Landmannalaugar

It's the second day in Iceland and we already found the perfect spot. It's so perfect, we started planning on never going on vacation anywhere else but Iceland. Because if you come here for three months each summer you get used to not having summer and you wouldn't want to go somewhere else anyway after you have been here.

So we read there is this beautiful spot in the icelandic highlands. Unfortunately you could only get there with four wheel drive as you have to cross unbridged rivers and the streets are really bad. We decided we want to come anyways so we found a bus. I have never seen an offroad bus but this was the perfect vehicle to take us deep behind the glaciers.

We got up really early as tge drive was almost three hours. We thought we could catch up on sleep in the bus but - Iceland is just so beautiful and unique! I think I saw more different landscapes during the time of zhe drive than I have in my life before. It was just so overwhelming. And we weren't even there yet!

When we arrived, the first thing that caught my eye was this amazing colourful mountain - which obviously is a vulcano as there was steam coming out below the top. I fell in love immediately. We did a hike that took us many hours (because we didn't even make it 50 meters without stopping for a photo. Here started measuring places in ppm - photos per meter).

This was the most beautiful hike I ever did. After each turn the view was even more stunning and at some point I had troubles even comprehending all the beauty I am in. First over the lava field, then through the steaming rocks, with the greatest panoramas I have ever seen. Words can't even describe properly the caleidoscope of colours, the roughness of the mountains or the unspoiled vulcanic nature surrounding us.

I don't think I can ever look at Austrian mountains the same way again. And then there was the hot spring! It was actually a river but it has hot water and you can go swimming there almost next to the snowfields that are still here in July because I guess they just never completely melt.

If you ever visit Iceland, go to Landmannalaugar. Seriously, you don't want to miss out on it. I am already thinking about maybe coming back here for hiking. If Iceland continues impressing me like this I will have to spend every coming vacation here.