Icelandic tales – darkness

We went to Iceland this time of year because the darkness intrigued us. What is it like to live with only 4 hours of daylight per day? Like humans everywhere, people have adapted.

This photo was in our neighborhood in the morning – maybe 8 am? I’m assuming a father taking his child to school on a sled? The roads are snow-covered, not plowed or sanded. There are lots of street lights and a few holiday lights. It’s nowhere near dawn.

Our GPS directed us to a dead end in a cemetery in the town of Selfoss. I was charmed to see they use lighted crosses and other decorations in the cemetery. The colors are particularly beautiful reflected off the snow. This was also taken in the morning, maybe 10:30 – 11 am.

This little house was unremarkable by day, but I was captivated by it at night. I liked it so much I took 3 perspectives, one including the moon! Reminiscent of my golden houses embroideries, yes.

This house was at the end of our peninsula, an area called Grotta. The Grotta lighthouse is there and also hiking/biking trails, a bird watching area, and a viewing area for the Northern Lights. On this night the Aurora app predicted a 20% chance of seeing them. There were a lot of people and cars out there. But no Northern Lights.