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Fire & Ice is over but the memories will last forever...

Sunday, August 12, 2018 | Thomas Ritt / Mike Woltering | Europe

On the road along the beautiful Whale Fjord

Day 9 - Hella - Reykjavik

 Our last riding day. A bit of sightseeing at Kerið crater and at Þingvellir, both very busy, but riding around beautiful Hvalfjörður was so nice that we ended up doing it twice. Lunch was in the War & Peace museum. Not in an on-site cafe or so, no, right inside the museum. That's Iceland!

View of Þingvellir, the place where the Viking chiefs used to come together
Chiefs Francois, Regina, Uwe and BC
High season in Þingvellir.
Troy and an old "deuce-and-a-half" at the War & Peace Museum
"If you´re in doubt, throttle it out" doesn´t apply to every situation

Day 8 - Hof - Hella

Today the group went seperate ways. One part who set the focus on riding and the other one who wanted to do riding and a little more sightseeing as well. 

So the riding crew went up to the stunning area of Landmannalaugar with all its off-road riding, water crossings and colourful hillsides while the other half of the group followed the ring road to see some beautiful waterfall and black beaches.

Yep, someone got to do it and check out the best way through the water. Thats what you got your tourguide for.
BC presenting this nice view to the rest of the group.
Francois is going for one of the water crossings on his BMW GS 800.
This is Landmannalaugar with all its rivers ...
... its grass covered hills ...
... its nuclear mutated moss (just kidding but this green is just unbelieveable)
... and of course its moonscape!
In between of all this landscape we got one water crossing ...
... after another ...
... until we finally reached our lunch spot which was surrounded by fields of cotton gras.
As everyone was repleted we follow the F208 towards north to this beautiful lake.
At which end the nice blue water was mixed up with a lot of dirty water.

Day 7: Höfn - Hof

Vatnajökull, by far Europe's largest glacier and the world's third-biggest mass of ice, was in our focus today. From Höfn we could already see some of his many tounges. We rode on a stunning jeep trail, tested some snowmobiles, marvelled at the famous ice lagoon, hopped aboard a Zodiac boat, climbed to see yet another glacier and even hiked to a famous waterfall (no pics, too exhausted...). Mileage wise this was not a long riding day, but it was a full day, packed with action!

One of Vatnajökull's many tounges, seen from Höfn
The first photo stop in the morning already blew us away!
Riding up the 4x4 track to Jökulsel...
... where the guys seized the opportunity to go on a snowmobile tour. László...
... Ferenc...
...François...
... and BC
Other ways to get onto the ice include Superjeeps...
... or an Arctic expedition vehicle.
That was big fun!
Riding to this amazing place was just as much fun. Maybe even more!
Next stop on the list: Jökullsarlon, the world-famous ice lagoon.
This is an otherworldly and absolutely unique place!
The activity of choice: a ride in a Zodiac boat. Fancy outfit included.
Around the corner from our hotel is the Svinafellsjökull. Of course we had to go and see it!
This "interesting" path didn't keep the guys from exploring
They made it back safely. Who says riding motorcycles is the most dangerous thing?
Marsha & Troy

Day 6: Egilsstaðir - Höfn

Finally we got some good weather again on our way to Höfn. Even tho it was still cloudy but on the important spots we even had a little sun so the colors of the landscape were bright and shiny.

... looots of Ice
That view up here on Öxi-Pass was just stunning....
... with the Folaldafoss right next to us.
It is such a fun on this roads with this beauty.
Even during lunch we had a great view over the harbour of Djúpivogur.
Troy is just relaxing while we´re having a stopp at this gorgeous black beach.
The bikes were parked so we could walk up that tiny hill to enjoy ....
... that stunning view of this glacier snout.

Here are some more pics of the stunning scenery of south-eastern Iceland

Day 5: Húsavík - Egilsstaðir

While the sun is out over most of Iceland, the north and north-east are covered by thick clouds. But that didn't keep us from riding on black gravel roads and visiting Dettifoss, probably Iceland's most stunning waterfall. For waterfall fans this is the holy grail!

Early morning view of Húsavík
Mighty lake of Ásbyrgi
Welcome to the junge.... or one of the rare islandic forests.
Dettifoss, Europe's mightiest waterfall
In Iceland nature's forces are overwhelmingly powerful
The Dettifoss from the opposite side taken by the Vancrew.
Möðrudalur is the highest farm in Iceland. And one of the coldest, temperutures dropped to 3.5°C right after lunch. Good thing we've had a hearty lamb soup...
... here at the Fjallakaffi. Felt like walking into a ski hut
The sun came out at one point, this picture proofs it. It lasted about 2 minutes.
The church of Möðrudalur
Volcanic landscape
Even tho it’s not as mighty as the Dettifoss, it’s still a nice waterfall on our way to Egilsstadir.

