Anyone who has ever traveled to Iceland will certainly have tried to visit one of the unbelievably beautiful ice caves that are worth seeing. My trip this year in March gave me this blue wonder of nature when our photo troupe visited the ice lagoon Fjallsárlón.
It was a very windy night so I was awake early from the rocking of our camper van, or maybe it was the excitement of heading out early in the morning to visit the Fjallsárlón glacier cave. Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon bordering Vatnajökull National Park in southeast Iceland. Its calm, blue waters are streaked with icebergs from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull glacier tongue, which is part of the larger Vatnajökull glacier (thanks Wikiopedia).
Before that, of course, there was breakfast, this morning a little faster than usual, because we were in front of our tour guide Stefan, a Swiss compatriot who has lived in Iceland for many years and organizes and guides ice cave and glacier tours, and how could it be otherwise, a committed and is a professional photographer.
Stefan picked us up with an amazing vehicle. Cubits long, room for 10 people, with huge tires, which was necessary for this rough and rocky terrain, which we drove through for almost half an hour. Depending on the situation and difficulty of the terrain, the vehicle was adjusted accordingly using air and hydraulics. At some point we stopped in the middle of this impassable and unreal terrain formation, from there we went on foot and already with a safety helmet on, a good half hour to the coveted ice caves.
We were told a lot about Iceland, this bizarre landscape and of course about the glacier, the ice cave and the effects of climate change. Exciting as well as depressing, because the extent of climate change became clear on the rock faces that ran parallel to our path. It’s amazing how the ice is receding. Global warming knows no mercy. „Take your time taking pictures,“ says „Nothing will stay the same here.“
From afar we looked at the sublime glacier Vatnajökull, the mightiest glacier in Europe. It extends over an area three times the size of Vorarlberg. Its ice sheet is up to 950 meters thick and it has 50 „fingers“ (foothills). Imposing and without words, I could only stow and marvel. I was so happy to be able to experience that. The closer we got, the more we saw the entrance to the ice cave. Although this had also changed a lot since our photo guide Daniel was here the last time. Not so long ago, Daniel married his wife here last year. All in white and beautifully photographed by his photo friend Fabian. He showed us incredible pictures of it.
Before entering, there was a briefing on safety and behavior. When I walked in, I didn’t believe what I saw. A light-flooded sheet of ice, in the most beautiful blue, washed out sparkling clean. It was incredibly quiet around us, and above all we should have enough time to look around here and, of course, to take our pictures. It was a real adventure. So we walked back and forth in the cave, even went a little deeper, but only with spikes that we strapped under our sturdy shoes. Anyone who slips here can slip more than dangerously. It can hurt, really hurt.
We spent a good three hours in the cave, and we all had our joy, because of course we let ourselves be staged here and there. Everyone wanted to be in the picture themselves. Our guide Stefan posed for this picture. Many thanks to Stefan for this overwhelming ice cave tour !!!