What is it with this spell that Iceland does to you? My first visit was a spontaneous short trip to see a concert of Sigur Rós in Reykjavík. Little did I expect to be blown away in more ways than one… I became enchanted by the overwhelming beauty of Iceland. It just keeps you coming back for more.

Many visitors to Iceland have experienced the same thing. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been since then. Serious warning: Iceland is addictive! This is my story of how that happened.

Soul-stirring Icelandic music

Sigur Rós has stirred my soul from the moment I accidently stumbled upon them early 2006. Out of curiosity I clicked on a link to a concert they had played in Reykjavík a few months before. I was intrigued by the ethereal sound of their music, so I left it playing in the background for the full length of the gig. Then, at the very end, came the song that truly blew me away. The song that made me an instant fan: ‘Popplagið’ – their epic masterpiece.

It starts off with gently flowing guitar melodies, like a spring shower innocently drifting by. Then it suddenly advances like a distant thunder, slowly building up and finally unleashing into a furious explosion of sound, overwhelming like a lightning storm.

It flooded into my soul and left me in complete awe. Wanting to hear more.

I just had to go & see them live

When Sigur Rós announced they would play a free concert in a park in Reykjavík at the end of July 2006, it triggered me into a spontaneous short trip to Iceland, just to visit that concert.

The geyser at Geysir. The big one to the left is the original, but now Strokkur is the active one.

A trip into the unknown

Except for some general characteristics, I had no idea what to expect of Iceland. I knew that Iceland is where the natural phenomenon of the geyser comes from. I also knew that there’s quite a large glacier somewhere, and that Reykjavík is said to be a nice & charming town. Other than that, I imagined it to be rather barren & cold – which are not my favourable conditions to be in.

Before the Sigur Rós concert, Iceland wasn’t even on my radar of places I wanted to visit. But the thought of seeing Sigur Rós on their native territory made me go for it with an open mind.

So I decided to book a weekend trip to Reykjavík to see this concert in the park. I thought I might as well add a few extra days to explore the surroundings. After all, I was going there anyway, and this would probably be the only time I’d go to Iceland… How wrong I was! 😉

Little did I expect to be blown away in more ways than one

Not only by the Sigur Rós concert – which was already awesome in itself. All 2 hours & 15 minutes of it, culminating in that mind-blowing eruption of sound that is their epic song ‘Popplagið’. I stood about five rows from the front of the stage, and was blasted off my orange coloured socks by their brilliant sounds.

Sigur Rós @ Klambratún Park in Reyjkjavík.

Colourful & cozy Reykjavík.

Midnight sunrise at the Solfar sun voyager in Reykjavík.

Pleasantly surprised by Iceland

I loved the atmosphere of Reykjavík, the coziness of the colourful corrugated iron houses in the town centre and the beautiful views to stupendous mountains in all directions. And I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t actually as cold as I expected.

Reykjavík nightlife and swimming pools

I went out to a couple of bars with fellow travellers from the hostel, and it rocked! I danced my purple coloured socks off, and walked back along the harbour in broad daylight in the middle of the night. Blissfully drifted around in the hot outdoor swimming pool next to the hostel and soaked myself silly in the Blue Lagoon (still affordable at the time…)

Continental drift

I did a hiking tour in Þingvellir National Park and stood on the edge of where the continental plates drift apart. And even though it rained, it was utterly beautiful.

Þingvellir continental rift, one of those places that makes you feel blown away with the beauty of Iceland. Geological wonders happening right before your eyes.

Intriguing impressions of Iceland

I was intrigued by the luminosity of the light that never really went away, the way the language sounded, and those funny extra letters ‘ð’ and ‘þ’.

And, another thing that I noticed: English spoken with an Icelandic accent is one of the sexiest accents I’ve heard. Sometimes I couldn’t help myself asking random people for directions or other information, just to hear them talk. Those rolling r’s just seemed to make me melt like a glacier on a steaming volcano… 😉

The steaming fields of Geysir geothermal valley.

Skógafoss rainbow waterfall.

Road trippin’…!

Incredible craggyness & overwhelming beauty

After Reykjavík I had two full days for some further exploring. I rented a car and drove inland to the geyser area & along the south coast to Vík. And got lost in some of the most overwhelmingly beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen.

Surreal landscapes and countless waterfalls

It was full of steaming fields and surreal rugged & craggy mountains, with countless waterfalls tumbling from their hallucinating green edges. I saw a brilliant sunset on a shimmering glacier mountain looming in the distance at half past 10 at night, and I was well & truly blown away.

It was beyond anything I could have imagined or expected beforehand.

Hallucinating red hills.

Hallucinating green valleys. And no, those colours aren’t exaggerated. It really looks like that in summer!

Hallucinating blue ponds at Geysir.

Lost in the beauty of Iceland

When I woke up the next day to clear blue skies & warm sunshine (!) and walked up to the craggy Reynisfjall hill, I was lost forever. I was on a continuous natural high all the way back to Reykjavík. Iceland had taken me completely by surprise.

I decided there & then I just had to come back for more.

