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Did I dream up that Heidar Helguson now owns a B&B in Iceland? If so, anyone have a clue where it is? Planning a trip there in March and would love to stop in!
Cheers Baz, will look in that area as I do recall he'd gone back to his home area in the north. Can potentially do end of Feb/beginning of March so hopefully will still get to see them.
Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 10:34 - Sep 27 by aston_hoop
Cheers Baz, will look in that area as I do recall he'd gone back to his home area in the north. Can potentially do end of Feb/beginning of March so hopefully will still get to see them.
I think you can see them all year round but the daylight hours are best on Feb.
Enjoy!
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 11:16 - Sep 27 with 6754 views
First of all it is a fantastic place and I hope to return and drive round the whole island when I get the chance.
Went in March several years ago.
Left Luton on an Easyjet flight on a balmy spring day. As we were flying over Stonaway pilot came on and said a big snow storm had closed the airport. It was expected to stop soon and runway would be cleared.
Eventually landed 30 mins late but plane taxied as far away from the terminal as possible due to the very high winds - it was too dangerous to get the steps out and there was a chance of plane crashing into the terminal. Looking at of the window it seemed we were in a very fast moving river with the rain and melting snow. Pilot was great and gave everyone the chance of sitting up front and checking the controls. After 3 hours we were allowed off the plane and picked up our hire car in what was still very strong winds.
Hire car was auto but unknown to me it had a manual over-ride which also unknown to me was switched on. So got to first roundabout doing about 5000 revs at 20mph. Went back and got sorted - my fault really.
Got to hotel past mid-night and woke next morning to another snow storm. Had a walk round capital and then started drive to Vik. Several times could go no faster than 5mph due to visibility. Basically horizontal snow falls. Cats eyes at side of road very useful. But the scenary is fantastic with magnificent water falls.
Got to Vik and travelled further on next day to where the glaciers split and float into the sea. (Sorry not very good with names of places). Weather was so bad could not get out of car without get soaked. Also you are warned that due to the high winds you must hold on to the car door otherwise it could fly off. Next day leaving Vik the receptionist asked where we were travelling too. I asked why and she said we are advised to get there as soon as possible and stay indoors as the mother of all storms was approaching. Cars were known to be thrown of the road. So we did and that night it felt like hurricane winds. But at approx. 3AM I looked out of the window and could see stars and then this green haze. Great sight of the northern lights. Many people came out taking photos. Next day did the golden circle which was great and empty as many coach tours had been cancelled. It was now bright sunshine. Did all the normal touristy bits (i.e Blue Lagoon). Very impressive. Lagoon is great and well run and organised considering the number of visitors.
Was advised to go to an out of the way waterfall. Eventually found it - very isolated but never actually saw it. Wife could not get out of the car as door would not open due to the winds. I got out walked about 10 metres and run back getting soaked. Gives an idea of the weather that you might meet but there were many bright spells as well.
If you get the chance take the road Route(highway) 42 which is near the capital and leads to the coast. Great views once you are in the mountains with frozen lakes and hot springs.
We drove down this road again when driving to the airport.
We thought it was going to be the holiday from hell, it was certainly an experience. But we had a great time, cannot wait to go back. People are friendly, it is expensive though.
I think our weather experience might have been an exception.
You will have a great time.
Hope it helps.
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 11:40 - Sep 27 with 6698 views
Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 11:16 - Sep 27 by BillericayR
First of all it is a fantastic place and I hope to return and drive round the whole island when I get the chance.
Went in March several years ago.
Left Luton on an Easyjet flight on a balmy spring day. As we were flying over Stonaway pilot came on and said a big snow storm had closed the airport. It was expected to stop soon and runway would be cleared.
Eventually landed 30 mins late but plane taxied as far away from the terminal as possible due to the very high winds - it was too dangerous to get the steps out and there was a chance of plane crashing into the terminal. Looking at of the window it seemed we were in a very fast moving river with the rain and melting snow. Pilot was great and gave everyone the chance of sitting up front and checking the controls. After 3 hours we were allowed off the plane and picked up our hire car in what was still very strong winds.
