A brief introduction to the land of Iceland

Hey Steemers!

I recently took a vacation to Iceland during their winter season which was averaging 18 Fahrenheit (-7.77 Centigrade) for the 3 days I was there.

If you do not mind the cold I highly recommend taking the chance to visit this beautiful country.

Iceland itself has a population of roughly ~330,000 individuals according to the latest consensus polls on Wikipedia, so take that with a grain of salt.

The 1st photo I'd like to present to all of you is overlooking Thingvellir National Park which is extremely beautiful during a sunrise/sunset:

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i | FStop: f/4.5 | ISO: 400 | 37.0mm | 1/15s

This snap happened to be during the sunrise at 11:45am!

Fun fact: During the winter, Iceland will have about 4 to 5 hours of sunlight. The sunrise usually occurs around 11am and sunset around 3:30pm. During the summer, specifically between May - June, Iceland can have up to 24 hours of sunlight.

During the summer when Iceland has 24 hours of sunlight, they like to call it the Midnight Sun.

Source: https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/midnight-sun-in-iceland

The image above is not my own and I do not take credit for it. I just wanted to present to all of you how beautiful the Midnight Sun can be. The sourced link has amazing pictures of the Midnight Sun.

The 2nd photo I'd like to present to you was taken at the GullFoss Waterfall also known as the Golden Falls.

Camera: Canon Rebel T1i | FStop: f/22.0 | ISO: 400 | 18.0mm | 1/3s

I really like this picture for the soft flowing water. This was my first time attempting to capture running water to give it that soft exposure look (if that's even the right term. I am such an amateur photographer).

The main reason it received the nickname 'Golden Falls' is when it's a sunny day, the water will appear golden brown. The glacial water is carrying copious amounts of sediments that have been carved out from the earth over the years.

The last photo I would like to share, was my trip to the Blue Lagoon:

Camera: iPhone X

The Blue Lagoon is geothermal spa that has it's water naturally heated between 98 - 104F (37 - 40C). The geothermal water receives it's blue hue due to the minerals and silica it picks up as the water comes to the surface. The water appears blue based on the reflective light from the sun bouncing of the silica infused water. If one were to actually place the water into a glass, it would appear white.

As for the itinerary of my short trip, you can find that below:

• Day 1 - Saturday December 16th, 2017
  • Northern Lights Tour (Tour ID RE62) - Unfortunately I didn't get to see the Northern Lights as the weather was quite cloudy. This was all the day I flew in so I took it easy.
• Day 2 - Sunday December 17th, 2017
  • Golden Circle Tour with the GullFoss Waterfall, Geysir, and Langjokull Snowmobiling Tour (Tour ID SRE44)
    • Golden Circle consists of the GullFoss Waterfall and the Geysir
    • This snowmobiling tour takes you out to the Langjokull glacier where you get to operate a snowmobile in a guided tour for an hour
• Day 3 - Monday December 18th, 2017
  • Blue Lagoon (Tour ID BL01)
    • If you are going to the Blue Lagoon in the winter like I did, I recommend purchasing the "Premium" package which gives you a bath robe. Package deals: http://www.bluelagoon.com/blue-lagoon-spa/prices-and-packages/experience-packages/

I stayed at the Canopy Hotel by Hilton: http://canopy3.hilton.com/en/hotels/iceland/canopy-by-hilton-reykjavik-city-centre-REKCAPY/index.html

There you have it Steemers! I hope you have enjoyed the few photos from my trip. If I have inspired you to take your own adventure to Iceland, you'd like to comment on my photos, or ask me some questions please leave a comment.