Christmas Day was cold and windy in Selfoss. Lots of snow and temperatures below zero, – 9°C. The same can be said for most of the country but in the North temperatures went down to – 20° C.
Reykjavík is the only capital in Europe to have snow this Christmas. That is unusual for this time of year because in most capitals in East Europe and Scandinavia that would be the norm.
One of the busiest days of the year, Saint Thorlakur’s Day, and the Christmas preparations are almost finished. It is beautiful outside, temperatures around zero, it is calm and snow is falling lightly. Tomorrow the children and their other halves, grown up people now, will come and spend Christmas Eve with us. Merry Christmas 🙂
Skaftafell in Öræfi, Southeast Iceland, is part of Vatnajökull National Park. The scenery around Skaftafell is spectacular with jagged mountain tops and Iceland’s highest mountain, Hvannadalshnjúkur.
Volcanic eruptions in Öræfajökull have formed the landscape as well as the glacial rivers, Skeiðará, Morsá und Skaftafellsá, which contribute to the huge sands, Skeiðarársandur, that cover an area of around 1000 km2.
Þjórsárdalur is a wide valley located inland in Árnes county, South Iceland. Several rivers flow through the valley, forming waterfalls as they plung off the edge of the plateau.
Hjálp, or Hjálparfoss is one of the waterfalls in the valley, situated north of the volcano Hekla. It is a two-stepped waterfall, near where the rivers Fossá and Thjórsá join together. Beautiful basalt formations surround the waterfall. It is easy to reach from the main road and footpaths lead down to the riverfront.
It has been getting colder in the last few days. The frost was around -7° C today and the forecast predicts up to -10°C tonight in the South and even colder in the North and the East. Cold air is on its way from Northeast Greenland and forecasts predict that the cold will reach West Europe tomorrow. A little ice has started to form on the river.
Churches come in all shapes and sizes. This is the church at Núpsstaður, one of the smallest churches in Iceland and perhaps in the world. It is a turf church made like the old Icelandic traditional farmhouses. A little less spectacular than the Sagrada Família in Barcelona.
This tiny chapel is a valuable heritage and became Iceland’s first building to be protected by law in 1930.
The old buildings of Núpsstaður are listed tentative – UNESCO World Heritage Site, see: The Turf House Tradition
Holtsós is a tidal lagoon separated from the ocean with only a thin strip of sand. In the calm weather at dusk on Saturday, it was lit up by the setting sun as we were driving home from our day’s outing under Eyjafjöll, South Iceland.
In recent years it has become popular to have your wedding pictures taken in the great outdoors. Couples often travel long distances to be united in marriage and Iceland is a popular destination.
Last weekend we came upon these newlyweds at Glacier Lagoon, Southeast Iceland. I secretly caught pictures of them when no one was watching – hope they don’t mind. It was windy and the temperature just +5°C. We wish them a very happy future and warmer days than this one by the Lagoon surrounded by icebergs under the biggest glacier in Europe.
More on Glacier Lagoon – Walrus, – Fireworks
The birch (Betula pubescens) is the only tree species that grew natural forests in Iceland before the settlement. Still today it is an important species in forestry and reforestation. Every year considerable amounts of seed is collected and used to raise plants or sown straight into barren landscapes.
Here is a group of students from the upper secondary school in Selfoss collecting birch seed in Þjórsárdalur, South Iceland. There birch has grown in an area where former there were only barren sands. This birch forest is around 15 years old and has started producing seed.
Continue reading Collecting birch seed
