Iceland: Breathtaking South Coast

We took another day trip from Reykjavik, also by GeoIceland, and this time we explored the south coast of Iceland. Similar to the Golden Circle tour, we waited at the entrance of our hostel at 8.30am to wait for the van to pick us up. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Javier was once again our guide for the day.

It was a long drive to our first stop, Skógafoss (almost 2 hours). I stayed awake for the entire journey, determined to keep my eyes open to take in the gorgeous scenery of Iceland as much as possible. Most of the other people in the tour had nodded off not long into the journey.

The moment the van turned into the road that ran parallel to the south coast, we could immediately see the sharp divide between the highlands and the coastal lowlands. On the left side of the van. towering cliffs, which used to form the coastline, ran on for miles and miles. On the right side of the van, the grasslands, the new coastline, stretched out far into the horizon.

Meanwhile, it was common to see small waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. I’m not even sure that all of them are named, given the great number of waterfalls all over Iceland. I snapped the photo below while I was in the moving van.

Small waterfalls – a common sight in Iceland

Raufarholshellir lava tube cave

The Golden Circle is a route covering the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, including the must-see Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. As it was just the two of us, we opted for a day tour by GeoIceland, a tour company which specialises in small group tours.

As usual, we waited at the entrance of our hostel for the tour bus to pick us up. As we had no idea how our transportation for the day would look like, we stood and gazed out intently at every vehicle that turned into the carpark serving the block where our hostel was located, trying to decide if that was the right vehicle.

Finally, a large van pulled up in front of us and the driver got out and asked for our names. We told him and my friend handed over the confirmation slip as well. However, he simply shrugged and informed us that it wasn’t needed. “Correct place, correct name, that’s all I need,” he said.

With that, we climbed into the van, only to discover that it was almost full and the last two seats were the single seats at the side of the van. It was a fully-booked tour, which I guess was unsurprising given the popularity of the route.

During the journey, the tour guide introduced himself to us as Javier. Spanish by origin, he studied at the University of Iceland for his masters degree in glaciology (the study of glaciers) and stayed on after graduation to work in Iceland. He was inspired to further his studies in Iceland after participating in a student exchange programme during his undergraduate years in Spain. Due to his background in geography, he was naturally very knowledgeable about plate tectonics and during the hour-long trip to our first attraction, he lectured us on the origins of Iceland and the various lava flows that are commonly seen in Iceland.

Our first stop was to visit a lava tube cave in Leitahraun lava field.

Leitahraun lava field

It was approximately an hour’s drive from Reykjavik and the entrance of the cave was highly accessible as it was just a few steps away from the highway. The cave itself is rather huge (I read online that it would take 4 hours to explore the cave fully) and not safe for caving during winter, but the entrance of the cave, which was what we would be seeing, is accessible all year round. There are caving tours for adventurous people but the Raufarholshellir lava tube cave is extra perilous, especially during winter, and definitely not for the average tourist.

As we carefully navigated the icy steps down the lava tube cave, it grew darker, but not as dark as I thought it would be.Javier warned us that the pathway leading to and in the cave could be icy and therefore we had to be extra careful. He stood at the entrance and helped us down the steps to the cave.

As we carefully navigated the icy steps down the lava tube cave, it grew darker, but not as dark as I thought it would be. I soon realised why.

Raufarholshellir lava tube cave

Right in the middle of the cave was a gaping hole revealing the sky. Beneath the collapsed section was a pile of rocks. It was easier to navigate the steps deeper in the cave, but as we were not going on a caving tour, the guide made us turn back and climb out the way we came in.

Iceland: Chasing the Elusive Northern Lights – Part 1

One of the main reasons we’d made the tedious journey to Iceland (from the Netherlands) was to catch the northern lights. However, the higher the hope, the greater the disappointment. With this in mind, I tried to contain my expectations and kept reminding my travel companion that the chance of seeing the northern lights was at best, 50/50 (this is true, by the way).

Most people usually sign up for northern lights tours simply because the ideal locations to view the lights need to be far away from any light pollution, i.e. cities. Therefore, a tour provides the needed transport as well as the expertise of having scouts driving around to chase the lights for us. I personally won’t recommend driving by yourself because of the total darkness and snow, if you are visiting in the depth of winter.

The greatest show on earth – as captured on my camera

Iceland: Reykjanes Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon on a 4×4

Reykjanes Peninsula is the youngest part of Iceland, formed when lava flowed out into the ocean and solidified to form a new land. It is home to Iceland’s international airport, Keflavik, which is often referred to as Reykjavik Airport. This is misleading as Keflavik is a good 45 minutes drive away from the capital city Reykjavik. But I digress.

As there was just the two of us, we didn’t want to rent a car and drive in unfamiliar territory. Hence, we signed up for a day tour with IG Tours at ISK 11900/pax. This includes driving to the Blue Lagoon but excludes the entrance ticket, which would set one back at an equivalent of 35 euros/pax.

At 8.30am  when the sun had barely risen, we waited at the front door of our hostel where the tour would pick us up from, hugging our jackets tightly to our bodies and shivering in the strong winds. The temperature was already hovering at around five degrees Celcius despite it being end October. A big tour bus rolled up at the entrance and we thought that it was our bus. However, it turned out to be for a different IC tour to the Golden Circle. When we gave our names, the driver made a brief call before asking us if we could shift our Reykjanes tour to tomorrow and take the Golden Circle tour today. This arrangement was impossible because we had already signed up for a Golden Circle tour the next day with a different tour company. Eventually, the bus left after picking up its passengers.

