[ICELAND 冰島] Part I

Iceland, September 2019.

It’s been almost a year since A. and I got married. Since neither of us is really into the wedding ordeal, we only had a simple luncheon with close family members after we got registered at the city hall. But while the wedding ceremony was omitted, the honeymoon could not possibly be skipped!

When choosing honeymoon destination, there was one criteria not to be compromised – the destination has to be new for both of us, so we would spend time researching, planning, exploring, experiencing…together.

Iceland has been on my list for quite a while. My meager understanding of this Nordic island country is through the music of Sigur Rós and Of Monsters And Men, the volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, and scenes from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

冰島，2019年9月。

我和A結婚已快一年了。登記後兩人決定不辦婚禮，僅跟最親近的家人吃了個飯 – 這種低調的小慶祝，似乎更適合我們的個性。不過婚禮可以不辦，蜜月卻是一定要去的 – Please，我怎麼可能放過這個大玩特玩的好機會 🙋🏻。

關於蜜月要去哪裡，我和A討論了一陣子。其中一個不可妥協的條件，是要去兩人都未去過的地方，一起查資料、一起計劃、一起探險、一起感受。

我自己想去冰島已多年。對這個偏遠北國的初步認識，是通過當地樂團 Sigur Rós 和 Of Monsters And Men 的音樂、2010年 Eyjafjallajökull 火山爆發擾亂歐洲飛機航線的各種報道、以及2013年 “白日夢冒險王”（The Secret Life of Walter Mitty）電影里的取景。

A. and I are both in love with this movie. He has seen it 5 times, I’ve seen it 3 times (the last 2 times we watched together). This quote from the movie is a favorite of his and was even part how he proposed to me:

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

Naturally, it didn’t take long before we settled on Iceland as the honeymoon destination.

我和A都非常喜歡這部電影，他看過5次，我看過3次，最後兩次是一起看的。電影里的這段句子是他非常喜歡的文字，求婚時也用上了：

“看見世界，面對危險，跨越藩籬，貼近彼此，用心感受。這就是人生的目的。”

所以一提到冰島，兩人很快就定案 – 蜜月，就去這里吧。

Our 10-day journey started in Keflavik Airport, located in the southwest corner of Iceland, and we drove the entire length of the Ring Road (a.k.a. Route 1), circling the island counter clock-wise. The total distance, including some branching off here and there, was a bit over 1,600km.

It’s worth noting that while the surface area of Iceland is almost 85 times that of New York City, its population is less than 5% of that of NYC. So imagine a life without (or with very little of) crowds, traffic jams, noises, pollution…all is expansive, quiet, and peaceful.

Though I’ve done a fair bit of researching ahead of the trip, what I saw in photos in no way match up to what I experienced in person, surrounded by the vastness of it all. What’s truly amazing about Iceland is that not only were we wow’ed everyday during the journey, but the impact stayed with us long after the trip itself ended.

10 days, 10 highlights, here we go.

冰島十日行，從西南角的 Keflavik 機場開始，沿著環島的1號公路逆時鐘開了一圈。加上每天一些偏離主幹道的路線，總共一千六百多公里。

順帶一提，冰島的面積是台灣的近3倍，人口卻只有台灣的1/6不到（用上海的數據來比較的話，冰島面積是上海的15倍多，人口只有上海的1/5不到）。請想象一下這樣的生活 – 沒有人潮、沒有堵塞、沒有噪音、沒有污染…一切都遼闊、寧靜、和平。

雖然行前已做過功課，但照片中的景再美，也不及親身被壯闊冰川山稜圍繞的感動。去冰島旅行最奇妙的一點是不僅途中充滿驚嘆，回家後仍後勁十足，忍不住細細回味這場無與倫比的探險。十天，十個 highlight，分享給你。

Highlight #1
Oops, 行李不見了 / Where did the baggage go?

Our trip didn’t start off smoothly. Due to short connecting time in Amsterdam, our baggage didn’t board the plane with us, so when we arrived in Iceland, we didn’t have much other than what we were wearing.

Now, it’s never fun to have lost/delayed baggage, but a trip in Iceland where we really needed gear and would also be changing hotel everyday, it was especially worrisome that our baggage didn’t make it.

Well, there’s not much we could do other than wait, so in the mean time we decided to explore Reykjavík. Most travelers circling the island wouldn’t spend much time in the capital, but to our pleasant surprise, this is actually a very lovely city.

To start, it’s got Brauð & Co.

