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.