冰島 Iceland

在瀑布中追逐彩虹

旅程重點 Highlights

- 一個接一個的瀑布, 沒有最美, 只有更美

- 無盡的冰川

- 藍色的溫泉

- 渺無人煙的大自然風光和隨時出現的彩虹

- 玄武石柱

- 追逐北極光

- 各種特式肉食, 包括馬, 鯨魚, 海鸚, 鯊魚

- One waterfall after another, there is no "most beautiful", only "more beautiful"

- Endless glaciers

- Blue lagoon

- Landscapes and rainbows

- Basalt rock columns

- Chasing for northern light

- Various special meats, including horses, deer, whales, puffins, sharks

Tips: Most tourists visit the south west because its easily accessible from the capital Reykjavik, however the best natural sceneries are in the north east so any itinerary should not miss that.

行程路線 Itinerary & 基本資料 Basic Info

進入 Flying into and 離開 Departing from: Reykjavik

[景奇的行程 = 不走回頭路 / King Kei's itinerary = No back and forth]

(We did a round Iceland road trip, so we were always on the move, below shows where we stay at each night)

(1) Akureyri [1 Night]

(2) Egilsstaðir [1 Night]

(3) Höfn [1 Night]

(4) Vik [1 Night]

(5) Reykjavik [2 Nights]

Tips: The above fits a round Ice-land road-trip into a one-week schedule, demonstration of an efficient itinerary. It had to do with budget airline WOW-air only offered flights on certain days of the week. While most of the days in the itinerary were still very chill, I do recommend an extra day or two for those who don't need to worry about air ticket price and vacation days.

• 衣: 作為這麼北又滿佈冰川的國家, 冰島的氣溫一點也不冷, 夏天達20度, 春秋也在10至20度之間, 冬天也就0度左右。特點是天氣轉得很快, 忽晴忽雨, 而且寒風刺骨, 所以建議最外面的一層穿薄薄的防水風褸, 另備不同厚薄的外衣增減。 Wear: Despite the latitude and that it was covered by glaciers, Iceland has a surprisingly mild climate. The average temperature in winter is around 0°C and the temperature in summer rarely exceeds 20°C, fall and spring are around 10°C to 20°C. The wind chill makes it feel a lot colder, and the weather change rapidly during the day. Therefore it is recommended to dress in layers, and most importantly with a thin waterproof layer outside.

• 食: 除了三數個最著名的景點外, 其他景點附近是沒有任何餐廳(或廁所)的, 所以必須自備午餐! 晚飯在城鎮有很多餐廳選擇, 偏向歐式, 有很多種不同的魚和肉類, 也可以選擇去買菜自己做飯! 魚乾和乳酪是這裏的招牌食物。 Eat: Except for a few of the most famous attractions, there are no restaurants (or toilets) near other attractions, so you must prepare your own lunch! Larger towns usually have a few good restaurants to choose from, mostly in European style. There are many different kinds of fishes and meats. You can also choose to get grocery and cook for yourself! Harðfiskur (Dried fish) and Skyr (Yougurt-like) are the signature Icelandic foods.

• 住: 幾個大城市都有不少酒店, 有便宜有貴, 城市與城市之間基本上渺無人煙, 所以必須好好計劃行程, 在晚上趕到下一個城市。 Stay: There are many hotels in several bigger cities, some cheap and some expensive. The nature between the cities are basically uninhabited, so you must plan your itinerary accordingly and get to the next city for the night. Tips: Some accommodation can be really expensive and some can be really bad, my recommendations are to find the newly built/ renovated ones, a few of those that we experienced were unbelievably good yet cheaper than many other options.

• 行: 必須自駕環島! 這裏沒有公共交通工具, 另外的選擇只有巴士團, 但很多巴士團都是首都出發所以你會不斷來回同一段路, 而且每到一個景點都要和其他團友擠半天, 既浪費時間又錯過了東北兩邊那些又漂亮人又不多的景點。有朋友參加巴士團, 只比我少花一天卻少去了大半的景點。如果你沒有駕照可以先考一個才來(或交個有駕照的男朋友/女朋友lol), 反正這裏一條直路, 開車十分容易! Transportation: Self drive round island road trip is a must! There is no public transportation here, and the only other option is bus tour. However, many bus groups depart from and return to the capital, so you will keep going back and forth the same route, and every time you arrive at a scenic spot, you will have to fight with other members of the same bus for photos, which is a waste of time. You will also miss those beautiful scenic spots on both northern and eastern sides with less tourists. A friend took the bus tours, and end up only spent a day less than me but went to half of the attractions went went only. If you don't have a driver's license, get one before you come (or bring a boy friend/ girl friend with one lol), driving is very easy here anyways with just one road and minimal traffic! Tips: Rent a car at the airport is your most efficient way, by far, to travel Iceland and there is essentially no alternative. They provide different insurance options, we took the insurance on windshield, but actually the road condition was much better than we thought.

Day 1 Reykjavik - 駕長車踏破草帽山缺 - 鯨魚肉/馬肉 - Akureyri

我們乘坐的通宵飛機 在早上四時到達冰島首都Reykjavik, 在機場的餐廳吃過早餐後, 我們便到機場的租車公司租了車。 當時時間尚早, 首都的景點和店舖都還未開, 所以我們把全個旅程當中最長的車程安排在這天, 以善用時間。冰島西北的景點比較少, 唯一就是草帽山, 所以這天我們會由西南邊的首都駕駛長途車到北方最大城市Akureyri, 想起岳飛的名句"駕長車踏破賀蘭山缺", 而這次我們路過的不是賀蘭山而是草帽山。

Our overnight flight arrived at Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, at 4am in the morning. After breakfast at the airport, we picked up the car from the car rental company at the airport. Since nothing has opened yet around the capital, so we scheduled the longest drive in the trip on this day, to efficiently utilize time. There were very few attractions in the northwest of Iceland, so we would drive a long-distance from the capital in the southwest to Akureyri, the largest city in the north, and would visit Kirkjufell on our way.

草帽山是冰島西北部最著名的旅遊景點, 它是一座 463 m 高的山峰, 位於 Snæfellsnes 半島, 靠近 Grundarfjörður。它之所以出名, 是因為它是《權力的遊戲》第 6 季和第 7 季的拍攝地點! 在劇內以“箭頭山"為名, 獵犬和野人抓到了一個異鬼時便曾指著這山。它是冰島最多人拍攝的山，所以你絕不能錯過它！

Kirkjufell is the most well known tourist spot on the northwestern part of Iceland. It is a 463 m high mountain on the Snæfellsnes peninsula close to Grundarfjörður. It become famous because it was one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones season 6 and 7, featuring as the "arrowhead mountain" where the Hound and the company north of the Wall captured a white walker. It is the most photographed mountain in Iceland so you cannot miss it!

草帽山上有火山岩, 但它不是火山。它曾經是冰原島峰, 就是被冰川環繞而沒被冰覆蓋的山頂, 在冰河時代屹立於四周的冰川之上。 更早之前是該地區地殼的一部分, 該地層由更新世熔岩和砂岩層交替而成, 頂部有凝灰岩。有趣的是, 當我們駛近時, 只看到一座平頂大山, 並沒有看到任何像草帽的山峰, 差點以為去錯了地方! 原來草帽山只有正面像草帽, 怪不得有句話叫"橫看成嶺側成峰", 草帽山就是最好的例子!

Kirkjufell contains volcanic rock, but is not a volcano. It is a former nunatak, a mountain that protruded above the glaciers surrounding it during the Ice Age, and before that was part of what was once the area's strata. This strata is composed of alternating layers of Pleistocene lava and sandstone, with tuff at its summit. Interesting enough is that when we approached, we only saw a large flat-topped mountain, and did not see any peaks like "arrow head" at all. We almost thought we were in the wrong place! It turned out that only the front of Kirkjufell look like arrow head but the side does not!

離開草帽山後, 雖然當時才11時許, 但因為離開了Snæfellsnes半島後有好長的一段路都不會有別的城市, 所以我們在Stykkishólmur 先吃了飯才繼續上路。Stykkishólmur 是Snæfellsnes 半島北部的一個小鎮, 亦是半島裏的服務和商業中心。該鎮主要以漁業和旅遊業為支柱, 始於一個天然港口, 早在16世紀中葉就成為重要的貿易中心, 在歷史上, 貿易一直是城鎮的重心。

After leaving Kirkjufell, although it was only 11ish am in the morning, there was no other city within a very long drive after leaving the Snæfellsnes peninsula, so we detoured to Stykkishólmur for lunch before continuing on journey. Stykkishólmur is a town the northern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. It is a center of services and commerce for the area. The town is supported mainly by fishing and tourism. It had started with a natural harbor, which became an important trading post early back in mid-16th century. From that time trading has been at the heart of its history.

我們找到一間小餐館, 名字叫 Narfeyrarstofa。 餐廳位於鎮中心一座名為 Narfeyarhús 的古老房子裏, 建於1900年代初期。在1999年, Narfeyrarstofa 咖啡館在屋內開業, 2001年業主

Steinunn Helgadóttir 和廚師 Sæþór H. Þorbergsson 買下了它, 並將它變成了一家高級餐廳。菜單上主要是海鮮, 例如魚湯, 帶子, 鱈魚, 鮟鱇魚和龍蝦等。餐廳面對Stykkishólm港口, 景色怡人, 室內的裝修是家庭式, 舒適而溫馨。食材來自當地漁民和農民, 因此每天的菜單都是依照當時的漁穫而定, 如海帶, 青口, 羊或魚。這天我們點了炸魚和青口, 炸魚脆而味濃, 具冰島特色, 青口則十分肥美。

We found a small restaurant called Narfeyrarstofa, which was located in a very old house named Narfeyarhús in the heart of the town, and was built in early 1900s. In 1999 the coffee shop Narfeyrarstofa opened in the house, in 2001 the owner

Steinunn Helgadóttir and the chef Sæþór H. Þorbergsson bought it and turned it into an elegant gourmet restaurant. The menu was filled with seafood dishes like fish soup, scallops, cod, monkfish and lobster etc. The atmosphere was warm and and cozy and the view of Stykkishólm’s harbour was great. The ingredients were from local fishermen and farmers, so the range of courses on the menu was based on the ideology of local food, like kelp, mussels, lamb or fish. We ordered fried fish and mussels, the fried fish was crispy with heavy taste and mussels were fat.

午飯後我們向東北進發, 那是一段很長很長的車程, 冰島的西北比較荒蕪, 當中有超過一小時的路上完全沒有見到任何人, 車子的油燈也亮了, 幸好在燃油耗盡前趕到了油站加油。路上除了草, 看到最多的就是彩虹。

After lunch, we headed to the northeast. It was a very long drive. The northwest of Iceland was relatively uninhabited. For more than an hour, we did not see anyone on the road, nor any building. At one point the car's gas light was on, fortunately, we arrived at a gas station before the fuel ran out. Other than grasses, the one thing we saw most on the road was rainbows.

