13/10/2026
Iceland Is Where the Landscape Composes Its Own Music
From geysers and Björk to extraordinary landscapes and a hideaway at the edge of the world.
Some countries you visit. Others stay with you, their music playing on long after you have returned home. For me, Iceland definitely belongs to the latter.
It has something to do with the extraordinary sense of space, the landscapes of jet-black lava fields, vivid green valleys and glaciers,
and that remarkable silence which, in reality, is anything but silent.
Iceland roars, bubbles, hisses and rumbles. Water plunges over cliffs, hot springs bubble away and the wind sweeps across the landscape. Nature here is far from quiet.
And that is precisely what has fascinated me most during my travels: Iceland has a voice of its own.
When Landscape Becomes Music
I love music. But I am interested not only in how it sounds, but also in where it comes from and what inspires the artists who create it.
Iceland has produced an astonishingly diverse music scene. Björk, Sigur Rós, Ólafur Arnalds and Of Monsters and Men inhabit very different musical worlds, yet I believe I can recognise something of this island in all of them: its vastness, its contrasts, its vulnerability and its untamed energy.
For me, Björk embodies Iceland's independent spirit more than anyone. Her music is both ancient and futuristic, experimental, occasionally unsettling and always unmistakably her own. It is as though she is not simply describing nature through music,
but transforming its energy into sound.
In Sigur Rós, I hear the openness of the landscape. In Ólafur Arnalds, the silence between the notes.
Of course, that is entirely my personal interpretation. Yet throughout my travels, I have often felt that I have come to understand the music of this island a little better.
The Geyser - A Natural Spectacle with Perfect Timing
Along Iceland's famous Golden Circle, sometimes also called the Golden Triangle, you encounter three of the country's most celebrated sights: Þingvellir National Park, the geothermal area around Geysir and the magnificent Gullfoss waterfall.
Strokkur, in particular, has always fascinated me.
You stand there and wait. A gentle bubbling. A brief pause. And suddenly, an enormous column of boiling water shoots into the sky.
What a sense of drama!
As a music lover, I immediately think of rhythm, tension and perfect timing. Strokkur manages all of this without a conductor.
And Gullfoss follows with a magnificent fortissimo.
Iceland clearly has a score of its own.
Reykjavík - A Small Capital with a Remarkable Music Scene
In Reykjavík, you discover another, more urban side of Iceland: intimate clubs, creative music projects, jazz, electronic music and internationally acclaimed classical performances.
I am particularly impressed by Harpa, the concert hall overlooking the waterfront. Its glass façade plays with light and colour, echoing the geometric forms found in Icelandic nature.
For me, it is a wonderful example of how architecture, landscape and music can come together.
These are exactly the kinds of places I love. Places where the anticipation of a concert begins long before the first note is played, simply by arriving.
Hótel Búðir - A Hideaway I Keep Coming Back To
One place that has stayed with me throughout my travels is Hótel Búðir on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, where I have stayed on several occasions.
Its location alone is extraordinary. Surrounded by lava fields, mountains and the Atlantic coastline, the hotel stands almost as though it had deliberately chosen a place far away from the rest of the world.
Nearby is the famous black church of Búðakirkja. Beyond it, the vast landscape stretches into the distance, all beneath that incomparable Icelandic light.
For me, staying here is far more than simply spending a night somewhere along the way. It is an opportunity to absorb the landscape without immediately setting off for the next sight.
And time and again, I found myself thinking about music.
About the quieter passages of a composition, those moments when seemingly very little happens, yet so much is unfolding.
To me, that is what makes a great hideaway. It does not need a constant programme of attractions. The place itself already has a story to tell.
Why Iceland and Music Travel Hideaways Belong Together
At Music Travel Hideaways, we often ask ourselves what makes a journey truly extraordinary.
Of course, outstanding concerts, fascinating artists and memorable musical encounters all play an important part.
But there is more to it than that.
There are also the landscapes we discover, the places where we stay and the unexpected moments between the planned activities.
Iceland reminds me of this time and again.
A concert in Reykjavík might be the musical highlight of a journey. But discovering the island itself, its nature and its remarkable places, adds something that extends far beyond the concert hall.
For me, that is the difference between travelling and travelling for music.
One takes us around the world. The other allows us to discover the world through music.
And quite often, when I return to Berlin, I find myself listening to the music itself with fresh ears.
Iceland Through My Eyes
What stays with me from my travels?
The image of a geyser shooting into the sky with extraordinary force. The stillness of Snæfellsnes. The feeling of staying at Hótel Búðir, surrounded by that immense landscape. And the realisation that nature and music have more in common than we might sometimes imagine.
Iceland – I will be back.
And whenever I listen to Björk or Sigur Rós in the future, I will picture Iceland, perhaps with a little wind, water and wide-open space still echoing in my ears.
After all, the finest music journeys do not end with the flight home. They remain part of the present, long after we have returned.
Discover our latest music trips to Iceland
About the Author
Jürgen Mamczek is the founder and Managing Director of Music Travel Hideaways and has worked in the travel industry for more than
30 years.
He has personally visited most of the destinations and hotels he recommends. He has travelled to Iceland on several occasions, exploring many different regions of the island.
