Saturday

This is the way to a hot spring. Point of no return. In the summer it's crowded with tourists. When it's almost -20° you have to be brave to run down that pathway, take all your clothes off in the open air "changing room" and jump in. The water is lovely 37-40°C. You wear a bathing suit and a warm hat. The steam freezes in your hair and it almost makes it hard to blink because your eyelids start to stick together.
Did you forget to put your clothes and your towel in a plastic bag when you stood there half naked before jumping in? Then you now have icicle clothing and have to run all the way back to the cabin in your swimsuit (not recommended). Getting out of the water is hell and if you take too long and try to dry yourself you will end up with a body armor of ice. Best thing is to have a Helly-Hansen suit ready so you can be dressed in 5 seconds. Lying in the hot spring in the night watching the Northern lights and the stars is quiet amazing.
It's also popular to rent a cabin in Iceland and they usually all come with a hot tub on the veranda with a northern light view.

Monday

One of my favourite locations in the West fjords of Iceland. You drive north until the last 90km of gravel roads literally come to an end. There they have the harshest weather that made most people leave and time stand still. The trip takes a whole day (if you travel with children) and make it difficult to bring in new furniture and appliances. We went there in June and had 2°C and scattered piles of snow. The swimming pool that uses natural hot water from a spring keeps a lovely temperature of 39-40°C though. If you need to cool down you can go for a swim in the ocean or jump into the hot tub which was only 35°C. I have posted pictures before. Check them out here and here.

Tuesday

This old chestnut tree still has a birdhouse I made at school. Check it out on Flickr.

Sunday

Thursday

I'm going to Sweden. You can't say that anymore without thinking of this commercial. I promise I won't watch soccer though.

Friday

Every summer we go on vacation to the end of the world. It's a 5 hour drive, until the road comes to an end on the beaches in the far west corner of Iceland, also called the Westfjords. My boyfriends grandparents left their house in 1971, the last part of the road being impassible from mid September until June because of snow. During that time they had to to walk to the store across the mountain. Going there is like travelling back in time. Because it's so inaccessible nothing has changed in the houses that are now used as summer houses. There are also a bunch of abandoned houses in a spooky herring factory. A whole village actually where people just walked out and took off with the herring in the midst of the last century. It's a lovely spot the few weeks you can stay there. There is no telephone, no mobile network, no Internet access. The electricity and water comes from the river and the lights are fluctuating as the voltage go up and down. They have the most amazing swimming pool with natural hot water at the beach. It has a box where you put the admission that pays for maintenance and the cleaning lady and it's open 24 hours. Landscape is breathtaking. It's the least populated part of Iceland and the farmers on the other side of the mountain are still trapped in the winter because of those steep roads clinging to the mountains that surrounds the many fjords and supplies are flown in with small planes only if the weather permits.

Wednesday

I'm still in holiday mode. Thought I'd just share pictures from this old farmhouse on the beach. There are a lot of old abandoned houses in Iceland but this is now used as a summerhouse. You had to drive along the beach to get out there.

Saturday

Saturday

Monday