Tips: Compare to other long road trips in Europe/ North America, the number of gas stations in Iceland (Northwest in particular) are relatively rare, for the rest of the trip basically I added gas as soon as it went under half.

經過350公里的駕駛後, 終於到達了Akureyri, 一天下來總共開了600公里車, 1,500公里的環島遊已經走了40%。

After driving for 350 km, we finally arrived at Akureyri. For the day, we drove a total of 600 km, and completed 40% of the 1,500 km round-the-island trip in the first day.

Tips: The northwest offer the least tourist attractions, we decided to go clockwise mainly because our flight arrived at 4am, so driving was the best thing to do when nothing was opened yet, and we wanted to save the easy days later in the itinerary. However, if you have flights with regular hours, you can also go anti-clockwise instead, so that the northwest is your last stop, and you can stop here for a night to chase for Northern Light.

Akureyri是冰島第四大城市，但基本上是人口聚集的西南角以外最大的城鎮(前三名的 Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður 和 Kópavogur基本上是同一個區)。Akureyri是重要的港口和漁區,有“(冰島)北方之都”的美譽。這地區在九世紀已有人定居, 二戰期間, 盟軍部隊便駐紮在這兒。由於氣候相對溫和, 這裏的海港不會結冰, 對城鎮的發展很有幫助。

Akureyri is Iceland's fourth-largest municipality, but basically the largest town outside Iceland's most populated southwest corner (The top 3 Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, and Kópavogur are right next to each other). Akureyri is an important port and fishing area, and has the nickname of "Capital of the North (Iceland)". The area was settled in the 9th century. During World War II, allied units were based in the town. Thanks to the relatively mild climate, Akureyri has a ice-free harbour, which played a significant role in its development.

市中心有幾家餐廳, 我們經過了其中的幾家, 最後挑選了一家環境很不錯的餐廳, 名叫 Bautinn。它所在的小屋是Akureyri最古老, 最具歷史意義的建築之一, 建於1902年, 餐廳在1971年開張。菜單上有兩道獨特的主菜：一種是鯨肉, 一種是馬肉, 我們各點了一碟分享。鯨魚的口感其實很像牛排, 畢竟它是哺乳動物而不是魚, 除了近親河馬外, 再遠一點的親戚便是牛和鹿了。馬的口感也像牛排, 但對我來說它比牛排更嫩, 所以有點像雞腿。右邊的照片中, 哪個像鯨魚, 哪個像馬?

The downtown area had a few restaurants, we checked out a few of those and picked one that offered a very nice environment, named Bautinn. Bauutinn was located in one of the oldest and most historical building in Akureyri, built in 1902, it was in operation since 1971. Two main courses stood out in the menu: one was whale meat and one was horse meat, both were unique to me, so we ordered one each to share. The whale actually tasted really like steak, after all they were mammals rather than fish and was closely related to hippopotamus. Horse also tasted like steak, but to me its more tender than beef steak, so it was a little bit like chicken leg. Among the two photos on the right, can you distinguish which one is whale and which one is horse?

這晚我們住的酒店很像電影裏看見的古老大宅。Akureyri酒店(Skjaldborg)是Akureyri最高尚的建築之一, 它於1924年由鎮上一個致力於保持社會健康的團體建造。該建築後來被改造成印刷廠, 印刷和出版過一些冰島最重要的文學作品, 現在變成了酒店。我們住在閣樓的小房間, 房頂又高又斜, 時值秋天, 窗外一片橙黃, 風景漂亮。

The hotel we stayed for the night looked really like those old mansions usually appeared in movie. Hotel Akureyri (Skjaldborg) is one of Akureyri’s most dignified buildings. It was built in 1924 by a social group devoted to sobriety. The building was later transformed into a printing factory and was responsible for printing and publishing some of Iceland’s most important literature, now it become a hotel. We lived in a small room in the attic. The roof was high and steep. It was the fall time, so the trees outside the windows were in orange-ish yellow, the view was so beautiful.

Day 2 Akureyri - 眾神瀑布 - 黑暗城堡 - 火山口與蒸氣噴泉 - 黛提瀑布- Egilsstaðir

Akureyri主要是遊客遊覽各個自然景觀的樞紐,而自身不是個旅遊景點。然而, 這小鎮風光如畫, 坐落在景色秀麗的峽灣旁, 有著不拘一格的建築風格和穿過峽谷的蜿蜒街道。早上我們在鎮中心閒逛, 參觀了一座冰島風格的Akureyrarkirkja教堂, 寧靜的市政植物園 Lystigarðurinn和當地的高中。有學生正趕往上課, 這一刻我想, 若我在這里長大, 不知生活又會如何?

Akureyri is primarily a local hub for tourists to start excursions to splendid scenery, rather than a tourist destination itself. However it is a very picturesque town with its location by a scenic fjord, eclectic building styles and streets winding their way through gorges. In the morning we walked around the town centre, visited the Akureyrarkirkja, a church in Iceland-style, the tranquil municipal botanical garden, Lystigarðurinn, and the local highschool. Some students were going to class, I wonder how would the lifestyle be like if I were to grow up here?

這天的第一個景點是眾神瀑布(Goðafoss)。瀑布位於Skjálfandafljót河上, 寬約30米, 高約12米。傳說當地居民於公元1000年在法律講者Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði帶領下信奉基督教後, 把之前膜拜的神像通通丟入瀑布中, 以表示對宗教信仰表示虔誠, 而眾神瀑布也因此得名, 這傳說被紀錄在Akureyrarkirkja教堂的一個窗上。

Our first attractions of the day was the Goðafoss. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12m over a width of 30m. The river rises in the Icelandic highlands and runs through the Bárðardalur valley. The name means "waterfall of the goð (pagan idols)" or "waterfall of the goði (chieftain)" in Icelandic. A myth was published in Denmark according to which the waterfall was named: The lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland in 1000AD, so he led the villagers to throw statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall. A window in Akureyrarkirkja illustrated this story.

下車之後, 遠遠已看見瀑布, 前方有兩條路徑, 大路通往瀑布上游, 小路通往瀑布下游, 只需步行一小會, 便來到瀑布側面。眾神瀑布是在冰島眾多瀑布之中我個人最喜歡的, 水的顏色白中帶藍, 石頭的顏色棕中帶綠, 配合起來就是一副美麗的圖畫。比它更大的瀑布有不少, 但每一個都擠滿遊客, 滿眼欄杆, 告示, 遊船等等, 而這瀑布卻完全沒被人為破壞, 保留著大自然的壯麗景色。

After getting off the car, we already saw the waterfall from distance. There were two paths ahead: the main trail led to the upper reaches of the waterfall, and the small road led to the lower reaches of the waterfall. It only took a short hike to reach the side of the waterfall. Goðafoss was my favorite among the many waterfalls in Iceland. The color of the water was white yet with blue, and the color of the stones was brown yet with green. Together they formed a beautiful picture. There were many waterfalls larger than this in the world, but all of them were full of tourists, with railings, signs, boats etc., this waterfall had not been ruined by humans addition at all, retaining the magnificent scenery of nature.

離開這個瀑布之後, 差不多便是午餐時間, 但附近基本上是沒有城鎮或餐廳, 幸好我們早有準備,帶了三文治, 所以在車上輕鬆解決了午餐。

After leaving this waterfall, it was almost lunch time, but there were basically no towns or restaurants nearby. Fortunately, we brought sandwiches, so lunch was easily settled in the car.

Tips: On the north and east side of the island, you will often find yourself at an attraction where there are no restaurants within an hour or two of drive. Pack lunch is the solution, you can find everything you need from the grocery stores. Some would just grab an extra sandwich in the hotel during breakfast, but most hotels do not allow that, so you better do it in a smart way. During one of the mornings, a pair of white couples probably didn't realize packing sandwiches to go was not allowed and made it very obvious, and got stopped by the owner and had to leave their packed sandwiches.

吃過午餐後, 我們馬上便到達了下一個景點 Dimmuborgir. Dimmuborgir是黑暗城堡的意思, 它是一大片奇形怪狀的熔岩, 它由各種火山洞穴和岩層組成, 就似倒塌了的古老城堡。大約2300 年前，一個熔岩湖從 Þrengslaborgir 和 Lúdentsborgir火山一次大噴發中流向這邊, 然後匯集在一個小湖上。當熔岩流過潮濕的草皮時, 沼澤的水開始沸騰, 蒸汽通過熔岩上升形成不同大小的熔岩柱。隨著熔岩繼續流向Mývatn地區的低地, 最上一層的地殼坍塌, 但凝固了而中空的熔岩柱子仍然屹立。最特別的是有些圍繞蒸汽氣泡形成的大型中空柱有著石室的結構, 還有一些熔岩柱則是形狀特別。有些石室和柱子底部都大到足以居住, 因此有了“黑暗”(dimmu)和“城堡”(borgir)這名字。他們在這裏開闢了一條蜿蜒小徑讓遊客參觀, 因此不用怕會迷路, 走完一程也要大半個小時。

After lunch, we headed to the next attraction Dimmuborgir. Dimmuborgir means "dark-castles", it is a large area of unusually shaped lava fields. It is composed of various volcanic caves and rock formations, reminiscent of an ancient collapsed citadel. The structures are very specials. About 2300 years ago, a lava lake flew in from a large eruption in the Þrengslaborgir and Lúdentsborgir crater, then pooled over a small lake. As the lava flowed across the wet sod, the water of the marsh started to boil, the vapour rising through the lava forming lava pillars of different size. As the lava continued flowing towards lower ground in the Mývatn area, the top crust collapsed, but the hollow pillars of solidified lava remained. The area is characterized by large hollow chamber-like structures formed around bubbles of vapour, and some dramatically standing lava pillars. Several of the chambers and pillar bases are large enough to house humans, giving rise to its name of "dark" (dimmu) "castles" (borgir). They opened a walking path here for tourists, so we didn't have to worry about getting lost, it took more than half an hour to complete the trail.

離開Dimmuborgir, 我們沿著Mývatn湖回到大路上, 遠遠便看到幾公里外一處升起一陣陣煙霧, 便知道馬上要到了下一個景點: Námaskarð 。我們聞到一陣臭雞蛋味, 就像有人不斷放臭屁, 然後很快就到達了一片色彩繽紛的地方, 這裏有蒸汽噴口, 熱泥漿池和噴氣孔。Námaskarð 是位於 Namafjall山腳下的熱硫泥泉和蒸汽噴泉的地熱奇觀, 屬於Krafla火山的裂隙帶。1975年至1984年之間, Krafla火山的噴發在使該地區覆蓋了新鮮的熔岩流, 類似的火山活動目前仍然可以在相對較淺的小噴泉中看到。在地底1000米深處, 溫度在 200°C 以上, 地下水被加熱至沸騰, 熱水和蒸汽便會從間歇泉表面噴出, 噴出的氣體含有二氧化硫, 會產生那臭屁般的氣味。看著火山口一直噴出白煙, 我一直想, 若下一秒火山爆發, 我能像災難片那樣拉著漂亮的女主角衝上車, 一邊開車一邊看著倒後鏡中溶岩直卷車尾, 最後在千鈞一髮之間逃出生天, 然後在山崩地裂的背景中和女主角來個世紀接吻嗎?

