Why is Iceland so Beautiful? Drinking from Glacial Streams...

This photo was taken overlooking Vatnajökull Glacier, in Southeastern Iceland over the summer. The hike up this little mountain covered in glowing green grass and great deep skies was one of the most amazing moments of the whole trip around Iceland. Up there was so clear and so peaceful; so quiet but alive with all the vibrant colors everywhere, in every direction. One way, the green hills, the other the field of alpine flowers; while another way shone the glacier, white and icy and in the opposite direction, the stretch of streams and rivers that opened up into the silvery shining ocean. Our jackets were tied to our waists, the weather changing suddenly from cloudy and drizzling to wide azure sky and the warmest Icelandic weather in five years, according to one cheery local. The perfect wind blew over us and kept us warm but also cool. At some point, we stopped at a glacial stream that clung to the side of the mountain and ran water clear and cold, filtered by Vatnajökull for thousands of years. We refilled our bottles and took sips with our hands. That is the freshest water on Earth.. We resumed our hike and just walked in awe, completely amazed by everything we saw.