先跟大家說件囧事。由於轉機時間太趕，我們的托運行李未能跟上，所以抵達冰島時除了手上的東西以外什麼都沒有。機場地勤人員說行李第二天“應該”能到，但也無法保證。

雖說不管去哪兒旅行，行李延誤都是件麻煩事，但在冰島這種特別需要裝備、而且因為環島所以每天都換住宿的情況下，行李沒跟上更令人擔憂。無論如何，也只能耐心等待。

當下最重要的是不要讓好心情受打擾，反正等也是等，那就好好探索一下雷克雅維克吧！環冰島的旅客一般不會在首都花太多時間，但其實慢慢逛一下，會發現這是個很有意思的城市。

首先，這里有家厲害的麵包店 – Brauð & Co.。

The bakery smelled so good, it was hard not to order a bit of everything, and all that we tasted – croissant, ham & cheese croissant, cinnamon bun, vinarbraud (Vienne bread, a pastry with vanilla almond cream) – are delicious. If I were ever to move to Reykjavik (hmm…), I’d definitely want to live next door to this.

我們一口氣試了好幾樣麵包 – 原味可頌、火腿芝士可頌、肉桂捲、vinarbraud（Vienna bread，一種加了香草杏仁醬的糕點）- 樣樣美味。如果搬來雷克雅未克（咦？），就想要住在這家店隔壁。

The folks working at the shop that day were super hip-looking and friendly, some stopping in the middle of their busy work to ask if I’d want a close-up of the bread they were fabricating.

當天在店裡的工作人員清一色都是男孩子，一個個看起來都很 hip，而且非常友善，在忙碌之中還特別停下來問我要不要幫他手頭上正做著的麵包拍個近照。

This, my friend, is a caramel cruffin (croissant + muffin).

新鮮出爐的焦糖可頌麥芬。

Reykjavik Roasters, the coffee shop next to Brauð & Co., is also charming – a brightly-lit space with a warm vibe, complete with background music from vinyl records.

麵包店旁邊的咖啡館 Reykjavik Roasters 也相當迷人 – 明亮的空間、溫馨的氛圍、還播放著黑膠唱片…有時間的話，請來喝杯咖啡。

A leisurely stroll in Reykjavik led to the discovery of many lovely sights.

在雷克雅未克閑逛，可以遇見各種可愛和美好。

And…*applause please* our baggage arrived the next evening! Hip hip hurray, we were ready to go.

然後，行李在第二天的晚上順利抵達 ✌🏻 Yes, ready to go.

Highlight #2
也是看過極光的人了 / Chasing Northern Lights

On our second day in Iceland, the weather report showed exceptionally strong aurora activities, so we signed up to follow a professional guide on a mini bus tour, which took us out into the darkness in search of Northern Lights.

I was freezing despite having put on all the layers I had, but it was all worth it the moment when the colorful lights descended upon us. I’m an auto mode kind of photographer (read: very unprofessional) so I was really struggling to get the right camera setting to capture these elusive lights. The better idea? Capture them with the eyes and engrain that image in memory…

抵達冰島的第二天，氣象預報說當晚看到極光的機率很高，於是當場報名了 mini bus 極光團。晚上10點多跟著向導來到了光害極少的荒郊野外，追極光。

雖然最暖的衣服都已層層裹在身上，卻還是忍不住冷到打哆嗦，但看到極光但那一瞬間，完全忘卻身體上的任何的不適。平時拍照都用傻瓜模式的我，當下手忙腳亂地調相機參數想要捕捉下這難以用言語形容的迷幻景色。最終，還是用眼睛看最實在。

They started off as green and purple streaks of lights, dancing and wiggling away in the afar, and all the sudden they became a massive sheet of white, like wind, like fog, traveling at an unimaginable high speed right above our heads. We all stood there in awe, trying our best to imprint this incredible sight in memory, until we were snapped out of the trance again by the freezing cold.

一開始是線條優美的綠色和紫色光束，在遠處緩慢跳著、扭著，不知不覺中演變成大片的白色，像風、像霧一般以無法想象的高速飄動著。就這樣站在那裡看了很久，努力把那畫面印記在腦海裡，才再次被寒冷給凍醒。啊，心滿意足，可以打道回府了（喂喂，才剛到冰島啊）。

Note: the Northern Lights are quite elusive and can’t be guaranteed even on a good day with a professional guide. We had to drive around quite a bit that evening before finding a spot for aurora sighting.

小提醒：極光可遇不可求，就算是跟著有經驗的向導，也不一定能順利看到。雖然當晚的極光指數很高，我們也是到處繞了一會兒，在第三個停駐點才看到極光的。

For the rest of our trip, as long as the sky was not covered in clouds, we would find moments here and there to stare up on the sky, and to our delight, spotted the Northern Lights for a second time. But really, even just a sky full of stars was a real charmer in itself…

後來幾天旅程，只要沒有烏雲滿布，我們都會找個地方傻傻地望著天空，居然非常幸運地又看到了極光。哎，其實沒看到極光的那幾天，滿頭頂繁星點點，也夠令人沉醉的。

Highlight #3
有瀑布，日日都是彩虹日 / Rainbow everyday

Iceland is partially covered in glaciers, and they melt into gorgeous waterfalls. When the sun is out, rainbow can often be spotted next to these falls, forming colorful arches all over the island.

