Walking in Europe

A week in a camper van in a beautiful North Atlantic country North of 60!

We made it to Zurich on the 28th of September; a full day on the train with transfers in Verona and Milan, but very pleasant to watch the scenery pass by. From Venice to Milan is a Westerly trip to the North of the Po Valley and seems to be the heart of the agricultural lands of Italy. From Milan it’s almost due North to Zurich and a steady climb back into the steep hill slopes and alpine scenes. It was strange to be retracing our steps back to Zurich along the route we took from there to Milan in July when we were on our way to Chamonix and the TMB.

In Zurich we stayed for a night at the same hostel a short walk from the subway station and 20 minute train trip to the airport where on Monday (29th) we boarded a plane for Keflavik, Iceland! Our return tickets from Vancouver on Iceland Air included an optional seven day layover in Iceland on our way home. So we are currently spending a week in a rented camper van on this beautiful island nation in the North Atlantic. Such a dramatic but fabulous change of scenery (and temperature!) and experience to round out our travels. We’re on day 3 of 6 and are focusing on the South coast. There’s so much to see!

We arrived at Keflavik Airport on Monday in time to pick up our rental van, get a run down on the camper (including how to handle excessive wind on the roads), shop for groceries and make our way to our first campsite at Grindavik. That stretch of highway has had to be rebuilt following the volcanic eruption recently. The campsites are usually well equipped with cooking area and hot showers etc, so it was great to get set up just as daylight faded. Tuesday we drove along the coast road (with short stops and walks) to Reykjavik to visit the tourist info office then headed along the main highway to Hveragerdl where we found a nice campsite. From there yesterday morning we hiked up to the natural hotsprings (more like warm springs) and bubbling trailside vents at the Reykjadalsa River. What a deluge though. It has been a very stormy/rainy time so far and we were quite soaked hiking back to the car (we realized we didn’t really have the greatest of seasonal rain gear 😳.. And it’s not Mediterranean temperatures anymore!) But the rental van has a great heater! From there we drove to the village of Hella and a nice farm campsite nearby with kitchen area and hot showers (could use a bit of a cleaning though..).

Today was a welcome change in the weather and we’ve enjoyed a nice drive down the coast to Vik with stops along the way to explore the waterfalls trail at Skogafoss and spent a wonderful afternoon walking the black sand beaches at Reynisfjara. Tonight we are at the campsite at Vik, warm and dry and about to cook dinner in the kitchen area. Another amazing day ❤️.