Hvammstangi, Húnaþing vestra, Iceland - 07/23/17

As we near another highly anticipated stop, in northeast Iceland, we reach Hvammstangi, the most densely populated area in Hunaphing, with about 580 inhabitants.
Hvammstangi is an important service provider for the area, specially education and trading. Tourism, administration and fishing industries (providing mainly shrimp) are important parts of the town's economy. Interestingly, Hvammstangi owns Iceland's largest textile factory, let's see if we can find it here.

Telling the story of the city's businesses and development, which dates back to 1856, Trade Museum Bardusa, in the city center next to the harbor, was the first place we stopped after we arrived.

After learning about the town, but not much about the textile factories we where looking for, we went to the Icelandic Seal Center, which we learned serves as an information booth in the city, and stayed for the information about seals.

The building, aside from serving as an information booth, also directs visitors to nature and seal watching and sea angling trips.

Hvammstangi is well-known for it's support for camping and camping culture, providing many rewarding views, so we decided to venture out and go camping ourselves. 

 As a habit, we repeated our list of places to visit before sleeping: - (Japan, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Brazil (x5)) -

After a was-to-be-hard night, (thankfully we had our mages with their pyromancies ready for this occasion) we went nature-hunting, for 4 structures in particular, which hopefully wont take too long to find; Ánaðastapi, Hvitserkur, Stapar and the local fjörd; Midfjördur, which can be seen from the local restaurant: Sjavarbog

The first one we found was the Fjord, by chance, looking through the windows at Sjavarborg restaurant, presumably the best in the region. Well, a fjörd is basically just a little valley with water from the ocean filling the space in the middle. In fact, it wasn't until we reached Ánaðastapi that we realized we had already seen the Fjord.

Our hike has earned us many amazing views, definitely worth all the trouble.

Despite having to actually swim across masses of water to get here, we are still satisfied to get to know Ánaðastapi in person!

Still exploring in Vatnsnes Peninsula, over 3 km(1.86 mi) away from Hvammstangi by sea through Midfjördur, we sighted Hvitserkur, a 15 m/49 ft tall rock formation. At this point we were already dry from the swimming, and it was getting dark, so we decided to stay for the high chances to witness the Northern Lights, (which is very common in Iceland) and we got very lucky! what an awesome sight.

Our last report is from Vatnsnes Peninsula as a whole, of which we have seen very little of. Our nature-hunting here finished in walking across green lands, where we saw the local wild life and vegetation (weirdly, in all of our exploration we saw very little to no trees) and also visited an important event location, the farm "Hamarsbúð" where the traditional Icelandic Food Festival, “Fjöruhlaðborð” (Fun buffet), is celebrated every year. We also found horse and cattle pens and old abandoned farms.

Time to go "Ice fjord deep" in Iceland

Dalvik, Dalvikurbyggd, Iceland - 07/10/17

Dalvikurbyggd COA

Going further north in Iceland we discovered a river, which we later learned is called "Sverfadardalsa river", and began to follow along the waters in hopes to get to our next location.

Our suspicions were right, and by the mouth of the river was Dalvik, a regional port for import and fishing with 1.454 inhabitants as of 2011. Dalvik means "Valley Bay" in Icelandic, and the valley which it refers to is Svarfadardallur.

Like Akureyri, Dalvik also has ferry services to Grimsey island, which we learned about while in our last stop, Akureyri. Grimsey was amalgamated with Akureyri in 2009, and is the northernmost inhabited Icelandic territory.

Interesting Fact:

The festival Fiskidagurinn mikli (The Great Fish Day) is celebrated here in August, and is attended by up to 30.000 people. The festival is consisted of a free fish buffet which is sponsored by the local fishing industry.

- The programmers among us were intrigued by the name of the town, it was not in vain. Dalvik used to be a virtual machine in the Android operating system. The open source software was replaced by Android Run Time (ART) from Android 4.4 (KitKat) to all further versions.

