A trip to the North. Part 1 of 2: Iceland.

Hello steemians!

I went on a trip to the northern regions of this planet back in 2009. My first stop was Iceland, my trip continued afterwards but this will be part 2 of this story. It travelled in July so during the summer and I was able to enjoy a very colorful landscape.

Iceland is the second largest island state in Europe (UK is the largest) and probably the most interesting fact: It is the largest volcanic island in the world! Iceland is famous for its numerous and also still active volcanoes.

It is located right on the Mid-Atlantic ridge, that’s basically the reason for all the volcanic activities. The tectonic plates literally collide here, namely the north-american and the eurasian plate.

Maybe some of you can still remember the volcanic eruption of the volcano ‚Eyjafjallajökull‘ in 2010. The eruption was followed by a huge ash cloud which made the whole air traffic impossible. It stopped completely in the most parts of north / mid Europe.

I used Iceland's Ring Road to travel around the island, that's a huge and long road that goes around the whole island. 

My first destination was Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

Some impressions of Reykjavik.

I went to a city called Husavik (translation: bay of houses) afterwards.

On my way there I came to a city called Akureyri.

Some impressions of Akureyri.

Impression of Husavik.

As you can see the landscape is simply breathtaking. I'm still happy I went there during summer :)

I made a couple of excursions. Here are some impressions:

1. Whale watching

2. Typical Iceland Horses :)
image taken somewhere on the road to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

3. Mid-Atlantic Ridge
that was really awesome, this is the place where both plates collide!

4. The Strokkur Geyser
near Reykjavik, erupts approx. every 10 min, approx 80 – 120 feet high;

5. Jökulsarlon
glacial river lagoon / south-east of Iceland

in the back you can see the Ice Sheet (that's the part which is always covered with ice, the whole year)

Some pieces of ice washed ashore on the typical dark lava beach.

6. Skaftafell
national park / near Jökulsarlon

7. Gullfoss
famous waterfall; Gull = Gold, foss = waterfall; part of the Golden Circle, the most famous sights in Iceland;
unfortunately the weather was not good so I was not able to enjoy the golden view. Still impressive.

Iceland's energy is 100% regenerative, 100% pure geothermal energy thanks to the movement of the plates and its location. As some of you may know a couple of mining companies have their mining equipment in Iceland, energy is a not a problem there:)

Hope you enjoyed this little insight in Iceland's landscape and beauty!

Part 2 in the works, the travel continued :)

Steem on!