Rangá Recommends: Iceland in July 2019
Feel like staying in? Here are a few ways to wind down at Hotel Rangá.
Feel like staying in? Here are a few ways to wind down at Hotel Rangá.
While you may not have heard of Sólheimasandur before you have almost definitely seen it.
It’s a black sand beach stretching along the Southern Coast and home to an abandoned DC-3/117 plane that features heavily in commercials and music videos shot in Iceland, most notably Justin Bieber’s „I’ll show you.” It even made an appearance in a recent Bollywood film.
For many Icelandic country folk, the month of May brings their favorite time of year: lambing season. The birds are singing, the days are longer, the flora all around is thriving and farmers spend every waking minute and then some out in the sheep sheds helping birth hundreds of lambs.
The summer is starting out amazing here at Rangá. The smell of the flowers in the fresh air and hearing the birds puttering about down by the river makes us dizzy with glee. June is a wonderful time for seeking out adventures so here are a few tips.
What a happy time it is: the fields are greener, the sunsets are perpetual and the brennivín is ice cold. If everything goes according to plan, May will bring us “sweater weather” where it is warm enough so that you don’t need a coat anymore – just a nice sweater preferably knitted by someone’s grandmother from Icelandic wool. This month, we recommend getting in touch with the local fauna.
The month of Góa, the second-to-last month of winter according to the old Icelandic calendar, is now upon us. Back in the day, women would rise early on the first day of Góa, walk outside scantily dressed and recite a poem, welcoming the Góa into their home.
In modern times, people use the first day of Góa as an opportunity to treat the special ladies in their lives to something special – here at Hotel Rangá we say why stop after the first day? Use the Góa to unwind a bit.
The new year has greeted us with exceptionally beautiful (but cold) weather and some wonderful Northern light displays. When packing for your stay, think in freezing temperatures: building snowmen, hiking up frozen hills to view waterfalls and feeling the cold nibble at your cheeks as you take in the night sky. Also, think like an Icelander and eat plenty of good food.
For Katrín Sigurðardóttir of Icelandic Horseworld, horses are a way of life. Actually, they are a way of life for her whole family. “It is really the only thing my parents ever did, work around horses and raise horses. We’ve talked about horses everyday my whole life,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve often wondered if I even have any friends who aren’t into horses – I don’t think so.”
If you are from the US, or certain European countries, you might have noticed Icelandic water for sale in the supermarket. In Iceland, you will also probably notice Icelandic water for sale in the supermarket. Of course, bottled water is great in places where water quality is poor but in Iceland you are better off saving your money.
Five Take Flight share their Rangá experience
The Tillotson family doesn’t settle for your average family holiday. In 2017, parents Derek and Kenzie sold their Utah home to bring big brother Porter, funny man Beckett, and little sister Wren on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling to 38 countries in 54 weeks. And what was their first international stop? Well Iceland of course!