May 20, 2016: Snæfellsnes

We got a late start this morning after a quick breakfast in the apartment kitchen. We drove to Borgarnes and made a reservation for our adventure on Monday.

We headed to Snæfellsnes peninsula. This peninsula is dominated by Snæfellsjök (a glacier at the western edge of the peninsula). This mountain range is well known due to the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne as the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth. The weather was perfect and we had very clear views of the glacier.

Our destination was Stykkishólmur, the port town on the northern coast of the peninsula. 

 Here you can catch a ferry to the West Fjords (the upper claw off the northwest edge of Iceland). 

We tried to have lunch at a quaint restaurant on the port but the prices were too expensive for us and the waitress suggested this great restaurant up the hill in a yellow building called Skúrinn (The Shed). It had great fish, salads and burgers. The tag line for the restaurant was “This is a bad place to diet”. Everyone loved the food they had. 

The port in Stykkishólmur is protected by a large volcanic rock which has a lighthouse on top and easy stairs for great views out into Breiđafjöđur. This fjord is dotted with over 3000+ islands.

We drove to the Vannasafn (The Water Library). It is a long term art instillation by American artist Roni Horn. Housed in the former library, it contains 24 glass columns filled with glacier water from the 24 glaciers around Iceland. Each column looks slightly different because of the different sediments in each glacier. The floor of the library also was covered in a thick rubber mat. The museum curator was very helpful and led a nice discussion about possible ways to interpret the art, including its relationship to the environment and how we change our environment and our environment changes us.

Sediment from the glacier at the bottom of each column.

View through a column.

Next we visited the local swimming pool. In 1996 geothermal heat was discovered near Stykkishólmur and the water was found to have healing effect. It has a certification from Institut Fresenius and is excellent for aching backs, tired muscles and dry skin. The pool had three hot pots, a large outdoor lap pool, and an indoor pool and boasts the tallest water slide in Iceland. We all enjoyed our time soaking. There was even a sign comparing the levels of certain minerals found in this pool versus the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik and Baden in Germany. Both Stykkishólmur  and the Blue Lagoon use reclaimed fluids from the geothermal power plant as part of their water sources. 

Before we left we stopped at Bonus, the low cost grocery store. Notice we get groceries almost every day. Feeding 8 people takes a lot of food.

It took us 1 ½ hours to drive up to Búđardalur, around Breiđafjöđur bay. The views were amazing. Luckily, there wasn’t much traffic but we were all concerned at how fast some of the locals drove on this narrow dirt road (and they didn’t seem to believe in sharing the road much).

In Búđardalur we stopped at a local handmade craft/wool shop before we started toward Eiríksstađis, the home of Erik the Red, discoverer of Greenland and birthplace of his son Leifur Eiríksson. 

Statue celebrating Leifur Eiríksson sailing to North America with replica longhouse in background.

A replica longhouse is on the site as well as the rock remains of the original longhouse. The replica turf lodge was built using traditional tools and materials with a central fireplace and a seating/sleeping ledge around the inside. 

Everyone laying in Eiríksstađis.

We drove the 35 minutes over Brattabrekka pass back to Bifröst and had tortellini soup for supper.  Some students ended the day with a relaxing soak in the sauna and hot tub.

May 19, 2016: Borgarfjörđur

We started the day with a great breakfast in the kitchen of one of our apartments.

We drove back down to Borgarnes to go to the Settlement Center of Iceland, an informational exhibition that discusses the age of settlement in Iceland and the sagas. The age of settlement is the first 60 years of Vikings on Iceland, where the historic first farms were around Borgarfjörđur and in general what life was like for the Vikings. The second half of the exhibit goes through Egils Saga, one of the country’s best-loved sagas, probably written by Snorri Sturluson (we will visit his home, Reyholt, on May 21^st). 

The keel of a Viking boat.

Diorama of a Viking ship

Caitlin on the moving Viking ship display.

Listening to the audio tour about the various Viking settlements around Iceland.

Iceland's Coat of Arms.

The basic storyline follows Egill Skallagrimsson, who was lived in the 10^th century and was son of one of the first Norse settlers, Skallagrimsson who settled at the farm Borg (named for the rock formations that look like a castle). Egill was both a fierce and often cruel Viking warrior and also a great poet.

Low tide.

We ate lunch at Geirabakari. This restaurant was used in the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” as the Papa John’s (there is no Papa John’s in Iceland).

Cake of the year: Chocolate Carmel.

 We ended up running to Netto for some snacks and wool (two students want me to teach them to knit) and I refilled the van. There is also a farmer’s market/local craft shop and the students enjoyed it and their samples of food.

We drove approximately 30 km into the fjord and up a side valley until we got to Krosslaug (Cross pool). This is a natural hot springs that was used by travelers when they left Þingvellir in 1000 and needed to baptize themselves after it was decided the country would convert to Christianity and give up paganism (which was still allowed to be followed as long as it was done discretely).

Sunbathing in great weather.

 After Krosslaug, we drove to Hvanneyri University. This is the agricultural university and has about 250 people living in the small town. There is an agricultural equipment museum (which we didn’t go through) and a wool shop/store. We did run through the store but ended up not buying anything but enjoyed seeing all of the possibilities of things to make with wool.

We drove a different way back to Borgarnes and got to drive over a 1920’s double span bridge.

We headed to the swimming pool in Borgarnes and had a lovely time in the hot pots and the three water slides. The outdoor lap pool overlooks the bay and mountains.

Dinner was at the N1 gas station. This has a surprisingly nice salad and soup bar and a nice grill. Most everyone had a soft serve ice cream cone dipped in either dark or light chocolate. Icelandic ice cream is creamier than American, soft serve. 

When we were at the Settlement Center earlier in the day, we heard about a performance about the Sagas and black magic in Iceland. We ended up being the only people at the performance. It lasted about 75 minutes and the only actor talked about how black magic was brought to Iceland and the influence it had in the West and Fjord regions of Iceland.

Once we got home, everyone played cards late into the night.