Iceland is a siren call. Most people have earmuffs on though; compared to Europe’s big-ticket hotspots, few visit The Land Of Fire & Ice. To a degree, this is understandable – Iceland is a long way from most places (and pricey). But before you sit back and leave it to the travel bloggers and intrepid surfers, consider the following image.
Posted this morning by Instagram account @discoverearth, the photo depicts an old Viking cave, which you used to be able to go into. The only catch? It was part of a film set. But still – historical authenticity notwithstanding – it was a cool hillside kink that let you envisage the landscape as if you were in an episode of HBO’s Vikings.
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It’s a shame then that this cave has now been shut off from the world: “Who would have gone through this cave?” @discoverearth wrote. “This place is closed now! The area was shut down after 2016, and the gate that opened into the cave is now permanently closed. The cave went down about five feet to the ground, and it had an empty space the size of a small bus.”
@discoverearth does not reveal exactly where this image was taken, but two old Viking village film sets can be found online which possess similar scenery here and here.
The original image was taken by photographer Ryan Cline, who wrote: “These two images remind me of what it’s like to miss a door that opens something to you, if you don’t take it, odds are it will shut. And much like this place now, you aren’t even able to reach the door, it gets completely shut down to everyone.”
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Another recent image of Iceland (see above), posted to Instagram by @type7, shows more of the country’s natural beauty, focussing on its vast plains.
From thermal pools to mind-melting waterfalls, there are myriad reasons why someone might want to visit Iceland. As DMARGE has reported previously, virtually the entire country runs on renewable energy, it’s consistently voted as one of the best countries for women to live due to its high egalitarianism, and it’s responsible for gifting the world with Björk.
Planet-saving measures and quirky singers aside, Iceland is also one of the most beautiful countries in the world and, as Traveller claims, does cafés better than Melbourne. We’ll drink to that.