Nice place we stayed at last evening and a typical breakfast – described yesterday. Weather will be cloudy today and probably no rain. A long drive today – about 300km so we got an 8:15 start and headed out. Though we were done with dirt roads – NOT. Probably about 1/4 or so was dirt – good roads and out in farming/hay country. The terrain has changed considerably as we get away from the coast to more of a typical farming area and they seem to only grow hay – hay bales all over the place. Later in the day we start to see more and more horses and still the sheep, no cows. So mainly we drove for several hours until we got to our hotel about 1400 – NICE room and hotel. After we checked in went to do a bit of sightseeing. Mainly some churches in the area. Visited the oldest church in Iceland and still in use. (Glaumbaer Iceland) Grass roof and walls about 20 x 30, low ceiling. Very pretty church – see pictures. Then we headed to the next National Museum site which was also a church but the main point of interest were the old sod houses. Not just a single standalone house but a house that had about 8 rooms
One long hallway with rooms branching off of the hall – all sod! There were several farm buildings as well and here the sod also served as the walls inside and outside. They do have to back in every ten or so tears to replace a wall or roof. The roofs nowadays are tin with sod on top. In the old days before tin, they used cloth soaked/covered with pitch on a frame then sod on top of that – totally waterproof. At this site, there was also a National Museum church. The large house was the house of the preacher. After this place found two more churches that were of historic significance – small one room, see pictures (Reynistaður church and Sjavarborg church ). After this we headed back to the hotel and it had started raining – more of a heavy drizzle. Had supper, a buffet, and then back to the room.
So not many activities today. Tomorrow is a short day only 95KM but we will probably take an alternate route of about 150-170 KM to get some more sightseeing in. BTW we did reconnect with Hwy-1, the Ring Road, for part of the day and will be on it most of the remainder of the trip. GOOD road!
So that is it for today – see you tomorrow.
Additional Information
Today, you will head for the fertile valley of Skagafjörður, known for breeding of the Icelandic horse. Pass Blönduós town, situated on the banks of Blanda River. Popular horse riding tours for beginners and experienced riders are available in the Skagafjörður district and some of the best white water rafting in the country is available here too. We recommend visits to Glaumbær Folk Museum and the tiny old church at Víðimýri, close to Varmahlíð.
Highlights:
Hvítserkur Cliff
Vatnsdalshólar Mounds
Glaumbær Folk Museum
Photos