THE MIDKNIGHT GARDEN: KNIGHTS OF THE RED ORDER

TUESDAY 7TH NOVEMBER: KRAFLA: THE ACTIVE VOLCANO: The journey to the volcano was amazing, we were so high up and the roads were quiet treacherous in places, with snowy drifts sweeping across the road, making visibility very challenging and disorientating. It was like driving to almost to the top of the world to see this active volcano at Krafla. Also very nearby is an extinct volcano, both very photogenic. This of course all ties in with our research of Earth magnetics, what they are and how they really work with the lava flow, so a chance for some excellent research. We drove a very, very long way through often icy mountain terrain and one had to be very careful, for as we have learnt here in Iceland the weather conditions can turn on a sixpence and one really does need to be home by 4pm – 4:30 at the latest! I took all photos from a moving car as it is not possible to stop in these snowy mountain passes – but i think i am getting much better at it!

Krafla itself is a volcanic caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone. It is located in the north of Iceland in the Myvatn region and is situated on the Iceland ‘hot spot’ atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which forms the divergent boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It’s highest peak reaches up to 818 m and it is 2 km in depth. There have been 29 reported eruptions in recorded history. Iceland is an excellent place to see plate tetonics at work because of it’s placement on the ridges. Krafla includes the crater Viti, which means ‘hell’. As we know, in times past people often thought that hell was to be found under volcanoes. Interestingly Viti has a green lake inside of it; Iceland is full of contrasts and surprises.

Read more about Krafla here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krafla

It was a long journey today to reach our destination, but a stunning drive, again through the most scenic routes one could ever wish for. On the way we stopped at was obviously a well-known tourist area with amazing views, and a mountain top sundial with a couple of stone monuments and a kind of stone cairn. I took photos of the info boards there for you – well and for me too. It was such a stunning area, i am sure there was a much bigger and significant reason for it, but i am yet to discover what it would be.  They were certainly mountaintop memorials, keeping their ‘mark in time’.

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The area were were in, with our base at Hofsos clearly marked.

We had driven all this way to visit Blonduos Kirka, which although seemingly very popular with visitors, it was actually closed. The actual town is split into two parts by the glacial river Blanda, from which it is named (Blondu is an oblique case of Blanda). The old part of town (Icelandic: ‘gamli baerinn’) including many original houses from the late 19th and 20th century.  It was a fairly small town, however it looked like a lot of modernization was going on to make it more of a resort destination, it being ideally situated for that on the coast. We had also come to visit the textile museum there, which Queen Victoria had visited but sadly that was closed also, so i guess we were just out of season. The church itself was a fairly new and modern, rather unusual in shape, and consecrated in 1993 CE. Dr Maggi Jonsson drew and designed it and got her ideas for the layout from the mountains and landscape of the area, and one certainly gets that feel about it. It is situated on a kind of ‘road island‘, with wide open views all around, the area also had restaurants etc, not unlike a motorway pitstop in the uk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%B6ndu%C3%B3s

 

 

DAY SEVENTEEN:

THURSDAY 9TH NOVEMBER: HOLAR CATHEDRAL AND STANDING STONE: Just a short drive across country, into the mountains, from where we were the at the turf church, is the pretty village of Holar. It was a beautiful bright sunny day, yet very cold. This small village is home to Holar University College, Holar Cathedral and the centre for the history of the Icelandic horse, and the ‘Turf House’. Although the most important feature stands hidden in plain sight and not mentioned.

A stroll around Holar

Hólar Cathedral is the oldest stone church in Iceland, constructed in 1763. The church is built with red sandstone from the mountain Hólabyrða. A number of historically important items are on display at the church, but sadly today it was closed. The church tower is 27m long and stands beside the church. It was constructed in 1950 on the 400-year anniversary of the death of the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland, Jón Arason.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B3lar_Cathedral

 

 

One of the ‘Stones of Time’  rests at this place and acts as a ‘marker’ for those whom truly know. With a connection to Ireland, Scandinavia, Scotland and England, this stone stands hidden in plain sight…

 

DAY EIGHTEEN:

The church, which again was closed  is the main church of the Hvammstangi parish. The church was inaugurated on the 21st of July, 1957, and was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson. Church builder was Snorri Jóhannesson from Hvammstangi. The church stands on high ground by Kirkjuvegur. The river Syðri-Hvammsá runs south of the church. The water running by was frozen solid, even though fast flowing, so an indication of how cold it was.