A white 4×4 jeep pulled up in front of our hostel at 9am sharp. Initially, I was incredulous that this would be our ride for the day, but it turned out that we were the only two people booked for that day, so instead of dispatching a tour bus or even minivan, the driver cum guide came in a jeep instead. In effect, it was a private tour for the price of a group tour! No wonder they tried to get us to join another tour instead.

The driver drove us to a harbour just outside Reykjavik, where we stopped for a toilet break as the next attraction would be in a remote area without any sanitary facilities. We then drove for about an hour before we spotted a random structure where fish were hung from it, drying. The driver stopped for a moment so that we could hop out and explore the place. That is the beauty of private tours – we had the freedom to stop anytime, linger or move on.

Fish hung out to dry

The main attraction throughout the drive was really the jaw-dropping scenery outside. It was my first time, here in Iceland, that I could really feel the absolute isolation from the world. We could drive on for hours and not see anybody within a 10 or even a 100 kilometre radius. It was ourselves and the stark landscape. It was a truly surreal feeling to behold.

Our jeep in the highlands

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camps – Arbeit Macht Frei

On our final day in Poland, we once again signed up with Cracow Tours for a day tour (students have a discount!) to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. The tour was supposed to last for 6 hours, meaning that it began in the morning and ended in the mid-afternoon. As such, it is advisable to bring along a packed lunch so that you won’t go hungry during the tour. As for us, we only brought along snacks for lunch (think chocolate waffle biscuits, potato chips and the like!). Not very healthy, obviously. 😛

Again, the meeting point was at the same place as yesterday (outside the tour office). During the bus ride to Auschwitz, there was a documentary screening from a small mounted TV, explaining the history behind Auschwitz. Although it was narrated in English, it was hard to focus on the screen due to its small size and I soon nodded off.

Auschwitz I

About an hour and a half later, we arrived at Auschwitz I, which was the original concentration camp first constructed to hold Polish political prisoners.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. On the bus to Auschwitz, we passed by a building with a sign containing the word “Oświęcim” on it. I remembered thinking to myself that it sounded rather similar to Auschwitz! In fact, Auschwitz derived its German name from the nearby Polish town of Oświęcim.

Entrance to Auschwitz I

Kraków – Exploring the city centre and Wieliczka Salt Mine

On Day 3 of our Poland holiday, we bade farewell to Zakopane and took the bus back to Kraków (Polish pronunciation: “krakuf”), the historical capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569, and also the capital of Germany’s General Government during World War II. Kraków is Poland’s second largest city (after Warsaw, the current Polish capital). Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland’s most important economic hubs.

We first strolled around the historical centre of Kraków, which consists of narrow cobblestone roads lined with Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic style buildings, reflecting the rich architecture of Kraków.

A shopping street in Kraków’s old town

Street artists displaying their canvases for sale

Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) in the middle of Rynek Główny, the centre of the Old Town and also the building holding the most number of souvenir shops

Inside the Sukiennice

Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains Part 2 – Gubałówka Hill

We spent our second day in Zakopane chilling out on Gubałówka Hill, which is a short distance away from the city centre of Zakopane and accessible on foot. Gubałówka offers commanding views of the Tatra Mountains and it is a highly popular tourist attraction. So popular in fact, that a funicular was built to carry tourists up to the summit of Gubałówka quickly and effortlessly. Alternatively, one could also walk up for free but a steep climb awaits them.

The funicular

As we were lazy at heart, on top of the inexpensive tickets, we opted for the funicular ride up instead of the all-natural way of using our own two legs. It took a few minutes to travel to the summit.

The view on the way up

When we arrived at the summit, we were greeted with a postcard-perfect view of the Tatras. There was even a viewing platform for tourists to admire the scenery properly.

Viewing platform for the Tatra Mountains

Zakopane and the Tratra Mountains Part 1 – Hiking to Morskie Oko

Even before the time when my exchange placement at Maastricht University was confirmed, I had been dreaming and drawing up a wish list of European countries and cities to visit during my exchange semester. Poland was not one of them. In fact, had my exchange friend not brought up the issue of how she had not been successful in looking for friends to visit Poland together, I would not even have entertained the thought of going to Poland. It wasn’t because I was against anything Polish; rather, I didn’t know if Poland had anything worth travelling to for.

Poland turned out to be a hidden gem.

As this trip was made during Period 1 of my exchange at Maastricht University, my friends and I booked Ryanair tickets from Brussels Chaleroi Airport to Krakow. It was my first budget flight in Europe and also my first experience with Ryanair, which as such warranted a photo of the plane wing. 😛

Upon touching down at Krakow, we took the public bus to the main train station (around a 40-min journey after factoring in the congestion), where we bought the bus tickets that would bring us to Zakopane (1.5 hours). I was surprised that there were a substantial number of people who wanted to travel to Zakopane, as I had initially thought Zakopane to be an off-beaten track with fewer tourists. Little did I know that Zakopane was in fact one of the most popular tourist destinations in Poland, being famous for its beautiful mountain ranges and ski resorts.

I left a piece of my heart back in Maastricht

This post is dedicated to the small historical city of Maastricht, my home for a third of the year of 2013.

Maastricht is such a small town, but it captured my heart in ways I never thought possible. Its charming architecture and laid-back lifestyle are polar opposites of Singapore’s sterile, fast-paced city life. In the blink of an eye, I am currently into the fourth week of my last semester in my home university (NTU) in Singapore. Yet, it seemed like yesterday that I was busy preparing dinner with my room mate back in Maastricht.

Maastricht – home to me for a good four months

Munich – Exploring the Old Town, BMW Museum and Beer Garden

Since we had travelled all the way to Munich for Oktoberfest, we decided to also do a city tour of Munich itself. After leaving the Oktoberfest area, we walked around the old town of Munich and along the main shopping belt in Marienplatz.