Hire car was auto but unknown to me it had a manual over-ride which also unknown to me was switched on. So got to first roundabout doing about 5000 revs at 20mph. Went back and got sorted - my fault really.
Got to hotel past mid-night and woke next morning to another snow storm. Had a walk round capital and then started drive to Vik. Several times could go no faster than 5mph due to visibility. Basically horizontal snow falls. Cats eyes at side of road very useful. But the scenary is fantastic with magnificent water falls.
Got to Vik and travelled further on next day to where the glaciers split and float into the sea. (Sorry not very good with names of places). Weather was so bad could not get out of car without get soaked. Also you are warned that due to the high winds you must hold on to the car door otherwise it could fly off. Next day leaving Vik the receptionist asked where we were travelling too. I asked why and she said we are advised to get there as soon as possible and stay indoors as the mother of all storms was approaching. Cars were known to be thrown of the road. So we did and that night it felt like hurricane winds. But at approx. 3AM I looked out of the window and could see stars and then this green haze. Great sight of the northern lights. Many people came out taking photos. Next day did the golden circle which was great and empty as many coach tours had been cancelled. It was now bright sunshine. Did all the normal touristy bits (i.e Blue Lagoon). Very impressive. Lagoon is great and well run and organised considering the number of visitors.
Was advised to go to an out of the way waterfall. Eventually found it - very isolated but never actually saw it. Wife could not get out of the car as door would not open due to the winds. I got out walked about 10 metres and run back getting soaked. Gives an idea of the weather that you might meet but there were many bright spells as well.
If you get the chance take the road Route(highway) 42 which is near the capital and leads to the coast. Great views once you are in the mountains with frozen lakes and hot springs.
We drove down this road again when driving to the airport.
We thought it was going to be the holiday from hell, it was certainly an experience. But we had a great time, cannot wait to go back. People are friendly, it is expensive though.
I think our weather experience might have been an exception.
You will have a great time.
Hope it helps.
Cheers Billericay, that sounds like a real adventure then! hoping to hire a car and get about a bit, see the sites etc so lets hope the weather stays a little calmer
I was there a year ago. Absolutely loved the place. Drove 600 miles in six days doing a huge circle from the capital to the golden circle, onto the south coast and back again. Standing next to a glacier wearing shorts in 16 degrees was weird. The south coast road to Vik has some stunning views of two glaciers and the long worded volcano that no one can pronounce that caused chaos with europes airspace about 8 years ago . Took 4 days to realise it was cheaper to buy food from a supermarket and cook it yourself in the B and B kitchen. Most accommodations outside Reykjavik are b and b's or hostels. They even encourage you to cook your own food due to expense. In one restaurant in the middle of nowhere, I bought my daughter a chicken burger and chips. Admittedly it was a decent grilled chicken breast but £24 was a tad steep. The bowl of soup I had was a 'mere' £18. Yet a snickers cost 50p ?....The best and cheapest meals we had was a Thai in Selfoss and a curry in Reykjavik. The owner used to live in Elephant and Castle and worked in Queens Park !!. Stayed in a place in Selfoss near the south coast. The owner asked 'are you English?'. He then explained he used to live in London a couple of years ago. 'Have you heard of Ealing Broadway' was another question. 0n the last evening of our trip I managed to see the Northern Lights. I was told September 1st was very early to see them. It was the best 'trip' I've ever had without hallucinogens. Btw. A Rangers mate went there in March last year and a lot of roads were out of bounds due to the weather . He couldn't get to the Blue Lagoon as a result which is about 30 minutes from the capital. Also, some hire cars are not allowed on some roads in the winter. You have to hire 4x4s with snow chains etc to go on some of the northern mountainous roads.
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 12:10 - Sep 27 with 6633 views
Been covered well already on this thread but just to add, any days you don't hire a car, there's a big coach area near centre of Rejkavik and the tours are pretty good and cheap.
We went before Christmas which was superb but word of warning, told a mate of mine who went the same time following year and they got snowed in for 4 days, which rather messed their holiday up.