For our first activity here in Dalvik we decided to take the opportunity to finally go whale watching, after two lost opportunities in Djupivogur an Husavik,

The expeditions are realized by Arctic Sea Tours, a rated five stars service offering Rhib boat and whale boat whale watching. In addition to seeing whales, porpoises and dolphins (with 99% success rate) for up to three hours, we also enjoyed some hot chocolate, fresh cooked and barbecued fish, which were caught by the crew and grilled upon our arrival on land. They also guaranteed us that if we didn't cross paths with whales we could ride again free of charge.

After the rewarding whale watching expedition, we nostalgically remembered our experience in Dalvik Folk Museum in Akureyri, and how we almost mixed up the places, and remembered that the 'Viking Giant' was born and buried here.

(Interesting Fact:

In addition to being a circus performer (and sadly being seem as an abomination) Johann the Great starred in the movie Prehistoric Women(1950) where we played the role of a giant cave man.
He was buried in Dalvik after dying in consequence of a falling accident.)


We found out where he was buried in the town, so we made a special pilgrimage to the cemetery after the museum.
We split into groups and started searching, after about 3 minutes we actually found his grave! - The party gains 3 points to Perception.



Now, it might be seen as inconsiderate, but we decided to visit a local pool and gym next, to enjoy life while we can.



From what we have seen, Icelanders are very clean and organized people, as well as friendly. Our experience in Dalvik Swimming Pool reassured that expectation.
One of the habits Icelanders have which helps to keep the pools clean is showering (often times naked) before getting it. In the end we saw more nature than we could expect in a swimming club.

The features of the facility are just as impressive: geothermically heated pools with different temperatures, a cooler main pool with swimming lanes, a water slide and a gym.

As we near important stops in the country, we make a few essential stops. 

Akureyri, Eyjafjörður, Iceland - 07/09/17

Walking east of Reykjahlid we reached Akureyri,  one of the most anticipated stops in Iceland for us. The city nestles at the head of Eyjafjördur, Iceland's biggest fjörd, with over 70km (45.4 miles), and is the country's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality, being called 'Capital of North Iceland'.
Permanent settlement at the site started in 1778, although it has been used as a trading route since the 16th century, due to it's outstanding ice-free harbor. It started with a population of 12.
Akureyri started to grow from the year 1862, when it regained it's municipality status, due to it's port conditions and fertility. The towns current population nears 20.000.
The town is surrounded by mountains, the highest being Kista (1.447m/4.474 ft) and is annexed to an island; Hrisey island, 35km (22mi) to the north, with ferry services. Hrisey has a population of 200 and is Iceland's second biggest island, it is a site for pet and livestock quarantine.

Interesting Facts:

• Akureyri has one of the largest libraries in Iceland.

• The Icelandic folk dance "Vefarinn" comes from Akureyri.

• The town was site of Allied units during WW2.

• Jon Sveinsson, a popular author of children's books, was born here, today the city has a museum in his memory.

• Akureyri has one of the warmest climates in Iceland, despite being only 100km (62 mi) from the Arctic Circle.

• The northernmost 18-hole golf course in the world, Jadar Golf Course, is located here. There is a tournament each summer which takes place during the night, under the midnight sun.

In addition to admiring the landscapes, we decided to visit a few museums presented by the city, starting with Akureyri Museum.
The museum hosts two permanent exhibitions: "Eyjafjördur from early times" and "Akureyri, the town on the bay".
Here we saw many articles, photographs and artifacts relating to the Viking period, The Middle Ages, religion and everyday life in Eyjafjördur and Akureyri.

Interesting fact:

• Akureyri Museum also has a playroom and offers historical walks.

We also visited Akureyri Art Museum, which proudly presents paintings from North Iceland artists.
It was established in 1993 and as a consequence of it's opening, the region develop as the largest artistic community outside the capital (Reykjavik).

The following Museums are also present in Akureyri: Aviation Museum, Motorcycle Museum, Industry Museum, David Stefansson Memorial (poet and writer), Into the Arctic; a very interesting museum of exploration, Jón Sveinsson (writer) Memorial, Matthias Jocumsson Memorial (Reverend, poet of the Icelandic National Anthem) and Old Toys Exhibition (Like the Museum of Childhood we visited in Edinburgh, back in Scotland).