冰島有冰川覆蓋，融水沿山崖而下，形成了各種各樣的瀑布美景。也因為有這些美麗的瀑布，只要一出太陽，就能看到彩虹。

On a related note, “Mia’s Country Van” fish & chips next to Skogafoss is not bad if you are looking for a quick bite before or after visiting this waterfall.

順帶一提，斯科加瀑布旁邊的 Mia’s Country Van 炸魚薯條還不錯，若想要在爬瀑布前後吃點東西果腹，這是一個好選擇。

And of course, the falls are stunning even without the rainbows. One of my favorite falls is Seljalandsfoss, be sure to climb to its backside for a different view.

當然，沒有彩虹的瀑布，依然非常美。其中我很喜歡的一個是賽里雅蘭瀑布Seljalandsfoss，可以跟隨路徑走到瀑布後側，從瀑布“裡面”看風景：

We saw over 10 waterfalls on our journey, but never once did we feel bored by “yet another fall”. Each a unique beauty.

每座瀑布都有自己獨特的美，每天看，也看不膩啊。

Highlight #4
騎著可愛溫馴的冰島馬，上山去 / Icelandic Horses in The Valley

On our third night in Iceland, we stayed at Skálakot, a quaint little manor hotel set at the foot of a hill. Through the window is a field of grass that stretches out into infinity, dotted with red roofs here and there.

在冰島的第三晚，住在馬廄莊園 Skálakot Manor Hotel。房間窗戶看出去是一望無際的草原，上面點綴了座紅屋頂小房。

Dinner was lamb soup and lamb chops made by the in-house kitchen, which were exactly the kind of soul-warming food we needed after a day out in the cold. The hotel was also kind enough to offer a small bottle of bubblies for the honeymoon couple.

晚餐是莊園廚房自製的美味羊肉湯和羊排（在冰島太需要這種暖胃的樸實料理了），老闆還送了一小瓶氣泡酒，映著夕陽很美很美。

The next day started with a sumptuous breakfast, followed by a ride into the valley on the manor’s very own Icelandic horses. Sitting tall on horsebacks, with the September sun tender on the skin, accompanied by the rustling sound of leaves and tall grass…it was a most magical moment.

一覺醒來，先在房裡泡杯咖啡，慢悠悠地下樓吃頓豐盛的早餐，然後騎著莊園的冰島馬入山谷。冰島九月的柔和陽光撒在臉上暖暖的，耳里聽著風吹草地的沙沙聲…有種不可思議的美妙感。

Up on the hill, we could see the sea in the horizon, Skálakot Manor at our feet, and just a short distance away, cute, tiny churches.

從山坡上眺望風景，可以看到遠方的海、山腳下的 Skálakot 莊園，還有冰島隨處可見的小教堂。

For those who are interested in horseback riding – Icelandic horses are smaller in stature and very friendly, do give them a try. I was taking a photo of this rockstar from afar and it came over to say hi!

冰島馬體型嬌小、而且個性溫和親人。別看這一位似乎很龐克，看到我站在路邊拍照，還自己過來打招呼呢。

Highlight #5
爬上冰川 / Up on the Glacier

One of the activities I most looked forward to on this trip was the glacier hike. It’s a rather dangerous activity that can only be done when accompanied by professional guides and with technical equipments like crampons and harnesses. There are plenty of glacier hike tours you can find online, we booked our Skaftafell 3-hour hike via Guide to Iceland.

這次去冰島，最期待的活動之一是冰川健行。這是個有危險性的活動，必須跟著專業向導，並穿上合適的裝備 – 冰爪、攀岩安全帶等 – 才能前往。網上可以找到各種團，我們是在 Guide to Iceland 上訂的 Skaftafell 斯卡夫塔山三小時行程。

Skaftafell is located within Vatnajokull, which is the third largest glacier in the world, totaling 8100 km² in surface area (about 8% of the entire Iceland). The 3-hour hike only allowed us to see a tiny part of it, but was enough for getting a glimpse of its formidable vastness.

Skaftafell 所在的 Vatnajokull 瓦特納冰原是世界第三大冰川，面積為 8100 km²，佔據了整個冰島國土面積的8%。三小時健行其實只能看到冰川非常微小的一部分，但已能感受到它的壯觀。

Also don’t forget to taste the water from the melting glacier, this is likely going to be one of the cleanest and most delicious water you will ever taste. On a related note, the tap water in Iceland is no doubt the best tap water I’ve tasted, there’s simply no need to buy bottled water here.

冰川上有一道道融水，彎下身去喝一口，啊…如此冰涼甘甜。順帶一提，冰島各處水龍頭出來的水都新鮮沁涼，是我喝過最好喝的自來水沒有之一，完全不需要購買瓶裝水。

At one of the resting points, our guide pointed back down to where we started. That area occupied by the lagoon was not too long ago still covered by glacier, an alarming sign of global warming…

爬到高處時，向導提醒我們回頭看看，遠方那個瀉湖所在地其實不久前仍被冰川覆蓋，可見全球暖化的可怕效果…

to be continued…

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