Leaving Dimmuborgir, we returned to the main road along Lake Mývatn. From distance, we saw smoke and steam rising a couple of kilometers away, and we knew that we were about to reach the next attraction, Námaskarð. We could breathe the typical rotten eggs smell that smelt like fart. Soon we arrived at this colorful ground with steam vents, hot mud pools and fumaroles. Námaskarð is a geothermal wonder of hot sulfuric mud springs and steam springs at the foot of the Namafjall mountain, that belongs in the Krafla volcano fissure zone. Eruptions of the Krafla volcano from 1975 until 1984 produced fresh lava flows in the area. This volcanic activity can still be observed today in the relatively shallow lake. At the depth of 1000 meters, the temperature is above 200°C, and the water that flows below the ground is quickly heated, the boiling of the water resulted in the geyser effect of hot water and steam spraying out of the geyser's surface vent. The fumarole gas contains sulfur dioxide that causes that farting smell.

我們逛了一圈, 之後開了一小段車, 徒步登上Krafla火山口的邊綠, 火山口直徑約10公里, 裂隙帶長90公里, 山上超大風, 幾乎寸步難行, 相機也舉不起, 頭髮衣服亂飛, 根本沒法入鏡拍照。1977年起, Krafla地區的地熱每年能為一間發電廠提供60兆瓦電力。從火山上看下去, 能看到幾公里外的地熱發電站。

We then made a short drive and hiked up to Krafla, the volcanic caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone. It was so windy on the mountain, to the extent that it was almost impossible to walk straight, or lift the camera. Hair and clothes were flying around, and it was impossible to look normal on camera. Since 1977 the Krafla area has been the source of the geothermal energy used by a 60 MWe power station. From the mountain, we could see the geothermal power station which was just a few km away.

在一條路口轉向北, 開車大約半個小時, 便來到黛提瀑布。這個瀑布是歐洲僅次於萊茵瀑布後第二洶湧的瀑布, 冰水從 Vatnajökull 冰川流出, 沿著 Jökulsá á Fjöllum 河, 通過這個瀑布流入Jökulsárgljúfur峽谷 。豐富的沉積物令水流變成白色。瀑布寬100m, 高44m, 以流量計, 它是冰島第二大瀑布 (僅次於 Urriðafoss)。平均水流量為 193 m³/s, 乘以它的下落距離, 使它贏得“歐洲第二洶湧”的榮譽。

Turning north at an intersection and drove for about half an hour, we arrived at Dettifoss. This waterfalls is the second most powerful waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls. Water flows from the Vatnajökull glacier, along on the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river through this falls into canyon Jökulsárgljúfur. The sediment-rich runoff colours the water in a greyish white.

The falls are 100m wide and 44 m tall. It is the second largest waterfall in Iceland in terms of volume discharge (behind the Urriðafoss). Average water flow of 193 m³/s, times its fall distance, resulted in the superlative of second "most powerful".

Tips: We visited the east end of the waterfalls and saw the fall from the front. If you make a turn one intersection early, the road would lead you to the west end of the waterfall, which allows you to go next to the waterfalls but cannot view it from the front. It will takes you an extra hour to visit both. In any other country, I am sure there will be a bridge connecting both sides of the river, but this is the beauty of Iceland, all nature with no addition.

經過兩小時開車後, 我們到了東部一個小城鎮Egilsstaðir。冰島城市化一直落後於歐洲大陸, 而此鎮的歷史比起其他冰島城市更短。Lagarfljót 橋是附近地區所有主要道路的交匯處旁, 因此在 1947年, 周圍的農村地區合力在橋旁建立此鎮, 把它發展成為鄰近地區的服務樞紐, 並以附近一個農場命名。這裏餐廳本就不多, 而且全部都在七八時便關門, 當時已過七時, 我們只好隨便找了一間意式咖啡店Salt Cafe & Bistro晚飯。和第一天去的餐廳不一樣, 這間餐廳沒有甚麼歷史, 因為整個城鎮也沒幾年歷史。小鎮裏有很多民居改建而成的賓館, 我們選擇了鎮上僅有的正式酒店。

After a two hour drive, we arrived at a small town in the East of Iceland named Egilsstaðir. The town is young, even compared to other Iceland cities where urbanization is a fairly recent trend relative to mainland Europe. The town is near the bridge over Lagarfljót where all the main roads of the region meet, therefore in 1947 the surrounding rural districts made an effort to establish this town to be a regional service center. It was named after a farm near by. There were not many restaurants here, and all of them closed at 7 or 8pm, so we just dropped by an Italian cafe named Salt Cafe & Bistro for dinner. Unlike the restaurants we visited on the first day, this restaurant had no history, because the entire town was not here for very long. There were many guesthouses in town owned by local families, we picked one of the only proper hotels, and probably the biggest one, in town.

Day 3 Egilsstaðir - 濃霧 - 去不了的冰川 - 消失的冰川 - 冰島龍蝦 - Höfn

早上我們離開這個交通要衝, 向南而去, 這天天氣奇差, 滿天灰濛濛一片, 還不時下起微雨, 作為"雨神"的我, 也不知是第幾回在旅行中遇上下雨。途中突然出現濃霧, 即便開了霧燈也是伸手不見五指, 我們把車停在路旁等了一會, 卻毫無起色, 濃霧紋風不動, 依然籠罩著這一片大地, 由於我們下午要在指定時間趕到幾百公里外的冰川步行集合點, 所以不能在這裏乾等, 只能開著霧燈緩緩向前, 由於右邊是懸崖, 一個不留神便會上演飛車墮崖, 所以我們非常小心, 並靠攏路中心, 幸好迎面而來的車也開著燈, 所以雖然甚麼也看不清楚, 但最少能提前看到一團模糊的光影而減速。開了一陣, 經過一個沒有霧的地方, 才發現附近山青水秀, 原來錯過了不少景色。由於在濃霧中開車需要高度專注, 十分費神, 所以我們下車換了司機, 順便拍了個照。

In the morning, we left this small hub of the north east and headed south. The weather was very bad this day, whole sky was full of gray clouds and it rained on and off. As the "Lord of the Rain", this is nothing new for me on a trip. On our way, a thick layer of fog were suddenly all over us, even after switching on the fog lights, we couldn't see anything beyond 3m. We parked the car on the side of the road and waited for a while. There was no improvement, the fog did not seem to have moved. We had to get to the meeting point of glacier walk hundreds of km away, so we couldn't wait there for too long. We got back on the car and drove slowly with fog lights on. Since the right side was a cliff, we would show off a scene of flying car if we didn't drive carefully, so we were extremely cautious and drove closer to the center of the road. Fortunately, the oncoming car was also driving with lights on, so although we couldn't see anything clearly, at least we could see a blur of light and shadow in advance and slowed down. After driving for a while, we passed through a valley which was less foggy, and realized surrounding us were some beautiful mountains and waterfalls, and that we had missed a lot of scenery in the fog. Since driving in the fog required a high degree of concentration, so we got off the car and changed driver, also took this opportunity to take some photos.

Vatnajökull 是歐洲北極以外最大的冰川, 表面積達8,100平方公里, 掩蓋了許多山脈, 山谷, 高原甚至火山! 頂峰在海拔2000m以上, 冰川底部最低點低於海拔300m, 平均厚度400-600m。它儲存了大量的水, 這些水通過冰島的河流流入大海。冰川周圍的景色千變萬化, 北部有許多火山, 巨大的冰川洪水在北部沖開了Jökulsárgljúfur峽谷, 而我們之前參觀過的黛提瀑布 (Dettifoss) 則湧入峽谷的上端。Vatnajökull冰川的南側有許多高聳而雄偉的山脊, 冰川延伸至在山脈之間流至低地。冰川的最南端包圍著中央火山Öræfajökull 和冰島的最高峰 Hvannadalshnjúkur。這裏曾有許多火山活動, 歷史上兩次世界上最大的地裂和熔岩噴發都是在這裏發生, 一次是 934 年在Eldgjá, 另一次是1783年在Lakagígar。

Vatnajökull is Europe's largest glacier outside the arctic, with a surface area of 8,100 sq km, it conceals a number of mountains, valleys, plateaus and even volcanoes! On average its 400–600m thick, the highest point of the icecap is over 2,000m above sea level and the lowest point of the glacier base is 300 m below sea level. It stored a lot of water which flow through the Icelandic rivers to the sea. The scenery encircling the glacier is extremely varied. There are a number of volcanoes in the north. The huge glacial floods carved out the canyon of Jökulsárgljúfur in the northern reaches and the Dettifoss waterfall, which we visited earlier, thunders into the upper end of this canyon. The south side of Vatnajökull is characterised by many high, majestic mountain ridges, with outlet glaciers descending between them onto the lowlands. The southernmost part of the glacier envelops the central volcano Öræfajökull and Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur. There were many volcanic activities recorded, two of the world's greatest fissure and lava eruptions in history occurred here, one in 934 at Eldgjá and one in 1783 at Lakagígar.

有許多冰川延伸自Vatnajökull, 可以從南部進入, 最大的幾個包括Fláajökull, Heinabergsjökull , Hoffellsjökull和Skálafellsjökull。我們預訂了一個冰川步行之旅, 導遊會帶我們穿上釘鞋徒步穿越其中一個灰色冰川舌Fláajökull。不過我們到達時, 當地下著大雨, 能見度基本為零, 導遊仍是帶著我們開車到了冰川的對岸, 我們冒著大雨過了吊橋, 沿著山脈走到冰川邊緣, 但卻沒法深入冰川, 只能在煙雨濛濛的河面上和冰川合照。本人"雨神"的外號正是由此而來。

There were many glacier outlets which flow from the ice cap of Vatnajökull, the biggest ones assessible from the south are Fláajökull, Heinabergsjökull , Hoffellsjökull and Skálafellsjökull. We booked a signature tour that would allow us to hike across the tan outlet glacier tongue of Fláajökull. However, when we arrived, the rain was so heavy and the visibility was basically zero. We still went ahead and went all the way to the shoreline across the glacier, crossed the suspension bridge and continued to walked under heavy rain to the edge of the glacier and took some pictures on the ice, but were not able to go any deeper into the glacier, Since then I was reckoned as the "Lord of the rain".

冰川步行之旅被腰斬後, 我們被提前送回集合的酒店, 那裏有一間雪糕店, 我們決定了吃雪糕洩忿, 冰島以奶類製品聞名, 雪糕果然是又濃又滑。吃過雪糕後, 渾身濕透的我們提早到達酒店, 換過已全濕的衣衫。這時天氣略見好轉, 我們把自己弄乾後, 決定繼續行動。

After the glacier walk was called off, we were sent back early to the meeting point, where there was an ice cream shop in the hotel, we decided to eat ice cream to regain some happiness. Iceland was famous for its dairy products, and the ice cream was really soft and creamy. After eating the ice cream, we, both soaked, returned to the hotel early and changed the clothes that were completely wet and dried ourselves. The rain stopped so we decided to go out again.

