ITTY BITTY CITY
- Joelle McDonald
- Jul 5, 2022
- 8 min read
Vogar (Mývatn) • Goðafoss • Akureyri • Varmahilð
Flexibility. Yes, it is important for health. You need it to be able to tie your shoes and put on a coat, but being flexible when traveling is a matter of enjoying your trip or becoming a ball of frustrated stress. Without flexibility while traveling there is no freedom to explore things that you didn’t expect to catch your eye or room
to recover from unforeseen circumstances. Thankfully, Hannah and I are both very flexible travelers.
We start our morning with a solid plan. We will drive to and around the perimeter of Tröllaskagi Peninsula, which is said to be absolutely gorgeous, although not the fastest way from point A to B. On the way we will stop at Goðafoss Waterfall and once we are on Tröllaskagi Peninsula, in Siglufjörður, we will go on a hike before driving back down the peninsula to our campsite in Skagafjörður.
Leaving Mývatn
--- Map Point A ---
Once I return from my run (I saw a very cool sheep sorting pen protected by Icelandic Heritage Laws) and shower, we eat breakfast and rehydrate lunch. Ready for the day, we pull out of the site later than we expected, but that’s no problem when the sun doesn’t set. Hannah driving and me blogging in the passenger seat, we are each in the zone. Neither of us are actually thinking about our first stop, Goðafoss Waterfall. I had put our second stop in the GPS just to get us going in the right direction (not that its very hard to find the one road we would be driving on to Akureyri) and never changed it. Deep in thought I hear Hannah exclaim “WOAH, look at that big waterfall!” I snap to attention. “Oh wait, we are supposed to stop for that one! I forgot!” Thankfully the waterfall is big enough and close enough to the road to remind us. This would be a sad one to miss.
Goðafoss Waterfall
--- Map Point B ---
The waterfall is made up of four individual waterfalls, alternating between wide and narrow. Tourists abound on both sides of the falls. Pictures don’t do it justice, but we try anyway. We are very patient people, a useful trait when trying to get a photo without anyone in it at big tourist attractions, but here our patience is tested. Viewing decks are built along both sides of the falls and areas that are either under flora and fauna protection or dangerous to be on are roped off. Generally we have seen people wisely respecting these boundaries, but here people seem unbothered. People sit at the edge of the waterfall’s cliff with their legs dangerously dangling over so if the cliff fell it would be almost certainly fatal. Others in brightly colored jackets have tripods set up, clearly planning to hang out in a protected area. The angle of our viewpoint perfectly captures all these people in our pictures, exactly what we don’t want. We spend at least 10 minutes watching the border-violators meander until finally… a window! It lasts just a few seconds, but we were ready for it. Having finished both our people-watching and waterfall-watching we return to the car, headed for Akureyri.
Vaðlaheiði Tunnel
--- Right of Map Point C ---
The drive to Akureyri brings us through both our first and only toll road (or should I say, tunnel) of the trip and to the base of Tröllaskagi Peninsula. We easily figure out the toll payment system (thanks to our rental company giving us instructions) and take in the impressive 4.7 mile tunnel (to Coloradans that’s 2.7 Eisenhower Tunnels). When we emerge, our eyes are immediately shocked by both the light and the civilization? Before us is what looks like an actual town rather than the smattering of buildings constituting all the towns we have driven through since Selfoss. Hannah finds a small pull out where I can take a picture (okay, actually she was turning around because we went the wrong way, but I did take a picture). We are still shocked by the sight of so many things that were made by humans rather than lava, ice, and wind. I knew Akureyri was big by Icelandic standards as the capital of the North and the nations “second city” (Akureyri is to Reykjavik as Melbourne is to Sydney). Still, after so many days of staying in “towns” with less than 50 buildings it was a wonder.
Akureyri (ah-koo-rare-ee): Lystigarðurinn, Akureyrarkirkja Church, Flóra Menningarhús, and Downtown
--- Map Point C ---
While Hannah hopped out of the car to gas up (she finally has it down), I scanned the guidebook for things to do here. Initially we had planned just to pass through, but looking at it now it seems too significant not to explore. I learn that this town is home to the world’s northernmost botanical garden, and it’s free! Needing a spot to eat our rehydrated lunch packs anyway, we drive on a very steep, winding street to reach Lystigarðurinn.
The garden is reminiscent of the Western European gardens we have visited during our past travels, except it features every plant native to Iceland. We walk in to find an architecturally unique cafe, a white gazebo, and a field with a picnic blanket on it. The weather in Akureyri is some of the best we have had all trip; we are each wearing only one pair of pants and one base layer under our jackets! Taking in the rare blue sky and warmth, we find a sunny spot with a bench for lunch. Fat bumble bees circle our heads and the occasional walkers pass us.
