapi
• we visited Olafsvik
• we drove towards the Blue Lagoon and we spent the night in a parking lot neaby

 

 

ZIUA 8

• dis-de-dimineata am pornit spre Blue Lagoon (unde am rezervat si platit in prealabil inainte cu o luna, si am gasit locuri libere doar pentru ultima zi a sejurului – ceea ce ma face sa va recomand sa rezervati cu foarte mult timp inainte!)
• am predat camper van-ul si am pornit spre aeroport

 

EN: DAY 8

• very early morning we went to the Blue Lagoon (we booked and paid it almost a month in advance, the last day of our trip being the only option available – which makes recommend you booking several months in advance!) 
• we gave the camper van back and we headed to the airport

 

 

Stiu ca nu face parte din itinerariu si nici nu e vreun sfat, dar, in aeroport fiind, cand asteptam sa decolam, am inceput sa plang; de suparare ca acest loc de basm urma sa ramana doar o amintire, de fericire ca am avut ocazia asta minunata sa mergem acolo, dar si de emotie, si pentru ca pur si simplu au fost atatea locuri deosebite si diferite pe care le-am vazut intr-un timp atat de scurt incat, nu am stiut cum sa reactionez altfel.

Si acum, tot ce pot sa va sfatuiesc este sa mergeti in Islanda!

 

EN: I know this is not a part of the itinerary, nor an advice, but while we were at the airport waintng to take off, I started crying; out of saddness because this fairytale place was goind to become only a memory, out of happiness because we had this amazing opportunity to go there, but also out of a sum of feelings and emotions, because we saw so many beautiful places during such a short period of time, that I just could’t help myself.

The only thing I could advise you to do is to visit Iceland!