我們問了酒店的前台還有沒有別的地方能看到冰川, 沒想到他真的說在距離酒店不遠的地方, 有條小路可以直接去到冰川邊緣, 他幾年前就去過。我有點驚訝, 若是有一條這麼容易到達冰川的路的話, 為甚麼剛才要去這麼遠, 不過我們看到一線希望, 就像溺水的人看到一根稻草一樣, 都會緊緊抓住。我們依照前台的指示, 開車在一號公路上開了不遠便轉上一條小路, 那條小路遠遠就能看到盡頭, 但路上全都是大小不一的碎石, 而且放眼看去, 方圓五公里內沒有人亦沒有車, 我們驚疑不定, 景點怎麼會沒人, 不過都已到了這個地步, 也只能硬著頭皮開過去。由於道路顛簸, 車子只能緩緩前進, 看上去很近的一條路, 結果花了二十分鐘才到盡頭, 我們下車時看到了一個告示牌, 是教人如何在冰面上行走, 我們知道來對了地方。

We asked the front desk of the hotel whether there is any place we can view the glacier, and he told us there was a path leading directly to the edge of the glacier not far from the hotel. He had been there a few years ago and could just get on the glacier. I was a little surprised, if there was such an easy way to reach the glacier, why would we have to go so far just now. However we were like a drowning person seeing a straw, so we would hold on tightly any glimmer of hope. We followed the instructions from the front desk and turned onto a small road after a short drive on road No.1. The end of the small road could be seen from a distance, but it was full of gravel of different sizes. And surprisingly there were no one and no cars within 5 km of sight, we were unsure why would a tourism attraction had no tourist, but at this situation we pretty much had no choice but to bite the bullet and drive over. The car could only move slowly on the bumpy road, so despite it seemed not far, it actually took us 20 mins drive to reach the end. When we got off the car, we saw a sign that taught people how to walk on the ice. We knew we came to the right place!

這個地方叫Hoffell, 這裏的冰川是另一個冰川舌Hoffellsjökull, 二十世紀初曾是研究冰川學的地方。我們滿懷希望地登上了小山坡, 不禁倒抽一口涼氣, 眼前看到的並不是一片冰川, 而是一個湖, 而冰川竟然是在我們兩公里以外! 原來這幾年間, 因為全球暖化, 很多冰川已經溶化, 怪不得這裏一個遊客都沒有, 只餘下一個告示牌。這一刻, 我覺得冰島旅遊簡直就是一節環境保護課, 在發達國家的大城市我們每天開著空調, 地球的氣候改變對我們來說遙不可及, 所以很多人莫不關心, 但在冰島這裏, 我們切身處地體會對人類對地球的破壞, 再這樣下去, 說不定幾年之後這些冰川便會消失, 所以我們決定以後要更加注意保護環境!

This place is called Hoffell, and the glacier tongue here is called Hoffellsjökull. The Hoffellsjökull outlet glacier was the scene of extensive research by glaciologists in the early part of the 20th century. It was also used as an access point for research on the Vatnajökull ice cap. We climbed the hillside with hope, but was shocked of what we saw. In front of us was not a glacier, but a lake, and the glacier was like two km away from us! It turned out that in the past few years, because of global warming, many glaciers had melted! No wonder there were no tourists here, and only a sign was left. At this moment, I felt that travelling in Iceland was simply an environmental protection lesson. In large cities in developed countries, people turned on air conditioners every day, The climate change of the earth was so far away from us and many people didn’t care. Here in Iceland, we saw some of the damages that human made to the earth. If it continued, these glaciers might disappear in a few years, so we decided to pay more attention to environment protection in the future!

離開Hoffell後, 我們開車向南大約半小時, 便到了海邊的漁港Höfn。該鎮位於一個半島上, 是冰島東南部的第二大城市。由於這裏能看到Vatnajökull冰川的美景, 因此是一個受歡迎的旅遊城市。Höfn 這個名字的意思就是海港, 本來是一個漁港, 還有許多海灘, 冰川和河流穿過該地區, 形成了許多移動的潟湖和沙礁 。現在則是Vatnajökull冰川附近遊客的主要落腳點, 距離一號國家公路僅幾公里。這個相對較大的小鎮有很多酒店和旅館, 但我們第二天必須準時趕到另一個預訂了的的節目, 為了節省車程, 我們選擇了在這裏向北20分鐘, 在公路旁的酒店。我們逛了一會超市, 買了魚乾等各種冰島特產, 然後會去找餐廳晚飯。我們在逛了超市, 買了一堆當地的美食如醃魚, 煙薰羊肉和巧克力等。

After leaving Hoffell, we drove south for about half an hour and arrived at the fish town Höfn.

The town was located on a peninsula and was the second largest town in the southeastern part of Iceland. It offered scenic views of Vatnajökull so it was a popular tourist spot. The name Höfn meant harbour and it was a fishing port, with beaches on a long shoreline to the southeast. Shoals and glacial rivers traverse this area with many shifting lagoons and sand reefs being formed. The town was a major center for visitors to the Vatnajökull Glacier, and was a few km off the National Road No.1. There were many hotels and guesthouses in this relatively large town, but we picked a hotel 20mins north from here along the National Road in order to save some drive of next day, as we had another schedule tour that we had to arrive on time. We went for grocery shopping here, and got a lof of snacks including smoked lamb, salted fishes and chocolates.

我們在Höfn 的海傍找到一間古典而漂亮的餐廳, 名叫Pakkhús, 當時才剛過六點, 已陸續有客人進去, 我們趕緊要了一張枱。餐廳建於1932年, 當時用老房子的木材建造。這個名字在冰島語是倉庫的意思, 從牆上的舊照片能看出這兒曾是魚檔, 魚就在這裏被運送到西班牙和其他國家。後這這房子被重建, 曾有不同用處, 例如工藝品屋, 海事博物館, 會議室, 咖啡廳和家居市場。 在2012年, Pakkhús 餐廳首次開業。最初幾年只在夏季開門, 但隨著冬季遊客的增加, 從2016年開始全年營業。

We found a very classic and cozy restaurant around the harbour of Höfn, named Pakkhús restaurant. It was just passed 6pm and customers already started to come in so we got a table as well. The restaurant was originally built of timber from old houses around 1932. The name means "warehouse" in Icelandic, There were old photos on the walls showing fishes being sent from here to Spain and other other countries. The house was completely rebuilt and was used in various way e.g. handicraft house, maritime museum, meeting rooms and café and home market. In 2012, the restaurant Pakkhús first opened. The first couple years, it only opened during the summer months, but with the increase in tourists in winter, the restaurant had been open all year round since 2016.

他們用的全是當地的食材, 無論來自陸地和海洋。 Höfn 以冰島龍蝦(海螯蝦)而聞名, 更被稱為冰島龍蝦之都。新鮮的龍蝦直接取自在餐廳外的碼頭靠岸的漁船, 當中最特別的是在窗外停泊著的紅色船隻Sigurdur Olafsson SF44,和藍色的Skinney-Þinganes。我們點了冰島龍蝦, 魚, 和以冰島乳酪(Skyr)造的蛋糕。冰島乳酪是冰島特有的奶類製品, 比乳酪更濃更綿密, 我去過冰島後也有偶然買來吃。

They specialize in local ingredients from both land and sea. Höfn is known for langoustine (Icelandic lobster) and is often referred to as the capital of lobster in Iceland. Fresh lobsters come straight from the boats that dock at the pier right outside the restaurant, in particular Sigurdur Olafsson SF44, the red ship which moored just outside their window and the blue boats of Skinney-Þinganes. We ordered langoustine, fish fillet and skyr cake as the dessert. Skyr is an Icelandic cultured dairy product that's very similar to yogurt, except it is much thicker. Sometimes I still buy it in grocery store after i visited Iceland.

這天晚上不是住在城市, 而是在公路旁的大草原上的一間酒店, 附近渺無人煙, 酒店剛建好不久, 房間內簡潔而舒適, 窗外一片青綠, 環境幽美, 價錢相宜, 是我在歐洲近三十個國家住過的酒店中性價比最高的一間。(右圖是第二天早上拍的, 當天是下圖的樣子)

We did not stay in a city, but instead picked a hotel next to the National Road No. 1. There was literally nothing nearby, other than grasslands. The hotel was newly built. The room was neat and comfortable, all we saw outside the window was green, which was peaceful and relaxing. The price was a absolute bargain, this was definitely the top hotel in terms of value per dollar, among all the hotels in the 30 or so European countries I had travelled to. (The picture on the right was from the next day, it was more like the picture below that day.)

Tips: In a country that is rapidly developing tourism like Iceland, pick the newly built hotel as opposed to the established ones. Usually the qualify would be quite good as there are new, and since they are not well promoted yet, usually the price will be lower, so overall it offers much better value.

Day 4 Höfn - 風光明媚的早餐 - 只剩幾塊冰的冰川湖 - 玄武石柱 - 遠眺冰川 - Skógafoss

早上起來, 外面的天氣很好(目前的標準是不下雨+不大霧就是很好), 我們終於能看清酒店附近那一望無際的草原和山脈, 和美不勝收的風景。我們在落地玻璃窗前看著Vatnajökull的全景, 享受著以當地漁民和農民供應的新鮮食材而製的早餐, 彷彿是在度假而不是旅遊, 十分寫意。綜合而言, 這一晚是全程最有驚喜的酒店。

Waking up in the morning to find out that the weather was good (the standard now was that no rain + no fog = good), we could finally see the endless grasslands and mountains near the hotel, and the beautiful scenery as a whole. We enjoyed the breakfast made with fresh ingredients by local fishermen and farmers, while looking at the panoramic view of Vatnajökull in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which felt like this was a vacation rather than an adventure and it was very enjoyable. Overall this was the best stay of the trip.

我們的第一站是Jökulsárlón, 距離酒店只不到一個小時的車程。Jökulsárlón是位於Breiðamerkurjökull冰川盡頭的一個大型冰川湖, 冰川從大西洋邊緣逐漸後退, 這裏便成為一個湖。由於冰川不斷溶化, 該湖不斷變大。它現在距離海岸線僅1.5公里, 是冰島最深的湖泊。自1970年代以來, 湖泊的面積增加了四倍。幽靈般的螢光藍色冰山群是Jökulsárlón的賣點, 在Vatnajökull冰川土崩瓦解的巨大冰塊飄浮在湖面, 有些高達30米。被困在冰中的空氣經過冰晶折射的光線, 把這些冰山分成兩種顏色：乳白色和亮藍色, 亮藍色的是攝影師的最愛。古代火山噴發的火山灰覆蓋了這些冰塊, 就像天然的雕刻。

Our first stop was Jökulsárlón, which took us less than an hour of drive from the hotel. Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake located at the end of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, it developed into a lake after the glacier receded from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake had grown since then because of melting of the glaciers. It was only 1.5 km from the ocean's edge and was the deepest lake in Iceland. The size of the lake had increased fourfold since the 1970s. A ghostly procession of luminous blue icebergs is the signature of Jökulsárlón. The huge blocks of ice that calve from the edge of Vatnajökull filled the lagoon with icebergs, some as tall as 30m. These icebergs were seen in two shades: milky white and bright blue, depending on the air trapped within the ice and the interplay of light and ice crystals. The bright blue ones became photographers' favourite. However some icebergs appear naturally sculpted on volcanic ash from ancient eruptions that partially covered them.

