Tag Archive Iceland travel

ByGD

A Prayer, I Think

If I remember correctly, I took a picture of this plaque at the bottom (or was it the top) of Helgafell, a small mountain in Iceland near Stykkishólmur. According to legend, if you climb it without speaking or looking back once and make a wish at the top it will be granted. I climbed with my family. My oldest child raced ahead and barely made three steps onto the path before turning around to shout something at us. The rest of us did better, but it was slippery and in April there was still snow in places. I slipped up at the very top, accidentally asking out loud, “Does this count as the top or is it over there?” It must have been over there because my wish didn’t come true.

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Dark Landscapes

Last week I posted a picture of Dimmu Borgir, an area of unique rock formations in Iceland. This week I’m pulling the camera back a bit for a wider view. I think it’s interesting that in a country famous for unique rock formations, this particular area is named for such. Actually, what is most notable to me about it is its lush vegetation. That is far less common in this volcanic land.

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Dark Cities

The name Dimmu Borgir translates to Dark Cities. That’s quite the evocative name, and certainly worthy of an elven castle or a metal band. But like its namesake Norwegian band, the real Dimmu Borgir is not really very scary. It’s actually quite lovely. Much nicer than the Fire Swamp. I’d like to build a summer home there.

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Bucolic

This lovely, riparian scene appears quite bucolic. But it’s actually the slope beside the festival parking lot cum campground at the Eistnaflug heavy music festival in Iceland. Which actually says a lot about the festival, and about the country.

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Cell Phones in Iceland

When I travel internationally, I always buy a local SIM card (unless it’s a very short trip). Even when I’ve had cell phones with international calling plans, the roaming or international data charges were much more expensive than just getting a local card. I wrote a little bit about this when I went to China last year, but of course most of my international travel in recent years has been to Iceland. So of course I was very happy when I Heart Reykjavik saved me the trouble of writing up a post about buying Icelandic SIM cards. She’s pretty much covered everything.

The only thing I would add is that while Siminn is usually the best company, I had a terrible connection when I went to the Eistnaflug festival in the Eastfjords. I ended up switching to Nova, which for some reason seemed to work better in that region.

So, if you’re traveling to Iceland and trying to decide what to do about your phone, read this:

Why You Should Consider Buying An Icelandic SIM Card For Your Trip To Iceland