It is expensive but definitely worth going.
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 12:22 - Sep 27 with 6595 views
Not much to add that hasn't been covered but I share the general enthusiasm for the place. Visited in October last year and really enjoyed it. It rained solidly for the entire three days we were there, and I do mean rain, I’ve never experienced anything like it, accompanied by high winds. That put paid to the northern lights, but we still managed to see the main sights — the Golden Circle, Gulfoss, the Blue Lagoon and so on.
Car hire is not too expensive and a standard Golf type vehicle will do for most trips, unless of course you’re going to remote locations in which case 4WD will be needed. If you were thinking of going off the main roads, there is an app called 112 Iceland which works by your sending a rescue coordination centre your last known location (by SMS) so they know where to start looking if need be. You can update as often as you like on your trip, provided you can get a signal.
Eating out is not cheap, though quality seemed generally good. The bars in Reykjavik have happy hours and the trick is they stagger them so one bar might do, say, 4 -5, then they go back to regular prices but the bar around the corner then does, say 5-6.
Iceland is close to being a cashless society and card payments are universal. I didn’t take or withdraw any currency.
Enjoy your trip.
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 12:46 - Sep 27 with 6533 views
Pretty much all been covered. I went last year too. Loved the place. Did the Golden Circle tour and a two day tour across the south coast right to the south east corner to see that glacier lake. That was great. Did the tour with Extreme Iceland. Coaches weren't too comfortable and it wasn't cheap but think they were the only ones offering that distance tour in 2 days not 3. Also, the blue lagoon is a must, especially if you're going out of season and you're taking your better half.
Everything is expensive in Iceland, especially wine. Just accept it.
Oh, and Heidar rents a place out through AirBnB, I think. But, if I recall correctly, it's on the outskirts of Reykjavik. Only 330,000 population. Small place in terms of people. When my sister went, who follows Rangers to a degree through virtue of the family, she asked the taxi driver they got from the airport about him, and it turned out he knew him personally!
Anyway, great place. And take a decent camera! We
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 12:58 - Sep 27 with 6520 views
Did it for the second time in early jan this year.
Booked a Toyota Land Cruiser and it was perfect as the roads were very icy and lots of snow around and drifting.
If you go to Vik, you have to do the walk to the crashed dakota aircraft. It’s almost a pilgrimage. Keep off the beaches in the south if going in winter. A German family left my hotel at Geysir one morning and the mother never came back, as she got swept into the sea and drowned. I got carried by the gradient and broken ice dangerously close to the sea but managed to dig my toes into the isle and the rough into the beach.
The waterfalls are immense, and the scenery is perfect.
We stood in -15 degrees temp at a vantage point at 1am and saw a fantastic set of 4 aurora’s. Got some nice pics too.
Www.davejonesphotography/Zenfolio Click world destinations, then Iceland 2017
It’s a magical place and I will be going back again. Cheers Dave
At the mention of Heidar I got all nostalgic and slid into a quick session web stalking ice man and the lovely Eik. Thanks to google translate I think I've discovered that they went back to Iceland, Heidar got a cod quota and became a lone fisherman for a while, while she ran the BnB. They got divorced and now I think she works at Reykyavik golf club. It's all a bit melancholy, i'm sure the sweeping landscapes don't help.
A magnificent football club, the love of our lives, finding a way to finally have its day in the sun.
Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 14:10 - Sep 27 by Mick_S
Right - the expense has been mentioned a couple of times. How much is a decent meal/pint of lager?
I bought a 330ml bottle of beer in one place that cost £11. After a 2 hour trek up some mountain It was gorgeous though.
You're looking at £25-30 per person every meal. In Reykjavik city centre there's a few fast food places that charge £5 for a hot dog and is a tourist attraction on their own. Hot dogs are very popular, especially with tourists. There are no 'name' fast food chains. The last ever meal sold in McDs is a museum exhibit. You can even watch it online !!!
[Post edited 27 Sep 2017 20:48]
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Heidar Helguson/Iceland in General on 20:51 - Sep 27 with 6094 views
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