Jökulsárlón 是冰島最受歡迎的幾個景點之一, 更是許多荷里活電影的取景地, 包括蝙蝠俠: 開戰時刻, 冰島甚至發行了 Jökulsárlón 的主題郵票。我們預訂了遊船, 乘坐的兩棲船在陸地上是四輪驅動的車, 下水時便化身遊船, 所以我們不必在碼頭換船, 然後船便在風景如畫的冰山中航行。來之前我們看過這裏的照片後, 所以期望很高, 但卻有點失望, 因為湖面上只留下小量冰山, 結果這又成了一節以全球變暖為主題的環保課。

Jökulsárlón is probably one of the top attractions in Iceland, it has been a setting for a number of Hollywood movies, including the Batman Begins, Iceland even issued a postage stamp depicting Jökulsárlón. We booked a boat tour. We were on the amphibian boats which was a 4 wheel drive vehicle on land and then converted to a boat on water, so we didn't have to change to a boat at the dock. The boat then sailed among the icebergs in the picturesque scenery. We had really high expectation after seeing the pictures, but were very disappointed when we saw only a few icebergs left on the lake. Instead it became another environment protection course with the theme of global warming.

離開Jökulsárlón後, 經過大半個小時的車程, 我們到了Skaftafell。Skaftafell 曾經是一個大農場, 現在是Öræfi 內的保護區。最初它被單獨劃分為Skaftafell國家公園, 然後它與附近的其他地區被合併成更大的Vatnajökull冰川國家公園。Skaftafell周圍的地貌充滿了鮮明的對比: 各種冰川延伸在兩側是鋸齒狀的山脈, 冰川的冰的壓力把山脈擠至窿起, 形成頂部的 Hvannadalshnjúkur 峰。冰川在1890年左右伸然至最遠, 但在接下來的100年左右不斷後退。從它流出的河流在低地上來回流動, 1974年, 這裡建了一座橋, 一號國家公路才變成了一條完整的環路, 有趣的是, 2009年起河流不再流經橋下, 而是向西流入了另一條河流, 所以這座橫跨Skeiðará的長橋下幾乎沒有水。

Leaving Jökulsárlón, we drove for about 45 minutes and arrived at Skaftafell. Skaftafell was once a major farm, now a preservation area in Öræfi. Originally it was named separately as Skaftafell National Park, then it joined other nearby regions to form the larger Vatnajökull National Park. The scenery around Skaftafell is full of stark contrasts: various glacial tongues are flanked by jagged mountains, with the glacier-topped peak of Hvannadalshnjúkur rising highest due to the erosive forces by the glacial ice. The glacial had advanced to reach farthest around 1890, then retreated for the next 100 years or so. The rivers running from it had flowed back and forth over the lowlands. In 1974, the National Road No. 1 became a completed loop after a bridge was built here, interestingly, in 2009 the rivers stopped flowing under the bridge but instead flowed westwards into another river, so there was barely any water under this long bridge over Skeiðará.

Svartifoss是Skaftafell內一個著名的瀑布, 也是Vatnajökull國家公園內最受歡迎的景點之一。這個名字在冰島語中的意思是“黑色瀑布”, 因為它被黑色的熔岩柱包圍。這令我想起我曾去過的另一個著名的熔岩柱奇景：懷俄明州的魔鬼塔(參考黃石公園之旅的相關網誌), 每根柱子看起來非常相似, 但整遍風景的造型卻完全不同。一些冰島建築明顯受到這些玄武岩柱的啟發, 當中最著名的是我們將在幾天後參觀首都的 Hallgrímskirkja 教堂 。

Svartifoss is a famous waterfall in Skaftafell, and is one of the most popular attractions in the Vatnajökull National Park. The name means "black waterfall" in Icelandic, as it is surrounded by dark lava columns. This reminded me of another well-known columnar jointing formations that I have visited: the Devil's Tower in Wyoming (Refer to the travelblog of the Yellowstone National Park trip). The columns looked very similar between the two, but the whole sceneries were completely different. Some Icelandic architectures were inspired by these basalt columns, the most famous one being the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavík which we would visit in a few days.

由起點到Svartifoss大約花了45分鐘, 看過Svartifoss後, 我們繼續再往山上走了20分鐘, 在一片能看到skaftafellsheiði全景的高地休息和午餐。這裏視野開闊, 一邊看到冰川, 一邊看到雪山, 在這裏午餐是絕佳的享受。午餐吃的是自備的三文治和昨天在Höfn買的馬舌鰈魚生, 魚生味道很鹹, 和三文治是完美的組合。

It took about 45 minutes to reach Svartifoss from the starting point. After visiting Svartifoss, we continued to hike uphill for another 20 minutes, until we reached an open area with a panoramic view of skaftafellsheiði, where we rested and had lunch. From here we could see the glaciers and snow-capped mountains. What a great environment to have lunch! We brought our own sandwiches for lunch and some halibut sashimi that we bought in Höfn yesterday. The sashimi was quite salty, which made it the best company of the sandwich.

午餐後, 我們繼續往山上進發, 又爬山一小時後, 我們來到Skaftafellsjökull。Skaftafellsjökull 是從 Vatnajökull 延伸出來的眾多冰川舌之一。旁邊和它長得一模一樣的Svínafellsjökull更是電影Interstellar(2014)裏面不知名冰封星球的拍攝場地! 我看著由天上的雲而降下的冰川舌, 忽然想起李白《將進酒》裏的那句"君不見黃河之水天上來, 奔流到海不復回", 用在眼前的冰川正好適合! 之後幾句"君不見高堂明鏡悲白髮，朝如青絲暮成雪。人生得意須盡歡，莫使金樽空對月。天生我材必有用，千金散盡還復來。"不在是在說人生苦短, 所以有空便要做自己喜歡做的事情嗎? 所以把"千金"花在這趟冰島之旅也是值得的! 在過去的十年中, Skaftafellsjökull 急劇縮小, 又是另一個氣候變化在影響冰島冰川的例子, 令人非常擔憂。該地區種植了許多樹木以幫助吸收冰川周圍的二氧化碳, 但顯然杯水車薪。

The glacier tongue of Skaftafellsjökull is one of many tongues stretching from the Vatnajökull. It is right next to Svínafellsjökull - the shooting location of the ice planet in the movie Interstellar (2014)! t is yet another concerning example of how climate change is steadily affecting the glaciers in Iceland, as over the last decade, Skaftafellsjökull had been receding dramatically. Many trees had been planted in the area to help absorb carbon dioxide around the glaciers, but obviously, it wasn't enough.

下山的路並不好走, 因為風很大, 而且由於在冰川旁, 地上很多泥漿也很滑, 我們花了45分鐘才回到地面。此時正值深秋, 天氣涼快, 而且漫野遍山都是橙黃色的樹葉, 這次爬山感覺舒暢, 在冰島的旅程中是一個十分推薦的活動, 若有更多時間, 我可能會選擇更長的路線, 深入山上。

The downhill hike was not very easy, as it was very wind and the trail was very slippery and muddy as it was right next to the glacier. It took us 45 minutes to get back to the ground. It was autumn at the time so the weather was cool, and the mountains were covered with orangish leaves, making this hike very enjoyable. It was definitely a very recommended activity of this Iceland trip, if I had more time I would have chosen a longer trail and went deeper onto the mountains.

離開Skaftafell後, 我們經過兩個小時車程來到了Skógafoss, 當中路過了Vik。Vik是方圓100公里內唯一的小村莊, 也是冰島最南的村落, 比較多旅客會選擇在此落腳, 但我們之後一天在黃金圈有很多行程, 所以我們過Vik而不入, 爭取在這天完成更多路程, 當晚就在Skógafoss瀑布旁的酒店過夜, 這裏也有好幾個選擇, 我們當然選了最好的, 第二天早上便發現這個選擇非常正確。途中也經過了著名的黑沙灘, 那裏以玄武岩柱而聞名, 但這沙灘抵擋不住本"雨神"的神力, 一直下著傾盆大雨, 烏雲滿天, 所以只看到一片漆黑。

Leaving Skaftafell, it took us two hours to drive to Skógafoss, passing by Vik. Vik is the only small village within 100km nearby, and it is also the southernmost village in Iceland. More tourists choose to stay here, but we had a packed itinerary in the Golden Circle the next day, so we did not stop at Vik, but instead went all the way to reach a hotel right next to the waterfall Skógafoss to stay for the night. There were a few options around here and we obviously picked the best one, and we would confirm our selection was right on the next day. We also passed by the Reynisdrangar, which was known for the basalt sea stacks on the black sands, however my "Lord of the rain" power was too overwhelm that it kept raining, so the sky was as black as the sands and we saw nothing but dark.

Day 5 Skógafoss - 看著瀑布吃早餐 - 走進瀑布背後 - 黃金瀑布 - 間歇噴泉 - 截然不同的地殼板塊 - Reykjavik

這天早上, 吃早餐的風景比昨天的更漂亮, 因為Skógafoss就在眼前! 而且下了一晚雨, 草也特別青, 我一邊享受早餐, 一邊看著美景, 一邊唸道:

日照香爐生紫煙, 遙看瀑布掛前川; 飛流直下三千尺, 疑是銀河落九天!

-李白《望廬山瀑布》

不知若李白來到這裏, 又會寫一首如何的詩? 不過我可比李白幸運得多, 李白縱有才華, 卻沒來過冰島呢!

The scenery for breakfast this morning was more beautiful than yesterday, as the Skógafoss was right in front of us! As it rained all night, the grass was fresh and green. While enjoying breakfast and looking at the beautiful scenery, I thought: despite the hotel is a bit old , we made the right choice!