Next, a product of city beautification, and first public park in Iceland we visited the Botanical Gardens, a place for peace, tranquility and scientific research.
The park was granted to the women in Akureyri, who founded an association (Park Association) to beautify the city. In 1910 they were given a hectare of land, by 1953 it had increased to 3.6 hectares.

Being only 50km/31mi south of the Arctic circle, it has helped to prove that certain plants (shrubs, tress and flowers) can survive on the edge of the Arctic.
By the end of 2007 there were about 7000 species grown in the garden, including those from temperate zones.

Our next stop caused a little confusion, it is called (Hvoll) Dalvik Folk Museum, but it's in fact located in Akureyri. We actually had to walk back a little after realizing it too late.

As expected, the museum presents many historical objects, as well as the daily life, farming, fishing and hunting crafts and people's educations in past times, through amazing educational photos and memorabilia. Aside from the documents, objects and taxidermied animals, the real star here is once world's tallest man Johann Petursson (1913-1984), known as The Viking Giant.
Johann the Giant was born here in Dalvik and measured 2.34 meters (7ft 8in) at 359.35lb (163kg).

Interesting Fact:

• In addition to being a circus performer (and sadly being seem as an abomination) Johann the Great starred in the movie Prehistoric Women (1950) where we played the role of a giant cave man.

He was buried in Dalvik after dying in consequence of a falling accident.

The Museum exhibits some of his possessions, most of which were made to fit his size. We had a chance to see his very tall crutches, to aid with mobility; his enormous shoes and even the contents of his wallet. There also is a demonstration of his size placed on the wall, which can be seen even when the museum is closed.

Husavik, Nordurping, Iceland - 07/02/17

Norðurþing Coat of Arms

Leaving the Eastern Region and reaching the north coast, we arrive in Husavik, a town in Nordurping with 2.122 inhabitants. The name of the town means "bay of houses".
As with most coastal Icelandic towns, the income is based around fishing, tourism, small retail and industry.
One of the tourist attractions in the village is bay watching, due to whales of different species entering the bay. The city is known for it's whale watching, and for the presence of Husavik Whale Museum, which is already in our list, along with the Exploration Museum.
Due to it's proximity to the north pole, Husavik experiences midnight sun (when the sun is visible during the entire day) from 11 of June to June 29. - I guess we could say that people in Husavik have 18 days more than us ?(or less nights, if you like going out -or sleeping). - Anyway, we just barely missed it.

As planned, our first stop was the famous Whale Museum, a non-profit organization established in 1997. There we could learn about whales and other cetaceans and their environment, through informative and attractive displays.
The museum is run by an international volunteer program, which gives the participants the chance to learn more about the whales and experience them in their natural environment, with one trip per day on whale boats for research.
There were two floors; on the first one we learned about the habitat and ecosystem of whales, with very captivating and creative exhibits, and on the second floor we entered the "Whale Gallery", with authentic skeletons of 9 species.

Interesting Facts:

• The museum gives emphasis to Icelandic whales and cetaceans in the North Atlantic.

• Special attention is given to orcas, including the most famous Icelandic orca, Keiko, who portraits Willy in the 1993 movie Free Willy.

• The museum offers two whaling documentaries to give visitors an understanding of the issue.

The second visit on our list is a very recent and captivating museum, The Exploration Museum, opened in 2014.
The main things we experienced were objects (photographs, artifacts and documents) from astronaut training and early expeditions.
Husavik has an interesting connection with space exploration; there were geology training expeditions done by the Apollo team in Iceland in 1965 and 1967, and in 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo field trip to Iceland, the museum organised a return trip with three Apollo astronauts, Walter Cunningham, 'Rusty' Schweikart and Harrison Schitt.
The museum has also been visited by a few other astronauts.
Along with space exploration artifacts, we learned about viking expeditions and the discovery of the South Pole by Norwegian and British explorers (who tragically died on the return journey) in 1911.

Next stop, "Capital of North Iceland"