Traveling Iceland: The Snæfellsnes peninsula

For four days I went out of the lab and on the road to explore Iceland's fabulous scenery.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula lies a 2 hours drive north of Reykjavík. Its popularity for tourists is growing. That is not surprising. It is close to the country's capitol and simply beautiful. Still, it is a quiet place and at most of the many beautiful places the number of tourists is still low. The country side is dominated by volcanic mountains and farm land.

Swamps and marsh lands along the coast and the numerous lakes are speckled with cotton grass this time of the year. While most of the birds have already left their breeding grounds by mid-August, the vegetation remains colorful for a while. However, the first trees start to change into red and yellow.

The weather was beautiful, the scenery colorful, often dramatic. Abandoned farms and barn ruins accentuate the roughness of Iceland's environment.

A special view on Snæfellsjökull - the glacier at the tip of the peninsula. It is a small and rather young glacier which can be seen from Reykjavík when the air is clear.

Parts of a wrecked trawler and naturally polished pebbles at the Djupalon beach (south-western tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula).

A lava field between Grundafjördur and Stykkisholmur (northern coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula). Often the cover of moss and lichen appears like cushion. Protruding black rocks of bizarre shapes add a strong contrast. This kind of scenery can be found all over Iceland.

A small lighthouse on a small skerry called Klofningur, in the west of Flatey. The sea was full of puffins who have recently left their breeding cliffs.

Flatey, a small inhabited island between the Snæfellsnes peninsula and the Westfjords.

On this ferry I went from Stykkisholmur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the Westfjords.