Iceland - a travel blog

Unforgiving highlands The breakfast in this old hotel is served in the basement. Various wooden tables and old artifacts create a perfect atmosphere for this place. The stone benches are covered with deer or sheep fur. A group of Italians arrive and fill up the room. Apparently, we're not the only tourists after all. After breakfast we start looking for a gas station to fill up the car before heading back into the highlands. According to Google Maps, there should be one not far from the hotel. However, when we arrive it's just an empty open area. Luckily, we'll pass by another one before we go inland. We're relieved that the car didn't make any more terrifying noises, but the true test will be today. We plan to drive the F35, also known as the Kjölur route. It was used in the oldest days as a critical trading route for horses. However, after some merchants died during a snowstorm the route has been abandoned until the 19th century. Nowadays, there is even a bus that...

Alone in this world As dawn breaks, we have another early morning start. The drive on the Sprengisandur will take almost all day, so we have to start early. After a simple breakfast on our wellness slippers, we check-out. Actually, we just have to leave the key on the counter as most employees work in the restaurant/breakfast area in the morning. When we walk to our car, we see some huge trucks parked in front of the hotel. These cars have been adapted to travel anywhere at any season. We hit the road once more and after 10 minutes leave the comfort of asphalt for a day of shaky loose rocks. Unlike yesterday this road doesn't have that many potholes, it's mostly rocks and evading the biggest ones. We're lucky as the sun is shining upon us today allowing far views in the distance. We spot huge mountains and glaciers. After a couple of hours, we cross two bikes. Amazed by the dedication of those people, we stare at them as we pass by. They must have spent the night somewhere ...

Colourful highlands It's early morning when the alarm goes off. The sun has just risen and during breakfast we check again the Icelandic road service website. Nothing has changed: the nearest road into the highlands is still closed. Turns out the daily refresh is only at 7AM. We will be driving by that time, so we plan for the longer route which takes us all the way back to just before Selfoss. A town we passed by on our second day.  Town of Vík At last we leave the ring road and turn on road 26. New, undiscovered, ground that will take us further inland. This road turns after a while in the F26 which we will drive all the way to Mývatn on the next day. All F-roads in Iceland are off-road tracks and require a 4-wheel drive car. Just before the asphalt stops, we turn right onto the F225, our first F-road. We quickly read the signs sayings that 4x4-cars are mandatory and that there are possible river crossings on these roads. The speed limit is reduced from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on thes...