Day 4: Akureyri - Húsavík

This house is owned by Brad Pitt. He wasn't home so we had to take our coffee break somewhere else...
The bikes are parked and we´re ready to check out the first sightseeing spot of the day.
Godafoss, the waterfall of the gods!
Around Myvatn the earth is very active. Volcanoes, geothermal areas, craters, lava everywhere. Very cool!
What's stuck in that little valley is not fog, but steam!
Having a well earned lunch at a nice, warm and cosy restaurant in Husavik. Thanks to Regina for this great picture.
Nice view out of our Hotel over the harbour and some of the bikes. Have a good night & see you tomorrow.

Day 3: Sauðárkrókur - Akureyri

Today's ride was a short one and that was good, very good, because it was cold, very cold. As we took the scenic gravel road to Ólafsfjörður temperatures plummeted to 6°C. Heat wave? Never heard of it...

The public swimming pool of Hofsós. Almost irresistable...
Stunning view across the Skagafjörður
The little brother of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
The Solvik Cafe boasts a great location, but today it remained closed
The Herring Museum. Siglufjörður was the epicenter of the Herring Rush of the 20th century
Port of Siglufjörður
A day without gravel road is not a real adventure tour day
Finally, BC received his luggage which the airline "forgot" in Heathrow

Day 2: Selfoss - Sauðárkrókur

 

Time for us to leave the south-western part and head up to the north coast through the highlands with all its high temperature areas, geysers, waterfalls and glacial / volcanic shaped landscape. What a beautiful place to ride.

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Just one of the little spouts of the Stokkar geyser.
Well earned coffee break in which the ladies had time for some shopping as well.
As we had no rain so far, we at least got a little wet of Gullfoss waterfall.
Seems like the group is ready to discover the icelandic highlands.
Once more we reach a high temperature area with its steaming landscape and ...
.. boiling mud pots.
Short stopp to deign the group this beautiful view over the Blanda area.
Guess Troy is enjoying this great view.
Thats how you build a church back in 1834. You just need some peat and gras.

Day 1: Reykjavik to Selfoss

After over 40 days of rain the sun returned to Iceland today. We rode under a blue sky and looked at some of the attraction of south-western Iceland. It was a gorgeous first day of our tour. Stay tuned!

View from the hotel room in Reykjavik
This chubby viking is guarding the Viking Museum outside of Keflavik But why is there a penguin sitting on his arm? We may never know for sure...
A fun group from four different nations: Hungary, South Africa, Germany and the US
At the thermal area of Gunnuhver steam shoots out of the earth at a temperature of over 300°C!
And it really is a lot of steam
The Blue Lagoon, Iceland's number one tourist attraction, feels like an overpriced Disneyland. We had a quick look and carried on towards our lunch place.
The Bryggjan Cafe in Grindavík is famous for their outstanding lobster soup. This place doesn't look like much from the outside, but what waited for us inside was a real treat!
Beautiful road across the lava fields
The group at Kleifarvatn
The "Blue Haven" Cafe is blessed with an amazing location. The views, the coffee, the cakes - simply outstanding!
Uwe enjoyed the sun and the views. Didn't want to leave anymore. Just sit here, look, and eat cake. Forever.
Black volcanic beach, in the distance you can see the mountains and some of the glaciers
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Add a comment Rate this post
Uwe
Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 19:52

This was one of the best tours in my life. Very impressive nature on nice roads, as being made for the GS, Thank you to the two outstanding Tour Guides Thomas and Mike !
Thomas Ritt
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at 19:48

Thanks Uwe!
It was a pleasure having you on tour; we're already looking forward to the next one...!
Angela
Sunday, August 12, 2018 at 11:06

Hey guys,
these are some amazing pictures!!! Wow!!!
Wish I had been with you
Angela
Regina
Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 09:06

Toller Tag Schöne Bilder!
László
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 19:49

Ans Büro: Es ist fast unglaublich, wie ihr auch am hintersten Eck der Welt noch urige, besondere, stimmungsvolle Restaurants auftreiben könnt. Toll !!!
Ursula Peter
Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 07:13

Hello team Hungaria,
surprise, surprise to see you again! Hope you enjoy it.
And watch out for these white chicken
Ursula
Regina
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 19:48

¡Hola chica! Die Island-Tour ist traumhaft. Kuschelige Schafe sind überall vereinzelt verstreut als weiße Punkte auf den Wiesen zu sehen, but I can´t find chicken
BC
Monday, August 6, 2018 at 22:59

Thanks Mike and Co for bearing with me through the "tough times"!
Mike Woltering
Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 23:07

We´ll be always there for you, especialy Brocco
Regina
Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 23:52

Heute am 2. Tag hatten wir eine lange wunderschöne Strecke auf Schotterpiste durch "Steinwüste". Für mich ein super intensives Erlebnis, Schotterpiste ist macht so einen Spaß!
Mike Woltering
Monday, August 6, 2018 at 00:34

Der Tag war die perfekte Einstimmung auf das was uns noch auf dem Trip erwarten wird!

Like a perfect introduction of what it´s gonna be at the other days of the trip.
László
Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 08:58

Iceland is astonishing: You will like the lack of the loudness of civilisation.

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