In June, this far up north, the summer nights are bright and the day is endless. And on the longest day of the year, the 21st of June, the sun sets at midnight and then almost immediately rises again.
Top photo: Summer Solstice at Viðey island
Photographing the sunset from Laugarnestangi at 23:54
We Icelanders stay up late on this day and try to watch the midnight sunset.
In 2023, we who live in Reykjavík were in luck: after a very long period of rain and gloomy weather, the 21st of June was warm and sunny all day.
Only in the evening did it start getting cloudy, but the clouds looked like cotton balls and only added to the beauty of the sunset.
Summer Solstice 2023:
At Summer Solstice, the midday sun stops rising each day. It starts getting lower in the sky, and the days get shorter.
The reversal occurs at what is called the Solstice minute in the morning of the 21st of June. And then it gradually gets darker until on the 21st of December, we only get a couple of hours of light.
So we cherish these bright nights after the long winter darkness. And we, who live here, never get used to this; we just try to adapt to it.
And I can tell you that it is much easier to adapt to beautiful, bright nights than the endless winter darkness.
Summer Solstice at Skarfaklettur in Reykjavík
We don't do much to celebrate the Summer Solstice here in Iceland, apart from staying awake and enjoying this brightest day and night of the year, but since 1985, there has been a Summer Solstice walk in Reykjavík.
It wasn't until this year, 2023, that I joined this walk on Viðey island with my father-in-law and husband, where the Summer Solstice had been celebrated several times before. Around 100 people attended the event.
Viðey Island in Reykjavík
Viðey Island is an island the size of Monaco, only a 5-minute ferry ride from Skarfabakki harbour in Reykjavík.
The free event was hosted by Borgarsögusafn Reykjavíkur - the Reykjavík City Museum, and lasted 3 hours.
People preparing to go on the Summer Solstice walk on Viðey island
We came well prepared, wearing a parka, mittens, and a cape, and something warm to drink, as this is Iceland after all.
But the weather stayed awesome throughout our 3-hour walk. What a difference a day makes :)
The weather in Iceland is so fickle that we count our blessings when it is not windy and rainy during outdoor events.
Watching the sunset from Viðey island
We got a guided tour of the island, on which you can see Viðeyjarstofa, Reyjavík's oldest concrete house and the first concrete house in Iceland, built in 1752-1755. And the archaeological dig for an old monastery.
But amongst our foreign guests, it is best known as being the island where the Imagine Peace Tower is located.
It is lit on John Lennon's birthday on the 9th of October and turned off on the day he was shot on the 8th of December. It is also lit from the 31st of December until the 6th of January. And at some other times as well.
Summer Solstice at Skarfaklettur
After the ferry ride back, we stopped by Skarfaklettur rock at Skarfabakki harbour until midnight to watch the sunset.
If you visit Reykjavík on this day, you will notice a myriad of people dotted all by the seaside looking west at the sun setting. It is quite a magical sight.
Given that the sky is clear, of course, the sunset can be seen.
The sun about to set at midnight
One year on the Summer Solstice, we went up north to Drangey Island to watch the sunset from that steep rock where Iceland's longest surviving outlaw, Grettir the Strong, ended his life in the 11th century.
But as fate has it, it was foggy with very little visibility, so one never knows from where it is best to watch the sunset on the Summer Solstice.
The following day in Reykjavík, after the beautiful sunset on Summer Solstice at Viðey Island, it started raining again for days on end.
You will see people dotted along the seaside watching the sunset
We, on the southwest corner of Iceland, sometimes get what we call Rigningasumarið mikla - or the Summer of the Great Rain, while the east and north get a heatwave.
But we are very grateful for the few days of sunshine we get, especially at the Summer Solstice.
Jónsmessa - Midsummer Eve in Reykjavík
Watching the sunset from Laugarnestangi next to the Raven's Nest
Midsummer Eve is nowadays increasingly celebrated in Iceland, and maybe more so than the Summer Solstice.
The Jón in the name Jónsmessa refers to John the Baptist.
On Midsummer Eve, it is considered to be very healthy to roll around naked in the dew. All your illnesses are supposed to be cured by doing this, and you won't get ill for the whole next year.
Midsummer Night at the Raven's Nest in Reykjavík
And I remember back when my girlfriends and I were teenagers, it was customary to put freshly picked flowers under our pillows, and we would dream about the man we were supposed to marry.
I never dreamt of anybody that night, but a girlfriend of mine had a vivid dream about her future husband, whom she hadn't even met!
We have some old folklore about things that happen on Midsummer Eve, like seals shedding their skin that night and taking on human form. Some of them even married humans and had kids, but then escaped back to the sea to their seal children.
Mt. Drápuhlíðarfjall on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland
And you can even find wishing stones and other stones of magic that float up on ponds or lakes on this magical night.
In Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Compilation of Folklore by Jón Árnason, some of the locations of magical stones are mentioned, like at Mt. Drápuhlíðarfjall on the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Another such place is at Kofri on Arnarnes in Álftafjörður in the Westfjords. And on Mt. Tindastóll in North Iceland.
And Mt. Baula, which can be seen from the Ring Road when you drive north.
Midsummer Eve on Laugarnestangi in Reykjavík
Midsummer Eve is more widely celebrated abroad than in Iceland.
When living abroad, I had no idea at first why the beach was dotted with bonfires in Spain, and there were bonfires and celebrations in Norway when I was living there for a while.
The only time I have taken part in a Midsummer Eve celebration is at the director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson's house a few years ago. There was dancing on the roof, a bonfire, and great fun.
The Raven's Nest
Hrafn Gunnlaugsson is well-known for his many Viking films, and he has a heathen temple in his home - a very colourful and likable character.
You might know his house by the sea in Laugarnestangi, Reykjavík. It is sometimes called the Raven's Nest, and it looks different, with all kinds of recycled sculptures and stuff.
It is one of the strangest-looking houses in Reykjavík, and many curious people timidly approach it to take a closer look.
Watching the sunset from Laugarnestangi in Reykjavík
I love visiting the house. Hrafn is my husband's second cousin, and we have visited the Raven's Nest on numerous occasions.
Have fun in Reykjavík on Summer Solstice and on Midsummer Eve, and I hope that the sun will be shining :)
