After a very heavy dose day-4 of exploring moss-covered lava fields, canyons, waterfalls, lakes, national parks and glacial lagoons (read: Iceland Roadtrip Day 4 – Tour of Vatnajökull National Park and Glacier Lagoon), day-5 would take us though the east of Iceland.
But first, since we were staying at the Glacier World near Hofn, we went for a dip at the natural hot tubs first thing in the morning. The natural hot tubs completely negated an otherwise windy and chilly morning.
Refreshed post a hearty breakfast, we set out to cover approximately 310km of drive, driving along the very edge of the east coast where the mighty fjords meet the Norwegian Sea, creating picture-perfect landscapes at every step.
The day was scheduled for village hopping along the east coast – Breiðdalsvík, Stöðvarfjörður . The villages, most of them with under 100 residents, are quiet….you don’t find the usual Europe bustle and music in the streets here….it’s too cold and windy for that. People huddle up in the warm restaurants for their ales…The famous elves and gnomes of Iceland line up the porches of residents’ homes….
We started off with some sun and gusty winds…. by the second village, Stöðvarfjörður, slight drizzle invaded. By the third village, Egilsstaðir, we ran into proper Icelandic weather — wind, rain and crazy chill. But the cherry-on-the-cake moment came when, on our way to see Egilsstaðir, we drove into a blizzard and -2°!! Squealing like kids we wore everything we had in our handy backpacks and hopped into the snow for a good session of hurling snowballs at one another….
We closed the day at the elegant Lake Hotel Egilstadir after a good dinner of Reindeer Tartare, Lamb Chops, Scallions Risotto and Arctic Cod at the Nielsen Restaurant.
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Planning a trip to Iceland? Here is help with the itinerary of a 10-day roadtrip in Iceland