Iceland in Winter (video)

I am in Iceland. I was fortunate to get a flight for under $400 on WOW Airlines, which I recommend as long as you don’t mind paying for the extras. The extras being a carry-on weighing more than 22 pounds, any food on the flight, or choosing the seat you want. Oh yeah, there is absolutely no entertainment on the flight, no TV screens anywhere to be found to watch a movie. Since the flight is less than 5 hours from Boston, you necessarily don’t need the extras.

It’s December and 30 degrees outside. Sunrise is 10 am and sunset is 4pm. It’s so dark before & after the sun, that it’s difficult to tell whether it is 8 am or 8pm. Both levels of darkness are identical.

This video was taken around 2pm (the brightest part of the day) in a stretch of road between Reykjavik and the airport. We were on our way to the Blue Lagoon, which I will write about shortly. The great wonder of Iceland is how Martian-like the terrain is, the winter is no exception. At least in the summer time, you can enjoy beautiful blue lupin flowers everywhere. The winter only shows craggy volcanic rocks and the snow packed within them.

Make no mistake, Iceland in winter is cold. The weather relies on extremes, from cold to freezing to bone-chilling gale force winds. In fact, we missed a 30-year storm by 1 day as the country effectively closed down and even homes were blown away due to the strength of a system that swept through the country.