Making things up since 1837. Contact me at gordonwrotesomething [at] gordondarroch.com
Until the next big trip. We're home and the stats are in. In the 16 days since I left The Hague I've clocked up 4,272km through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Iceland – 2,099km of those on the European mainland (including 12 doubling back to the hotel room in Germany because I'd forgotten to hand … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Epilogue
Sunday, July 26 The end of the long road home. Photo from Wikipedia Travel time: 5 hours 30 minutes Distance: 485km Destination: The Hague I’ve always felt German hotel breakfasts to be severely underrated. French breakfasts aren’t much more than a croissant, a few preserves and some underwhelming coffee; Danish smorgasbords are heavy on pastry … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 16
Saturday, July 25 The signs are unambiguous: we are back in mainland Europe. Travel time: 11 hours (ferry), 5 hours 15 minutes (car) Distance: 525km Destination: Neu Wulmsdorf The boat is on Faroese time, the same as BST, but my over-zealous phone picks up a signal from the Norwegian coast and jumps forward in the … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 15
Friday, July 24 The Faroese capital Torshavn is buzzing at 3am. Travel time: 24 hours (ferry) Distance: 525km Destination: Torshavn and beyond Just before 3am the boat shudders violently, jolting me awake, and I realise we must be pulling in to Torshavn. I take the opportunity to grab a bag from the car and a … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 14
Thursday, July 23 Leaving a deceptively dry, calm Seyðisfjörður behind. Travel time: 1 hour (car), 13 hours (ferry) Distance: 75km Destination: Seyðisfjörður and beyond Time to start the long journey home. It will take four days and cross two time zones, but it’s a more leisurely transition than the stress and sudden wrench of flying … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 13
Wednesday, July 22 A puffin coming in to land at Hafnarhólmi. Travel time: 3 hours 20 minutes Distance: 250km Destination: Hafnarhólmi rock Today was supposed to be a non-travelling day. But we’ve only ticked off four of the Icelandic Big Five – whales, geysers, waterfalls, glaciers and puffins – so I decide to drive 125km … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 12
Tuesday, July 21 Canoeists taking their chances with the icebergs on the lake at Jökulsárlón Travel time: 8 hours 15 minutes Distance: 630km Destination: Eskifjördur It’s the big travel day: a 630km trek across the south coast, and the first time I’ve really regretted not being able to stop and linger longer along the way. … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 11
Monday, July 20 The descent into Raufarhólshellir. Travel time: 0 Distance: n/a Destination: Selfoss and Golden Circle Today is a day of activities. I’ve booked a guided tour so that we can knock out a few of the attractions in the area known in the brochures as the Golden Circle and – crucially, from my … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 10
Sunday, July 19 Leif Erikson's statue outside Hallgrímskirkja Travel time: 2 hours 15 minutes Distance: 135km Destination: Reykjavik I celebrate the halfway point of our trip by doing some laundry. Hand washing, since none of the houses we booked have washing machines, a throwback to the days of rationing or the gites Dad used to … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 9
Saturday, July 18 Echoes of a certain Scottish movie scene … Travel time: 6 hours 20 minutes Distance: 485km Destination: Vaðnes We set off back on the road for the second of three long drives. The road winds up from Dalvik, around the north-west coast, sometimes with nothing but a sheer cliff between you and … Continue reading Dad’s gone to Iceland: Day 8