We had a stroll around, but sadly the little local craft shop on our itinerary was also closed, but instead we browsed the ‘Seal Centre’ shop and had a nice lunch in the restaurant next door, where Karl discovered a living relative working in the restaurant!

SATURDAY 11TH NOVEMBER: REST DAY:

 

DAY TWENTY:

SUNDAY 12TH NOVEMBER:  VIDIMYRARKIRKJA: A colourful turf church, the current turf church was built in 1834, though the previous church on the site was from 1630 CE.  The church sits on the grounds of a Fortress, from 1620 CE, which one can clearly see by looking around. it was a very cold day and a little overcast but as it was our last full day here, we wanted to make the most of it. We could not get inside but lingered awhile, walking around the little graveyard, taking photos and taking it all in….  The church notice board provides some good extra info.  Unusually the bell was hanging in the entrance gate.

I found lots of interesting info here:

https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/vidimyrarkirkja-turf-church-in-north-iceland-is-it-the-most-beautiful-of-them-all

FOSSLAUG WATERFALL: It is said that the essence of life flows through this magnificent wonder and i could see why. It was a bit of a walk from the car par, but only a short drive from the turf church. I couldn’t find much info on the waterfall but apparently a thermal bathing pool is nearby, which i did not see at all, but there was more than one approach to the waterfall so maybe we approached from a different direction. It is a spot well known for being peaceful and beautiful and very popular in the summer months with hikers and tourists. It was very icy and cold when we visited yet still very spectacular. However there is much more going on here than meets the eye, especially on a metaphysical level. If one looks around one can see remains of an older civilization, with a stone circle, ‘marked’ stones, and certain stones with a different purpose altogether. Again all hidden in plain sight with everyone simply walking right past. See what you think from the photos….  There is a link here to ‘The Stones of Time‘ on both a metaphysical and an earthly level. Iceland connects to the metaphysical realms in a very important way, yet in a mostly unseen way. My eyes (inner and outer) were certainly shown how to ‘see’ while i was here in Iceland, for it captured my soul and imagination and awakened me further on a Craft level too…

It was a wild morning here in Iceland when we left, to be on the road. It’s a long way to the port so having a two night stay elsewhere to break the journey and to be safer on the icy roads, not to have to rush to the port. It was an ominous looking blood red sky as we left Hofsos and an uneasy stillness hung in the air. We were leaving a couple of days early, due to both the emergency situation here in Iceland and because of the weather and icy driving conditions.  Hofsos is a site of strong earth magnetics, which is why we stayed here. The pull of the magnetics at this important earth point have a ‘stilling’ effect on the tides, and one can almost feel it, especially if one is sensitive to earth energies. So much knowledge and understandings gained.  We had a long journey ahead to reach the port, a whole days driving, so decided to stay for two nights near to the port. It was concerning that we could miss the ferry due to the weather, so a risk not worth taking. It turned out to be a very wise decision as the journey was challenging and the mountain pass was down to almost no visibility in places, but we made it, with more adventures along the way….

We were only a couple of miles along the road from Hofsos, when we started seeing what we at first thought were developing snow clouds, only to realize that they were too low for that. They were in fact steam vents that had suddenly come alive, spurting vapours that hung in the air, clinging heavily to the mountain peaks, and definitely not there before…. It was still dawn and they certainly looked very dramatic against the burgeoning sunrise. But the driving conditions were getting bad with the snows scurrying in.

MYVATN GEOTHERMAL AREA: Created 2000 years ago when a series of craters erupted. Now a site where the energy is harnessed and still extremely active. As far as safety goes this day was rather ‘hairy’ to say the lest, which my videos testified too! Especially us dodging the ‘thermals’, we only just made it out in time before they went off! And driving up over the rapidly dissapearing mountain roads – but what a real adventure it was proving to be! I can’t believe now i had all those experiences, it was like watching someone else’s videos! Driving was an adventure to say the lest and hats off to Karl for his safe and careful driving.