Goodbye Iceland: From Volcanoes to Valleys, Here Is What We Learned

The ferry carries us from Seyðisfjörður on Iceland’s east coast to Hirtshals in Denmark. The ship hums steadily, and we find ourselves looking back on the last eight weeks with a mixture of awe and gratitude.

Iceland was the third chapter in our series of long overland journeys. First we drove to the North Cape, then through the Balkans, and now Iceland. Each trip has shaped us, and Iceland left its mark in many ways.

This time, instead of just saying goodbye, we want to reflect on what we’ve learned.

We learned Iceland is beautiful

Drive for one hour anywhere in Iceland, and the world changes before your eyes.

One moment you find yourself on moon-like lava fields, then suddenly in lush green valleys, and a minute later you are in the main base of a James Bond villain. After the next street corner waterfalls spill down cliffs, glaciers glisten on the horizon, and volcanic craters break the landscape open.

Iceland is a place where nature stages a new spectacle every time street turns.

We learned Iceland is small

Iceland has fewer inhabitants than the city of Dresden and in the same moment a size of the federal states of Bayern and Baden-Württemberg combined. Iceland feels both intimate and vast. Large portions of the island are completely uninhabited. Sheep outnumber people, and we’re convinced rental cars do too. What surprised us most was how often we bumped into the same travelers again, purely by coincidence. In a land that feels endless, paths somehow still cross.

We learned Iceland is expensive

We braced ourselves for high prices before arriving, yet Iceland still surprised us. It is not only the fuel that comes with a shock, but also the little things. Imagine paying 22€ for one simple “Döner”/pita at what we would call a Pommesbude in Germany. Eating out regularly would have been impossible, so our truck’s kitchen quickly became our best friend.

We learned about Volcanoes

Iceland’s existence is extraordinary. Two rare geological forces meet here: a plume of magma rising from deep inside the Earth and two tectonic plates drifting apart. This unique combination not only explains the constant volcanic activity but also shows how continents have grown over millions of years. Standing in front of an eruption, you can almost feel the planet building itself beneath your feet.

At the National Museum, we discovered how Iceland’s volcanic past is recorded in the earth itself. Every major eruption spread ash that traveled to Greenland, settling in ice layers that can be counted like tree rings.

This allows scientists to pinpoint eruptions to the exact year and use ash layers in Iceland’s soil to date historical artifacts with precision.

We learned Nature is both beautiful and merciless

Watching a volcano erupt from just one mile away was humbling. The sound, the sight, the heat, was like sitting beside a fire pit built for giants. Iceland reminded us that nature creates beauty with the same force that destroys.

The following photos tell the other side of this truth: sharp, desert-like lava fields and loose gravel stretches that test both drivers and vehicles. Life here is never simple. Whether it is surviving in the landscape or navigating through it, Iceland constantly reminds you, that living alongside such raw nature is both a privilege and a challenge.

We learned about Surnames

In Iceland, surnames in the sense we know them don’t really exist. Instead, children carry the name of their father or mother with the ending -son (son) or -dóttir (daughter).

We would be named Ralf Thomasson and Annika Annegretsdóttir. This tradition makes names deeply personal and always tied to family rather than fixed across generations. It also means that in Iceland, people are usually addressed by their first name, even in formal settings.

We learned to trust our Truck

In the beginning, we were cautious. Every river crossing made us nervous, every sharp stone felt like a tire’s enemy. But little by little, we grew confident.

The truck has proven itself as a true off-road companion. The day before yesterday Annika drove the F35 highland road at 60 km/h while I sit comfortably on the passenger side. We know we have come a long way from those first tentative kilometers.

We learned that wildlife is scarce

Iceland is not teeming with animals. The only native mammal is the Arctic fox. We spotted two in eight weeks. Beyond that all other mamals like sheep, horses and reindeers, were brought by settlers to the island.

Sheep we saw everywhere, seabirds along the coast, one herd of reindeer, and, surprisingly, only four spiders. The island’s stark beauty is paired with a striking absence of animal life.

I rediscovered photography

For years, my DSLR gathered dust. Then came Iceland. The low northern sun, especially during long evenings, reignited my love for capturing light. I took more photos in these eight weeks than in the last five years combined, and it felt like coming home to an old passion.

Lifelong learning

Traveling is more than just moving from one place to another. It’s about learning about nature, history, yourself, and the world at large. Whether you’re on a long-term journey, a short vacation or a weekend trip, each trip widens your horizon.

On a personal note, I began preparing for my ham radio license. Soon, I hope to install a ham radio in our truck to communicate when traveling in convoys, especially in Morocco. The exam is scheduled for September 9th, so wish me luck!

Explore. Dream. Discover.

As we close our Iceland chapter, we want to ask you: What are the last three things you learned in recent weeks?