Iceland in January 6: Frost and Fire

The next day, we headed south again, saying good-bye to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and, as the day wore on, we also said good-bye to gloominess. By the time we approached the road that had given us so much trouble on our way up, there was sunshine and blue sky. We figured we were good to go for the drive. So much for that theory. It wasn’t snowing, but the blowing snow was still blinding. 

Scary

It was another white-knuckle drive and I swore that I wouldn’t do that again. Ever. Still, we safely reached our destination – the Frost and Fire Hotel in Hveragerði. 

Photo: Frost & Fire Hotel

The hotel is famous for its thermal oven (in the parking lot) where the chef cooks many of the dinner items and guests can cook their own eggs for breakfast. 

Photo: Frost & Fire Hotel

We had to drive several blocks back into town (yes, a town with several blocks – this is the populated part of Iceland) over snow-packed streets (one of the few places where the roads were actually snow-packed) and up a hill. The River Varmá runs along the back and the hotel has hot pools and a sauna.

The surrounding area is part of the geothermally active Hengill central volcano, and is said to have frequent minor earthquakes. We didn’t feel any. The town is known for its greenhouses, heated by volcanic hot springs, where much of Iceland’s produce is grown. Of course, the town also has a sulfuric smell.  Not terribly bad, but there.

Our room was reached down a snowy/icy stone path with rather uneven stone steps. It was a bit tricky to navigate and would be impossible for anyone with a handicap. But, it looked down on the river, facing north. So, the walk was worth it. And, as you can see, the afternoon had gotten quite pretty.                    

Photos: Caty Stevens

We thought it would be great for catching aurora, but it turned out that the humidity in the room fogged up the window all night long.

After checking in, we decided that we had enough daylight for some exploring and the weather was pretty good, so we headed east on the ring road ...

A good start

... stopping first to photograph some horses that didn't seem to like the weather.

He looks chilled

Then, we caught the sun over Vestmannaeyjar, the Westmann Islands that sit off the southern coast of Iceland. 

Morning light

Last time I was in Iceland, you couldn’t see them through the clouds and, although they were still off in the mist, they were definitely there.

The islands are interesting because the Eldfell volcano erupted in 1973, destroying about 20 percent of the main town and forcing a months-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland. I would like to go there someday.

Then, on to Seljalandsfoss, the first major waterfall on the southern route. 

Seljalandsfoss

The 200-foot falls are famous because you can walk behind them – but apparently not in the wintertime because of the ice that forms from the spray. The walkway was snowed in.

Looks tricky

The area was beautiful in the afternoon light with the snow and ice around it. 

A pretty winter day

Once again, we were glad that we had crampons because the ramps on the bridge that crosses the river was slippery. This is the one place we actually saw someone fall on the ice.

A high-up water/snowfall

The pretty pink we saw in the sky was both the actual sun and reflections from the clouds. Because of Seljalandsfoss' orientation, it doesn't get much direct sun in winter, just reflection off the clouds.

Low sun

Here's a summer/winter comparison.

Summer, winter

When we returned to the Frost and Fire, we had a lovely dinner in the Varmá restaurant. I had beef with mushrooms and Caty had local lamb with a moss-infused sauce. Her dinner was cooked primarily in the geothermal oven. The dining room is a solarium with a view of the river. It was quite lovely and is probably glorious in the summertime.

After dinner, we returned to our room where our window was pelted by two snowballs for who know where. Other guests who thought someone they knew was in the room? Local kids? We’ll never know.

We decided we had to do the hot pool. It was relatively close to our room, but required a somewhat treacherous walk through below-zero weather. 

Photo: Frost & Fire Hotel

So, we put on bathing suits, hotel-provided robes, snow pants and boots and slogged down to the (fortunately unoccupied) hot pool. It is just a concrete tub like a hot tub that sits right next to the river. We left our snow pants in the nearby relaxation room, which boasts a divided hot/cold pool (they told us one foot in each boosts circulation; Caty tried it and said the cold was really cold; my circulation is fine). 

We were anticipating agony when we exited the hot tub, so we wanted clothes close so we wouldn’t freeze on the walk back to the room. Then, we got in the pool, gingerly shedding shoes and robes. The water was glorious – really hot. In fact, so hot, that I couldn’t stay submerged very long. The sky was clear and the Big Dipper was right above us over the mountains. It did start to cloud up as we soaked. 

When we decided we had had enough (heatstroke was impending), we exited and discovered that we were warm enough that we probably could have walked back in our suits without robes – definitely didn’t need the snow pants. It took me about 45 minutes to fully cool down.

I checked throughout the night, but no aurora.

The next morning, we had a lovely breakfast that featured delicious bread cooked in the geothermal oven. Think a less sweet bran muffin from Mimi’s. Dense, dark and delicious.

A nice time, even if it was a bit icy

Trip date: January 16-27, 2015