If you watch the news....Grindavik, Iceland has come up a good bit in the past two weeks, with volcanic activity going on.
Around six years ago....my wife (German in nature) agreed to a 7-day trip to Iceland. For the first three days of the trip....we based ourselves out of Grindavak.
To describe the location? If you look on a map...to the far SW corner....about a 25-minute drive from the Keflavik Airport.
As you exit the airport, there's basically two roads....if you head east, you go into Reykjavik. The other road leads south, toward the Blue Lagoon and Grindavik.
Describing Grinavik? It's a town of 3,700 residents. If you go back forty years ago....before commerce picked up....I doubt if there were more than 500 people who lived in the isolated town.
On what drives the town today? You fall into one of four work-categories...(1) you work at the airport. (2) You work for the Blue Lagoon complex. (3) You work in the fisheries industry. (4) You work in some agricultural small operation (chickens, for example).
Tourism? Well....there was just one single hotel operating when I went, with 2 or 3 bar and grill operations, a cafe or two, and two authentic restaurants.
You mostly went to this area to experience the Blue Lagoon, see the hot springs, and see 'quiet' Iceland.
That funny smell? Well....the smell off the hot springs was a on-going thing....you continually noticed the scent. I guess locals adjust to it.
It is curious to watch the updates.
2 comments:
My wife (German in nature) and I also spent 3 weeks in Iceland. We rented a 4x4 SUV and traveled the entire country. Mostly following the coast but we did visit much of the highlands. As normal we avoided the tourist traps and enjoyed the historical aspects of Iceland. One highlight of our tour was a small Bar and Grill called Valhalla in Hvolsvollur. The owner was very friendly, wearing a Viking World Tour t-shirt, and spouting praises of the Viking culture. He also had a small Viking Museum and axe trowing if you wished to participate. Another thing to look for is the Icelandic traditional Lamb Soup called Kjötsupa and the best place to get the soup is from a gas station (N1). The gas stations in Iceland offer shopping and a buffet style meal.(all you can eat) A welcome site to a weary traveler after a full day of hiking in the vast region of inner Iceland.A beautiful country we plan to visit again.
I can't of a single negative from my trip. I will admit on eating out...there's serious limits (you'd be better off stopping at some grocery and buying bread/cheese/deli items a couple of times a week). I found Icelandic beer to be just as good as German beer.
The maps that indicate 'harsh unpaved roads'...are to be taken serious and avoided.
One thing I would advise people strongly upon...make hotel reservations ahead of time. Don't 'wing-it'. In June, July and August...just a lot of people touring the island.
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