Finished eating, we wander the garden at a leisurely pace, much different that the freezing and fast detours we have taken on days with bad weather. We are bubbling with excitement about our lack of layers as we cross a bridge over a pond and find a simple fountain surrounded by bright blue poppies. Of course, my favorite flowers were the daisies growing all over the garden, but many plants we have never seen before capture our attention. One has tall steams that look just like Dr. Suess’s truffela trees and another has leaves very similar to cabbage (we later learn they are a relative). Eventually, refueled by a meal and beautiful walk, we return to the car and I thumb through our guide book more, looking for other must-sees in the area. There is a ferry that takes you to an island off the coast, Iceland’s only claim to the arctic circle. The arctic circle?! That would be amazing, but the only ferry left hours ago. There is also a church built by the same architect responsible for Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík (it’s very recognizable if you Google it). Sounds good!
The guidebooks says Akureyrarkirkja Church has a ship hanging from the ceiling, a nod to the tradition of praying and leaving offerings for loved-ones at sea. We are excited to see it, but arrive to discover a few people in nice-church going clothes. A sign on the door and a nearby flower girl, reveal a wedding occupying the church. A mix of excited wedding goers and disappointed tourists is collected on the terrace.
Not deterred, we spot Iceland’s point of interest symbol leading down a very small path and follow. What could be there? It takes us to the Flóra Menningarhús Culture House Sigurhæðir. It is an old building that was built for Mattías Jochumsson—a pastor, artist, poes, and social reformer—and Guðrún Runólfdóttir (according to its sign). Today the upstairs is studio space and the main floor is a museum-shop combo. We are allowed to walk through the guest room, study, kitchen, living room, and the sunroom leading to the front door. Family pictures and explanations of the former inhabitants line the walls. We learn that at the time the man of the house often worked in his study while the women and children worked, played, and cooked in the living area. However, Matthías Jochumsson, the man of the house and an active advocate for women and societal outsiders (around 1900!) preferred to work around the bustle of his loved ones. Reading about someone active in Iceland’s feminist movement so long ago was exciting and affirming.
Leaving the house we move our van from church parking (since we clearly weren’t going to be able to go in), and parked downtown (tip: parking is free after 4 PM). The downtown street reminds me of all the smaller ski towns at home. It’s no Vail, but it isn’t hard to picture the street filled with weekend skiers in the winter. We walk past two movie theaters, one displaying posters with familiar English movie titles and the other plastered with the same poster images paired with unrecognizable words. If you are curious, yes, there is a Buzz Lightyear poster in Icelandic. Moving further down the street, our ears pick up accordion music and see a large playground with an animatronic troll across the street. It is busy with tourists and locals taking advantage of the wonderful weather. We enter souvenir shops, stores selling traditional wool goods, the Iceland equivalent of Patagonia (66º North), and the bookstore. Here we find the Harry Potter series translated into Icelandic (Fun Fact: apparently there is one word conveying ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ and ‘Chamber of Secrets’ in Icelandic).
Tired, we return to the car. It is 5:30. Do we still want to drive Tröllaskagi Peninsula considering that it adds an extra hour to our journey and it is too late to go for a hike before we have to be at our campsite? No. Definitely not. We change our plans and our campsite, opting for a one-hour route that will have us to the Varmahilð campsite nice and early for a change. It will be the perfect starting place tomorrow, only 8 minutes from our first stop.
Varmahilð
--- Map Point D ---
As we drive just an hour west, the weather changes dramatically. By the time we reach Varmahilð—a town with little more than a pool, playground, and campsite—the wind has kicked up again and the sky overcast. Begrudgingly we put our layers back on before bringing our food and cooking supplies to the communal kitchen. Cycling the perimeter of Iceland is a popular challenge in the hardcore cycling community (something Hannah and I cannot fathom being pleasant) and here we met an Irishman who is taking on the challenge. Considering the number of campsites we’ve stayed in all around the island it is surprising to us that he is the first we’ve met, but perhaps most don’t make it to the east side where we have spent most of our time. He is a retiree and apparently a serious endurance athlete. Next year he is flying to Athens, Greece and biking all the way back to his home in Ireland (no, he is not going to stationary bike on the ferry over the English Chanel, I asked). We have yet to meet someone with an uninteresting story here in Iceland.
Sadly, we didn’t get to see our travel-buddies-in-spirit tonight for the first time in ages. Our avid readers will remember the couple from Chicago we befriended at our Djúpvogur campsite a few nights ago. There are only so many campsites along the ring road, especially in the east and north, so since we were traveling the same direction at the same time we were at the same campsites for the last three nights. Without fail we got to chat in the mornings or evenings to trade stories from our days and plans for the next. If you are reading this Jun and Min, we miss you!
The Blue Poppies!😍