The unpronounceable glacier mountain

It was probably the incredible craggyness of an obscure mountain massif with a glacier on top that did it. I had no idea what the name of this mountain was. And even if I did, no-one except Icelanders could pronounce it anyway…

Way beyond awesome…! The obscure glacier mountain, looming behind craggy hills.

Reynisfjall with Vík in the background.

Pillars coughed up from the sea.

The lagoon behind Reynisfjara.

The shimmering islands on the south coast

I also noticed some mysterious peaks shimmering in the distance, on the coastal plain across from the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. At first I thought they were mountains. But then I realized they are actually islands, rising from the sea like a fata morgana surrounded by misty swirls. And somehow I felt immediately drawn to them.

It was like a force of nature that couldn’t be denied. I just had to go there…

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@ Read more about Vestmannaeyjar (and their fantastic festival called Þjóðhátíð).

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Vestmannaeyjar shimmering in the distance. Those mysterious wisps of fog swirling around the island to the left (Elliðaey) are what is called a dalalæða in Icelandic – a spectacular phenomenon to see!

Returning to Iceland – and Vestmannaeyjar!

I went back to Iceland the next year for a complete rúntur around the Ring Road. And that wouldn’t be the last time either. The first thing on my route had to be those shimmering islands on the south coast: the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. It was beautiful beyond belief.

I instantly felt that this was one of those places I would want to return to.

On Heimaey, the main island of Vestmannaeyjar, I bought a card with a view to that awe-inspiring glacier mountain looming across on the other side. Then I finally found out what it was called – its unpronounceable name was written underneath.

A couple of years later – in 2010 to be precise – it actually became world famous… 😉

So that’s the name of the glacier mountain…!

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@ I first published this story in 2006 on MySpace (when it was still a social media platform).

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Funny Icelandic words

• Farfuglaheimili: Migratory bird’s home = Youth hostel.
• Þjóðgarður: Community (people’s) garden = National park.
• Rúntur: Round tour; driving (or walking) around from one place to another = Pub crawl.
• Dalalæða: Valley crawler. An untranslatable word for a specific type of fog, slowly crawling up from a valley. Læða is also the word for a female cat.

You can see these funny but confusing road signs in many places around Iceland.

Renting a car for your own Icelandic rúntur

I have rented cars with several companies in Iceland, and I’m really pleased with Blue Car Rental. It’s my go-to company now when I want to rent a car in Iceland. Blue Car offers good quality cars and hassle-free packages with zero deposit and all the main insurances included. They have an office just across the road from Keflavík International Airport and in Reykjavík at the Grandi harbour district. You can fill out your details and check in online, so picking up your rental car is quick and easy.

If you book through this link, you’ll also get a 5% discount on their car rental rates! 🙂

Iceland travel planning

The beauty of Iceland is overwhelming, and so are the amount of sights to see & things to do. If you don’t know where to start, what to expect and how to make the most of your visit to Iceland? Helga Stina is an Icelandic travel planner who knows all about Iceland’s hidden gems and secret places. She can help you unwrap the overwhelming amount of beautiful sights, create tailor-made itineraries, and connect you to locals who offer unique experiences.

Find out more on Iceland Unwrapped by HelgaStina.

@ If you have any questions, let me know in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you! Your questions, comments and suggestions are also helpful for other readers and travellers. Thank you for sharing.

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Enjoying a ‘civilization coffee’ on a Reykjavík rooftop terrace.

(*) This article contains some affiliate links for services I have personally used and recommend. When you book through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me to run my website and keep on researching practical travel tips & information for you. 🙂

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More to explore & discover

Vestmannaeyjar – Þar sem hjartað slær (A spectacular island and festival)

Northern lights – Hunting the elusive Aurora Borealis

Reykjanes – Hidden treasures beyond the barren landscape

Faroe Islands – Atlantic weather systems moving overhead

Island hopping on the Aeolian Islands – A volcanic archipelago

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© All photos and content on this website are my own, and subject to copyright (unless credited otherwise). Please contact me if you want to use a photo or quote a text from one of my articles. You’re welcome to share a link to my blog articles and photos on social media, with a tag and mention to Wilderness Coffee & Natural High.

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Videos

Sigur Rós Icelandic runtúr documentary

The Reykjavík concert was part of a documentary that Sigur Rós made in 2006. It took them to all kinds of unusual off-the-beaten-track places around Iceland, with exotic names like Ísafjörður, Öxnadalur and Djúpavík. The documentary is called ‘Heima’ and was released in September 2007. It features several tracks from their concerts in remote places (and Reykjavík), along with beautiful footage of Iceland and its people, and personal observations from the band members. Here you can watch the trailer of the Heima documentary.

Sigur Rós Live in Reykjavík 2005 – Video of the concert that eventually lured me to Iceland.

Popplagið

The song that started it all. The epic masterpiece. Live at the Reykjavík concert @ Klambratún Park on 30 July 2006. I was in that crowd, tripping out of my orange coloured socks.

It did indeed cause a Natural High. 😀

A shorter version of this story was also published as a guest post on Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine in August 2016.

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First published: 4 April 2017