吃完早餐後, 我們步出酒店, 也就是一百米的距離, 便來到瀑布前, 乘著旅遊團未到之前好好拍照。這也是自駕遊和住在瀑布酒店的好處, 若是住得較遠, 來到的時候已擠滿了遊客, 旅遊團就更不用說。Skógafoss是Skógá河上的一個瀑布, 所在的地方曾經是海岸線的懸崖。時至今日, 海岸線已從Skógár後退5公里, 昔日的海岸懸崖仍與今日的海岸線平行達數百公里, 而昔日海岸上的陸地如今已成為冰島的高原。Skógafoss 寬25米x高60米 , 是冰島最大的瀑布之一。由於瀑布不斷產生的噴霧量, 我們在那裏一直看到彩虹。傳說該地區的第一個維京人 Þrasi Þórólfsson 在瀑布後面的一個洞穴中埋藏了一件寶藏, 多年後被當地人發現, 當地人只能抓住寶箱側面的手環, 寶箱卻又消失了, 這手環成為教堂的門環, 之後被存放在Skógár博物館。

After breakfast, we stepped out from the hotel and walked about 100m to get to the waterfall before the tour group. It’s the advantage of self driving and staying over at the waterfall hotel, if you don’t stay close by, by the time you get here there will be full of tourists, joining a tour can only be worse. Skógafoss is a waterfall on the Skógá River, it was at the cliff which used to be the coastline. As of now, the coastline had receded 5 km from Skógar, the former sea cliffs still stand parallel to the current coast over hundreds of km, the land above the former seas cliffs now become the Highlands of Iceland. Skógafoss is 25m wide x 60m tall, and is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produced, we saw rainbow all the time when we were there. There was a legend that the first Viking settler in the area, Þrasi Þórólfsson, buried a treasure in a cave behind the waterfall, and was discovered by the locals years later, the locals only able to grasp the ring on the side of the chest and the treasure disappeared again. The ring became a door ring of the church, and was in the Skógar museum after.

我們沿著瀑布東側的山路上山, 從頂部回看瀑布。對於爬山愛好者來說, 這條山路可通往位於Eyjafjallajökull冰蓋和 Mýrdalsjökull冰蓋之間的山口 Fimmvörðuháls, 然後在另一邊下山至 Þórsmörk, 全程約 25-30 公里。如果我在這裏有兩個星期, 我一定會挑戰這條路線!

We hiked up the trail at the eastern side of the waterfall to take a look from the top. For the intense hiker, this trekking trail leads up to the pass Fimmvörðuháls between the glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull, and goes down to Þórsmörk on the other side, which is about 25-30km. I would totally have done that if I have two weeks here!

在30公里外, 我們到了另一個瀑布Seljalandsfoss, 瀑布高 60米, 是起源於火山冰川 Eyjafjallajökull 的 Seljalands 河的一部分。瀑布本身並不大, 但它聞名於世的原因是遊客可以橫越瀑布後面的洞穴, 最漂亮的照片都是在瀑布後的那條小徑上拍攝的。你在瀑布正面的照片中, 找到洞穴所在嗎? 我們走到瀑布後拍照, 我想起郭靖在射鵰英雄傳中躲在瀑布後的洞穴中抵擋前來偷盜武穆遺書的完顏洪烈一伙, 還和歐陽峰對掌, 電視劇怎麼不來這裏取景? 還可以順便請小弟出演郭靖一角呢? 甚麼? 我不夠靚仔? 那做御前侍衛的死屍也可以吧……

After leaving Skógafoss, we drove some 30km and arrived at another waterfall named Seljalandsfoss. The waterfall is 60m tall and is part of the Seljalands River that has its origin in the volcano glacier Eyjafjallajökull. The waterfall itself was not huge, but it was known for the fact that visitors can walk behind the falls into a small cave. Many great photographs was taken from that path. Can you see the cave from the photo taken in front of the waterfall?

Tips: You will have to go under the waterfall for a sec in order to get out from the cave, glad that I was in my uniqlo (seeking sponosor lol) waterproof jacket. Recommend to wear waterproof jacket or raincoat.

這裏開始接近黃金圈, 所以遊客特別多, 停車場停了我相信是來自首都的旅遊巴, 我們需要排隊在瀑布前拍照, 然後排隊進入瀑布後的洞穴, 洞穴裏特別擠擁, 拍照時也相當難找到沒被遮擋的角度, 和之前幾天在北邊看到的大自然景色截然不同, 因此大打折扣。相對之下, 我是比較喜歡北邊壯觀而沒有其他遊客瀑布。

This location was relatively close to the Golden Circle, so there were a lot of tourists. There were tour coaches in the parking lot that I believed to be from Reykjavík. We had to line up to take pictures in front of the waterfall, and then line up again to enter the cave behind the waterfall. The path in the cave was crowded and it was quite difficult to find an unobstructed angle to take pictures. This was a complete contrast to the natural scenery we saw in the north a few days ago, so the scenery was discounted. Comparatively, I preferred the spectacular waterfalls in the north with minimal tourists.

離開Seljalandsfoss之後, 我們進入了著名的黃金圈。黃金圈是一條受歡迎的旅遊路線, 覆蓋了Reykjavík和冰島南部高地之間的環迴路線。前往該地區的旅遊團眾多, 因此該地區聚集了冰島的大部份遊客。黃金圈的三個主要景點是 Þingvellir 國家公園, 黃金瀑布和位於 Haukadalur 的地熱區, 其中包含間歇泉 Geysir 和 Strokkur。今天我們將一個不漏地遊遍!

Leaving Seljalandsfoss, we entered the famous Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route, covering a loop between Reykjavík into the southern uplands. There were tons of tours going to this area from Reykjavík, so this area contains most tourists in Iceland. The three primary stops on the route are the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. We would visit all of them this day!

黃金瀑布(Gullfoss)位於Hvítá 河的峽谷中。河水自北而來, 流到了這裏急轉彎, 在一公里內衝下一條寬闊而彎曲的三層階梯, 然後分兩部份傾瀉入32米深的裂縫中, 裂縫和河流成直角, 所以河水向一側流走。在 20 世紀初, 黃金瀑布屬 Tómas Tómasson 和 Halldór Halldórsson私人擁有, 他們將瀑布租給了外國投資者, 甚至簽署了一項協議, 允許他在 Hvítá 河上建造一座水電站。Tómas Tómasson 的女兒, 環保主義者 Sigríður Tómasdóttir 決心保護瀑布, 甚至威脅要跳下瀑布。她對開發項目採取了法律行動, 由後來成為冰島第一任總統的 Sveinn Björnsson 擔任法律代表。法律訴訟失敗了, 但投資者也沒有成功, 原因卻是因為缺乏資金。最終瀑布被賣給了冰島政府, 並於1979年成為永久保護區。

Gullfoss located in the canyon of the Hvítá river. The river flows from the north, turns sharply to the right, rushes down within 1 km into a wide curved three-steps staircase and then abruptly plunges in two stages into a crevice of 32m deep. The crevice continues perpendicular to the flow of the river. In early 20th century, Gullfoss was owned by Tómas Tómasson and Halldór Halldórsson. They rented the waterfall to foreign investors and even signed a deal to allow the construction of a hydroelectric dam across the Hvítá River. Environmentalist Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of owner Tómas Tómasson, was determined to preserve the waterfall's nature condition and even threatened to throw herself down to the waterfalls. She took legal action against the development. She was represented legally by Sveinn Björnsson, who later became Iceland's first president. The legal action failed but the investors' attempts were unsuccessful, partly due to lack of money. End up the waterfall was sold to the state of Iceland, and was made a permanent conservation site in 1979.

進入瀑布範圍後, 有上下兩條山路, 一條下坡路通往瀑布側, 但由於瀑布傾瀉進的裂縫很窄, 近距離觀度反而不好, 所以另一邊一條上坡路通往高地, 雖然距離瀑布較遠, 但角度較皆, 俯瞰下去能看到更多瀑布。瀑布十分壯觀, 不愧為冰島首屈一指的景點之一, 唯一減分的地方是無論如何拍照都是人山人海, 和北邊的純自然風光截然不同。

After entering the waterfall area, there were two trails, one downhill trail led to the side of the waterfall. However, because the crevice where the waterfall flew in was very narrow, so the viewing angle was limited at a close distance. The uphill trail on the other hand led to a high ground, although it was further from the falls, but it got the better angle, and I could see more of the waterfalls from there. The waterfall was very spectacular, worthy of being one of Iceland's top attractions. However, points were deducted because no matter how and whatever angle I tried to take a photo, it would capture a big crowd of people, which was completely different from the pure natural scenery in the north.

走近瀑布時, 被水濺了一身, 涼風吹來, 有點冷。在黃金圈內的景點和北邊不一樣, 都設有遊客中心, 我們在餐廳點了一個羊肉湯暖身, 喝了後暖洋洋的, 適合不過。這個湯雖然頗貴(當年約15美金), 但卻是無限任添, 所以我們喝了幾碗, 直至全身暖和, 覺得非常值得。

When we were walking around the waterfall, water splashed all over us, so it was a bit chilly under the wind. In the Golden Circle here the scenic spots all come with a visitor center unlike those in the north. We ordered a lamb soup in the canteen there to keep warm, and it tasted so good. Although the soup was expensive (around $15 USD at that time), but if offered unlimited refill, so we had a few bowl to until we were warm, so we found it quite worthy.

離開黃金瀑布後, 便前往Haukadalur。Haukadalur山谷裏有著一些最著名的間歇泉和地熱景點, 毗鄰 Hvítá 河, 最大的間歇泉是 Strokkur 和 Geysir 本尊。 Haukadalur地熱區在1300年代左右開始被錄於史策, 當時因為地震, 當地的溫泉都被激活。

Haukadalur valley is the home to some of the best known geysers and geothermal feature, beside the Hvítá River. The biggest geysers of Haukadalur are Strokkur and Geysir itself. Haukadalur geothermal area entered the history record at around 1300s, when the local hot springs were activated by an earthquake.

Strokkur 是一種噴泉型間歇泉, 它非常可靠, 每5 到10分鐘噴發一次, 這頻率在較大的間歇泉當中絕無僅有。1789年, 一場地震疏通了Strokkur的管道, 使它開始噴發。雖然當並沒有明顯規律, 但到了1815年時, 噴發的高度已高達60米。在1900年左右, 另一場地震堵塞了管道, 接著在1963年. 根據間歇泉委員會的建議, 當地人清理了盆地底部堵塞的管道, 此後間歇泉一直定期噴發。這裏附近還有 40 多個其他較小的溫泉, 泥盆和噴氣孔。這讓我想起了黃石國家公園的老忠實間歇泉, 這裡的間歇泉的噴發活動比老忠實間歇泉要頻繁得多, 但每次噴發的時候較短, 體積也較小。

Strokkur is a fountain-type geyser. It is very reliaable and erupts every 5 to 10 minutes, which is very rare among the bigger Geysir. In 1789, an earthquake unblock the conduit of Strokkur, it started to erupt although the activity fluctuated, in 1815 its height was estimated to have been as much as 60m. Around 1900, another earthquake blocked the conduit, then in 1963, upon the advice of the Geysir Committee, locals cleaned out the blocked conduit through the bottom of the basin, and the geyser has been regularly erupting ever since. There are also more than 40 other smaller hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles nearby. This reminded me of the geysers in Yellowstone National park, here the geyser's eruptive activity happened much more frequent than the Old Faithful geysir there, despite a smaller volume.

