Hendrikka’s favourite places in Iceland

 

One of Hendrikka’s favourite places in Iceland are on the south coast. Driving on the south coast has some of the most beautiful scenery she has ever seen including endless waterfalls, glaciers and mountains. Hendrikka did a lot of travelling around the country with her family when she was young. Her father loved climbing mountains and he really enjoyed showing the family their beautiful country. His passion of the incredible landscape encouraged Hendrikka to love her country and appreciate what they have. 

 

Skaftafell is Hendrikka’s favourite area – it is a national park located at the roots of Vatnajökull which is the biggest glacier in Europe. Skaftafell is situated next to Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where her father spent his summers as a young boy so he knew the area like the back of his hand. They frequently went there to visit his old farm and to enjoy the stunning wilderness of the south coast of Iceland. Skaftáreldar started on the 8th of June, 1783, which was a disastrous volcanic eruption that occurred in the area. An estimate of 14 km³ of lava poured out of volcanic craters near the town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. This meant that a catastrophic number of animals were killed and people didn’t have food anymore which resulted in deaths all over Iceland and it even reached out to mainland Europe as the ash had travelled with the wind. People got very sick and had difficulties breathing. 

 

The volcanic mountain range called ‘Esja’ is also one of Hendrikka’s favourite things to look at. It is only 10 km away from the centre of Reykjavik so it is easily seen from the capital. It was very special to see this stunning mountain range so close to their family home and realising what a privilege it was growing up in Iceland, to have mount Esja and all the other incredible scenery around the country. In fact, her first jewellery collection was named ‘Esja’, delivering a raw, yet opulent style, reminiscent of the diverse landscape.