What came over them - The emig­ra­tion of two Swiss to Iceland

Esther & Pierre are a Swiss couple who emig­rated to Iceland in the summer of 2024, to the Dalir region between Snæfell­snes and the West­f­jords. I was not born at the time, but I have been told the stories in detail (and heard a lot of moaning...).

The two of them have been to Iceland on holiday several times, the first time on their first trip together as a couple in 2012. During the various trips through the Icelandic wilder­ness, they fell in love with the country. They were fascin­ated by the beauty of the land­scape, which in some places is as rugged as a desert, and in others, as gentle and colorful as in a fairytale (or The Lord of the Rings). They loved the diversity of animals (birds, seals, whales, horses, sheep, etc.), the peaceful and secluded places, and the friendly people. By the way, I also think all of that is abso­lutely amazing and waauw! They were also completely enthralled by the Northern Lights. And suddenly, they wondered, what if...

... they could stay in Iceland long-term?
... they could earn a living in Iceland?
... they could build their own house in the wilder­ness of Iceland?
... they could live with a cute little Icelandic Sheepdog?

Well, I made up the last ques­tion myself, but the other three turned out to be quite feas­ible. Swiss citizens are allowed to settle perman­ently in Iceland, purchase or rent prop­erty, and work there. They do not even have to quar­antine upon entry, like my furry relat­ives. So the ques­tion for the two remained whether they really wanted to commit to it, and the answer quickly became a resounding yes. A new life in a country where they have always auto­mat­ic­ally felt at home and a career change seemed just right for them. They love Switzer­land, and it was not about wanting to escape, but about breaking away from the familiar and embarking on an adven­ture. What began as the thought, "what if?" soon turned into a dream of living in Iceland's beau­tiful nature. They imagined having their own house by the sea and envi­sioned building a small holiday resort, thinking of a peaceful and secluded retreat for people seeking nature and tran­quility.

Between the dream in their heads and its real­iz­a­tion were count­less hours of research and organ­iz­a­tion. They planned and discarded ideas, sent hundreds of emails, made phone calls, compared options, and tested various small prefab­ric­ated holiday homes in different coun­tries. They took Icelandic lessons and visited Iceland several more times for further research. Finally, in the autumn of 2022, they found a beau­tiful plot of land on a wild fjord in West Iceland, where they could make their vision come true: Ljárskógaströnd, located directly by the sea, north of the Snæfell­snes Penin­sula and at the gateway to the West­f­jords. And they decided that their passion project would be named "Mystic Light Lodge" because of the fant­astic lighting moods that appear at this place.

They felt immense anti­cip­a­tion, but also exper­i­enced some bitter disap­point­ment as one or another plan fell through. It took almost two years before they quit their jobs and the apart­ment in Switzer­land and boarded the plane with a one-way ticket.

After arriving in West Iceland, they moved into an apart­ment in Búðardalur and continued to push forward with their holiday resort project. Many things turned out to be more complic­ated, time-consuming, and expensive than they had planned. I suspect it was simply amateurish plan­ning... or perhaps it was also due to the typical spon­taneity of Icelanders, who, like the weather, are unpre­dict­able. And yet, with a few nerves less, but many exper­i­ences richer, they were finally able to welcome their first guests to one of the mirror houses at Mystic Light Lodge in April this year.

They very much hope that they have succeeded in creating a place that will inspire many people and bring a little peace into their lives.

Sif
Head of Enter­tain­ment
Mystic Light Lodge