間歇泉Geysir是文字紀載中第一個被提及到的間歇泉, 也是現代歐洲人已知的第一個間歇泉。英文單詞geyser(間歇泉)就是源自Geysir這個間歇泉的本尊。Geysir這個名字本身來源於冰島語動詞geysa(“湧出”)。Geysir位於 Laugarfjall 山坡上, 距 Strokkur 間歇泉僅 50米。Geysir 的噴發可以將沸水噴射到空氣中高達 70 米。然而, 它幾年才會噴發一次。

Geysir was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans. The English word geyser was derived from Geysir. The name Geysir itself was derived from the Icelandic verb geysa ("to gush"). Geysir lied on the slopes of Laugarfjall hill, which was just 50m from Strokkur geyser. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70 m in the air. However eruptions only happen once in a few years time.

離開Haukadalur後, 我們開車大半個小時, 來到了Þingvellir國家公園, Þingvellir 是一個具有歷史, 文化和地質價值的國家公園。該公園位於一個裂谷中, 該裂谷位於大西洋海脊的頂部, 正是在北美和歐亞地殼板塊之間。在公園內到處可以見到北美板塊和歐亞板塊之間的大陸漂移遺下的痕跡, 譬如能清楚地看到地殼被擠壓的紋理, 或裂縫甚至斷層, 其中最大的是 Almannagjá峽谷, 我們可以從兩側(即兩個地殼板塊)看到完全不同的景觀。在公園南面有冰島最大的天然湖泊Þingvallavatn, Öxará 河穿過國家公園, 在 Almannagjá 形成一個瀑布, 稱為 Öxarárfoss。Þingvellir是冰島每年一度的議會Alþing的舊址, 從930年起, Alþing便在 Þingvellir舉行, 直到1798年的最後一屆會議。自1881年起, 議會便轉到Reykjavík的 Alþingishúsið 內, 我們也將參觀。然後在1930 年, Þingvellir國家公園在Althing的1000 週年時成立, 後在2004年被納入世界遺產。

Þingvellir is a national park with historical, cultural, and geological significance. The park is located in a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the partk, such as the squeezed rocks, and cracks or faults which traverse the region, the largest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. We could see completely different landscape from the two sides (i.e. the two tectonic plates). To its south lies Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. The river Öxará traverses the national park and forms a waterfall at the Almannagjá, called Öxarárfoss. Þingvellir was the site of the Alþing, the annual parliament of Iceland from the year 930 until 1798. Since 1881, the parliament has been relocated to Alþingishúsið in Reykjavík, which we would visit as well. Then in 1930, Þingvellir National Park was founded on the 1000th anniversary of the Althing. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2004.

離開Þingvellir之後, 我們便直接開車往Reykjavík而去, 到達時已是傍晚, 我們來到擁有號稱"世上最好喝的龍蝦湯"的Sea Baron (Sægreifinn)餐廳。

After leaving Þingvellir, we drove all the way to Reykjavík. It was already evening when we arrived, and we went to the Sea Baron (Sægreifinn) restaurant, which claimed to have "the world's greatest lobster soup".

這家餐廳位於Reykjavík北部海旁老港的一座老漁民小屋裏, 他們的招牌是龍蝦湯和海鮮串燒。在1950年代, 有一位名叫Kjartan Halldórsson的漁夫定期從Reykjavík的港口駕漁船出海。某天, Kjartan決定參加為期一週的廚師課程, 然後聘請自己擔任自家船上的廚師, 在長途旅行中準備飯菜。後來他率先向冰島人推銷熏鰻魚, 隨後開了一家魚店, 直接在碼頭銷售各種新鮮的魚產品。一天, 一群外國遊客來到他裝滿冰塊的魚箱旁, 問Kjartan可否為他們烤魚。作為機會主義者, Kjartan馬上跑到最近的商店, 買了一個烤架, 就在那裏把魚烤熟, 然後邀請遊客在他的魚屋裡用餐, 於是魚屋變成了今天的 Sægreifinn 餐廳。消息傳開, 越來越多的人要求他的烤海鮮, 所以Kjartan放棄了魚箱和魚船, 成為了餐館老闆, 從此被稱為海男爵。我們到達時門外大排長龍, 但我們實在不想錯過, 唯有乖乖排隊。我們點了招牌龍蝦湯和烤魚串, 在二樓找到張空桌吃喝。龍蝦湯的確是又濃又滑, 龍蝦味很重, 烤魚串則是中規中矩。

The restaurant was at the north coastline of Reykjavík, by the old harbour, in an old fisherman’s hut. They mainly sold lobster soup and fresh seafood barbequed on skewers. During the 1950′s, there was a fisherman named Kjartan Halldórsson, who sailed from Reykjavik’s harbour. Kjartan decided to take a week-long chef’s course and hired himself as a chef on his boat, where he would prepare meals during those long tours. Later he pioneered marketing smoked eel to Icelanders, and subsequently opened a fish shop, selling all sorts fresh fish products directly from the dock. One day, standing by his boxes of fish packed in ice, a group of foreign visitors asked if it was possible for Kjartan to prepare the fish for them. As an opportunist, Kjartan ran to the nearest shop, purchased a grill and cooked the fish right there, then invited the visitors to dine inside his fish hut, and the fish hut become the Sægreifinn restaurant today. Word spreaded and more people asked for his grilled seafood, so Kjartan got rid of the boxes and became a restaurant owner, known as the Sea Baron onwards. There was a long queue when we arrived, but we really didn't want to miss it, so we had no choice but to queue up. We ordered the signature lobster soups and fish skewers, and got ourselves an empty table on the second floor. The lobster soup was indeed thick and creamy, with strong lobster flavor, and the fish skewers were satisfactory.

喝完龍蝦湯, 我們又去尋找Reykjavík另一大出名美食: 熱狗。店名Bæjarins beztu pylsur的意思是“鎮上最好的熱狗”, 它是Reykjavík市中心的一個受歡迎的熱狗攤, 自1937年開業至今。距離Sægreifinn餐廳只有500米, 只花了我們三分鐘車程。2006年, 英國《衛報》將Bæjarins beztu 選為歐洲最好的熱狗攤。這些熱狗被稱為“冰島國食”, 熱狗調味品包括番茄醬、甜芥末、炸洋蔥、生洋蔥和 remolaði，一種以蛋黃醬為基礎的甜醬。我們到達時大約晚上九時, 熱狗攤有不到十個人在排隊, 我們排了沒很久, 便買到了熱狗。熱狗很好吃, remolaði的味道也很特別, 雖然不是驚世駭俗, 但也值得一來。

Bæjarins beztu pylsur means "best hot dog in town", it is a popular hot dog stand in downtown Reykjavík opened since 1937. It was just 500m from Sægreifinn resturant, and took just a few minutes of drive. In August 2006, the British newspaper The Guardian selected Bæjarins beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe. These hot dogs are often called “the Icelandic national food.” A hot dog condiments include ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. We arrived at around 9pm the evening, there were less than ten people in the line at the hot dog stand. We didn't line up for too long before we bought the hot dogs. The hot dog was delicious and the taste of remolaði was very special. Over the hot dog didn't shock the world but it was well worth a stop.

We picked a hotel that used to be an office building, for the relatively low price. The room was quite big and interestingly nothing inside looked like a hotel room.

我們選擇了一家曾經是辦公室的酒店, 因為價格相對較低。房間很大, 有趣的是 裏面沒有任何東西看起來像酒店房間。

Day 6 Reykjavik - 玄武石柱教堂 - 議會和政府 - 冰島傳統羊 太陽航海者號 - 五個熱水箱 - 鯊魚肉和海鸚肉 - 追逐北極光

這天是在首都Reykjavik市內活動, 第一大名勝毫無疑問是Hallgrímskirkja教堂。Hallgrímskirkja 是首都Reykjavík的一個路德教(基督教的一種)教堂。它是冰島最大的教堂, 高74m。該教堂以《激情讚美詩》的作者冰島詩人Hallgrímur Pétursson的名字命名。教堂位於小丘頂, 因此可以從市內的許多地方看到它。它的設計類似於冰島景點中的山岩, 山脈和冰川, 尤其像 Svartifoss 的玄武岩柱。建築時, 冰島路德教的首領的要求是它要比冰島天主教堂Landakotskirkja更大。教堂前矗立了探險家Leif Erikson 的雕像, 這是美國在1930 年Althing千禧週年紀念而送給冰島的禮物, 紀念930年冰島議會在Þingvellir召開的1000週年, 之前遊覽過的Þingvellir國家公園也在當成立。教堂裏面遇有一座德國人建造的大型管風琴, 高15m, 直至1992年才完工。

We went around the capital Reykjavik this day, and started with the city's best known landmark Hallgrímskirkja. Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran (a form of Christianity) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is the largest church in Iceland at a height of 74m. The church is named after the Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Pétursson, author of the Passion Hymns.

The church is located on the top of a hill so you can see it from many places in the city. It was designed to resemble the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland's landscape, in particular the basalt columns of Svartifoss. The leaders of the church wanted it to be larger than the the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Iceland, Landakotskirkja (Landakot's Church). In front of the church stood the statue of explorer Leif Erikson, which was a gift from the United States in honor of the 1930 Althing Millennial Festival, commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the convening of Iceland's parliament at Þingvellir in 930 AD, as mentioned before, Þingvellir National Park was also found in the same year. In side the church, there was a large pipe organ by the built by German, which was 15m tall and only finished in 1992.

從Hallgrímskirkja教堂走下山, 步行十分鐘左右, 便能到達Althing冰島議會。在1881年, 議會由Þingvellir搬到Alþingishúsið。Alþingishúsið 是一座 19 世紀的古典建築, 並且是冰島議會 Alþingi 舉行的地方。由丹麥建築師設計, 於1880年至1881年之間以輝綠岩建造。一樓最外面的四個窗戶頂部的半月形的浮雕代表冰島四獸 (Landvættir): 龍, 禿鷹, 巨人和公牛, Ingólfur Arnarson第一次登陸冰島時暫時收伏了它們。 Alþingishúsið內還有冰島國家圖書館和古董收藏館, 及後冰島國家美術館也曾座落於此。冰島大學在1911年至1940年之間曾使用這座樓的一樓, 冰島總統的辦公室在1973年前也在樓內。時至今日, 只有辯論室, 幾個小會議室和一些高級官員的辦公室仍在樓內, 其餘的委員會會議室, 議員辦公室和其他秘書處則是在附近 Austurvöllur 四周的其他建築物內. Austurvöllur一個廣場. 也是Reykjavík市民的熱門聚集地。政府大樓則在300米外, 該白色的大樓曾是監獄, 現在則是內閣辦工的地方。

We walked down the hill from Hallgrímskirkja, and within 10 mins or so we arrived at the parliament house. In 1881, the parliament moved from Þingvellir to Alþingishúsið. Alþingishúsið is a classical 19th century structure, the building was designed by Danish architect and built using hewn dolerite from 1880 to 1881. The reliefs on the tympanums of the four outermost windows on the first floor represent the four Landvættir of Iceland: a dragon, a vulture, a giant and a bull, momentarily appeased by Ingólfur Arnarson when he first landed in Iceland. Alþingishúsið has also housed the Icelandic National Library and Antiquaries Collection, and later the Icelandic National Gallery. The University of Iceland used the first floor of the house from 1911 to 1940, and the President of Iceland had his offices in the building until 1973. Today, only the debating chamber, a few small meeting rooms and the offices of some of the senior parliamentary staff are actually located in Alþingishúsið. Committee meeting rooms, parliamentarians’ offices and most of Alþingi's secretariat are located in other buildings in the area around Austurvöllur, which is a public square and a popular gathering place for the citizens of Reykjavík. The Cabinet of Iceland was just 300m away in a white building, which used to be a jail.

