Iceland
| Trip Information | |
|---|---|
| Reykjavík, Iceland | |
| June 2026 |
This was 95% work trip (conference), 5% exploration, but despite working most of the time I still got to see some really cool sights! The city was nice, but I'm glad we were able to rent a car to go see the nature beyond the city for a few days.
Reykjavík reminds me of a larger Galway, and I appreciated how walkable it was. My wallet, however, did not appreciate the food costs... grocery prices were okay though, and I was living off skyr (yogurt) for breakfast, to which the grocery stores have their own dedicated refrigerator room for it.
Click on any picture below in the gallery to see it larger!
Places
Lots of pretty and varied landscapes here shaped by volcanic eruptions, faults between two tectonic plates, and more.
Looking at the tectonic boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates.
Silfra Rift, a fissure from the plates moving apart.
Looking on the continental divide.
River.
Silfra Rift, from the ground
Volcanic slopes
Rocky cliffs, full of seabirds
More seabird cliffs and puffin burrows
Lake filled with lots of birds
More mountains!
Grassy field
Moss growing on cooled lava flows
Wildlife
This was a really interesting mix of Eurasian and North American species of birds. I thought it was interesting how a lot of shorebirds are "lawn birds" here, with oystercatchers walking around in the city (where back home, I have to go to the coast with binoculars to see them!). Arctic tern was a highlight, where I live they sometimes show up, but I'm a little outside of their range so they have evaded me thus far. Here, they are the only tern, and even nest within the city. Sad to have missed rock ptarmigan though... next time!
Lifer Birds
Glaucous Gull, Graylag Goose, Arctic Tern, Whooper Swan, Redpoll, Redwing, Meadow Pipit, Northern Fulmar, European Golden Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Parasitic Jaeger, Thick-billed Murre, Great Skua
Fratercula arctica
Motacilla alba
Sterna paradisaea
Phalaropus lobatus
Somateria mollissima
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Pluvialis apricaria
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Fulmaris glacialis
Haematopus ostralegus
Turdus iliacus
Sterna paradisaea
Rissa tridactyla
Aythya fuligula
Gallinago gallinago
Anser anser
Plants
The moss here was really cool, a lot of it was growing on top of cooled lava flows. Finally got to see some tundra/arctic plants as well. The blooms were attracting Heath Bumblebee, to which I didn't get many clear pictures of unfortunately.
Silene acaulis
Lupinus nootkatensis
Cochlearia officinalis
Armeria maritima
Salix phylicifolia
Empetrum nigrum