在路上我們還經過了鎮上最老的房子Aðalstræti 10。這房子建於1762年, 當時Reykjavík的居民很少, 剛剛開始建立村落, 但在140年後卻成為了冰島的首都。在國會內閣之間, 還有一個有趣的雕像Vatnsberinn, 它是取水的意思, 據說這條街Lækjargata是從前取水洗衣服的必經之路。

We also passed by the oldest house in the city, which was built in 1762, at the time when Reykjavík had very few inhabitants and just started to resemble a village, however 140 years later, it became the capital of the country. There was also a interesting statue between the parliament and the cabinet, the name was Vatnsberinn which meant "Water carrier", apparently this street Lækjargata was the route of getting water for laundry in the old days.

我們之前環島時午餐基本上都沒有選擇, 這天我們想好好品嚐一下冰島的傳統烤羊, 說到在Reykjavík吃烤羊, 無餐廳能望Apotek之項背, 所以我們毫不猶疑地選擇了這間餐廳。Apotek位於冰島最早期的石屎建築之一, 該建築被稱為Apotekið(冰島語的藥房), 因為它在1930 年至 1999 年間曾是市立藥房。這建築由冰島國家建築師Guðjón Samúelsson設計, 這位建築師在二十世紀初期在Reykjavík設計了好幾座雄偉的建築。他的設計以混合不同風格而著稱, 因此我們在店裏看到了許多曲線, 柱子和雕像, 使它看起來非常堂皇。菜單融合了冰島和歐洲風味, 烤肉是個賣點。我們點了只在周日供應的傳統冰島烤肉, 吃過後只能說我們非常慶幸我們在Reykjavík逗留這天是個週日。

When we were doing the round island trip, we basically had no choice for lunch. So on our last day in Iceland, we wanted to try the Iceland’s traditional roast lamb. When it comes to eating roast lamb in Reykjavík, there is no restaurant better than Apotek, so we chose this restaurant without hesitation. Apotek is located at one of the first large concrete buildings in Iceland. The building is known as Apotekið (pharmacy in Icelandic) because it housed Reykjavíkurapotek from 1930 to 1999. The building was designed by a state architect of Iceland Guðjón Samúelsson whom also designed several majestic buildings in the Reykjavík in early 1900s. He was known for mixing different styles in his design, therefore we saw many curved lines, poles and statues in the building, making it looked very grand. The menu was a mix of Icelandic and European cuisine featuring roast meat. We ordered the traditional icelandic roast that's only available on Sunday and we were absolutely glad that we were in Reykjavík on a Sunday.

吃完美味的烤羊肉後, 我們繼續在市內觀光, 下午的第一站是太陽航海者號, 這一件雕塑是生於1931年的冰島雕刻家Jón Gunnar Árnason的作品, 位於Reykjavík北部海岸。太陽航海者號被描述為一艘夢想之船, 或一首對太陽的頌歌, 傳達著承諾的訊息, 希望, 進步和對自由的渴望。

After filling up our stomach with the delicious roast lamb, we continued our city sightseeing by visiting the Sun Voyager, it is a sculpture by an Icelandic sculptor Jón Gunnar Árnason, who was born in 1931, it is located along the north coast of Reykjavík. Sun Voyager is described as a dreamboat, or an ode to the Sun, conveying a message of promise, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.

我們還未走近雕塑, 突然天昏地暗, 狂風暴雨, 我們起初在車站避雨, 後來看看不是辦法, 便在雨中拍了照, 然後狂奔五百米至Harpa演奏廳避雨。該建築採用獨特的彩色玻璃幕牆, 其靈感來自冰島的玄武岩景觀, 由鋼框架組成, 外覆不同顏色的幾何形狀玻璃板, 該建築2013年榮獲歐盟頒發的Mies van der Rohe歐洲當代建築獎。

When we were approaching the sculpture, the storm and rain hit us hard. At first we took shelter at a bus station, after being stuck for a while, we decided to take a photo of the sculpture in the rain, and then ran 500m to the Harpa concert hall. The building features a distinctive colored glass façade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland, which consists of a steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colours. In 2013, the building won the European Union's Mies van der Rohe award for contemporary architecture.

混身濕透的我們, 決定要喝杯熱朱古力暖身, 所以在演奏廳出來後, 便隨便進了一間甜品店。那甜品店有賣我非常愛吃的法式班戟, 所以我便也點了一個。

We were soaking wet and cold so we decided to grab a cup of hot chocolate to warm up. After coming out of the concert hall, we entered a dessert café for a hot chocolate, they displayed some French crepes, as a big fan of crepes, I ordered one to go with the hot chocolate.

Perlan 是Reykjavík的一個著名地標, 它的名字在冰島語中是珍珠的意思, 位於Öskjuhlíð 山頂。1939年, Öskjuhlíð 山上建造了第一個熱水箱, 其 61米的海拔令它有足夠的壓力將水輸送到海拔 38 米高的10層的建築物, 這足以供水至Reykjavík的任何地方, 甚至包括今天 Hallgrímskirkja 教堂所在的山丘。在接下來的二十年, 山上又建了五個水箱。它於重建後在 991年起對外開放, 裏件有展覽, 天文館, 觀景台和餐廳。

Perlan is a prominent landmark in Reykjavík, the name means pearl in icelandic. It is located on the top of Öskjuhlíð hill. In 1939, a hot water tank was constructed on Öskjuhlíð hill. Making use of its 61m elevation, it had enough pressure to push water up to the 10th floor of a building, 38m above sea level. It was enough to supply water anywhere in Reykjavík – even to the hill where Hallgrímskirkja church stands today. In the next two decades, five more tanks rose beside the first one. It was reconstructed and opened to public in 1991. It hosted an exhibition, a planetarium, an observation deck, and a restaurant.

晚上, 我們繼續尋找冰島特式美食, 這次要嘗試的是鯊魚和海鸚肉, 市內能吃這些餐廳並不多, 而當中首屈一指的是3 Frakkar。該餐廳於 1989 年開業, 是間小型的家庭生意, 主要擅長魚類, 包括許多特色菜, 如鯨魚肉和海鳥主菜。我們前菜點了鯊魚塊和煙熏海鸚胸, 因為我們在冰島第一天已吃過馬和鯨魚, 所以我們沒有在這裏點, 而是點了另一種冰島特式 Gratineraður Plokkfiskur也就是奄列魚, 還有煎鱈魚片。

In the evening, we continued to search for Icelandic specialties food. We would like to try shark and puffin meat. There were not many restaurants offering them in the city, and the top one was 3 Frakkar. The restaurant was opened in 1989 and was a small family business. It focus on fish courses including many specialties such as whale meat and sea bird entrees. We got shark cubes and smoked Puffin breast as appetizers, and since we had horse and whale already in our first day, so we did not order those here and instead got another Icelandic specialty Gratineraður Plokkfiskur, which was hashed fish, and panfried salted fillet of Cod.

海鸚是遠洋海鳥, 主要通過在水中潛水來覓食。大西洋海鸚生活在北大西洋, 它們在沿海懸崖或近海島嶼上大群繁殖, 在岩石縫隙或土壤中的洞穴中築巢, 因此冰島非常適合它們。海鸚的羽毛黑白相間, 亮橙色的大喙乃其最大特徵, 短翅適合在水下使用飛行技術游泳。而這晚, 它成為我們晚餐的一部分, 吃這麼可愛的鳥有點殘忍, 但在冰島實在不能錯過。

Puffins are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. The Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil, therefore, Iceland is an ideal location for them. Puffin have black and white plumage, and large iconic beaks in bright orange. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique underwater. Today, it became part of our dinner, it sounded cruel to eat such a lovely bird, but you simply cannot miss it it Iceland.

晚上, 我們嘗試追逐北極光, 整個冰島西南部都被烏雲籠罩, 我們根據即時更新的天氣圖開車向北一個小時來到一個沒有下雨的地方, 但這地方抵擋不住我"雨神"的力量, 還未看到北極光便下起雨來, 我們眼看整個天空都佈滿黑壓壓的雨雲, 也只得作罷。不過, 我曾在黃刀鎮看過北極光(詳見黃刀鎮網誌), 所以也不算遺憾。

At night, we tried to chase the Northern Lights, however the entire southwestern part of Iceland was covered by dark clouds. We drove north for an hour per the weather map to a place where there was no cloud, but this place could not withstand the power of "Lord of the Rain" and started to rain before we saw any northern lights. Given the entire sky was covered by black rain clouds, we had to give up. However, I had seen the Northern Lights in Yellowknife (refer to the Yellowknife travelblog post), so it was not a pity.

Day 7 藍色的溫泉

我們在前往機場的路上, 遊覽了藍湖。藍湖是Keflavík機場附近的地熱溫泉, 非常適合作為旅程的最後一站。這個天然溫泉位於Grindavík附近的熔岩原中, 在Reykjanes 半島的 Þorbjörn 山前，這裡是一個滿佈地熱能的地區。

We stopped by the Blue Lagoon on our way to the airport. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa close to the Keflavík airport, making it a perfect final stop to relax before heading home after a long trip. The spa is located in a lava field near Grindavík and in front of Mount Þorbjörn on Reykjanes Peninsula, which is an area full of geothermal power.

由於二氧化矽含量高, 水呈乳藍色。二氧化矽在湖底形成柔軟的白泥, 作為面膜提供給我們。水中還富含鹽分和藻類, 平均溫度約為 37–39度, 藍湖聲稱對付皮膚病牛皮癬非常有效, 所以他們甚至出產護膚產品。我們是當年參觀藍湖的一百萬遊客之一, 幸好我們當天去得早, 所以在溫泉內並不算極度擠迫。

The water was in milky blue colour due to its high silica content. The silica forms soft white mud on the bottom of the lake, which was offered to us as facial mask. The water is also rich in salts and algae, with averages temperature of around 37–39 °C. The lagoon claimed to have a beneficial effect on the skin disease psoriasis. so they even developed skin product of their own brand. We were part of the one million visitors who visited the lagoon that year, but since were there pretty early in the day, so it was not particularly crowded.

泡完溫泉之後, 我們便前往機場, 結束了七天冰島之旅。

Coming out from the Blue Lagoon, we headed to the airport and concluded the 7 days of Iceland trip.

冰島之旅至此完滿結束, 如果喜歡本站或有任何問題, 請subsribe本站!

This concludes the Iceland trip, if you like this page or have any questions, please subscribe this page!