Iceland – Day 4 – Day Trip to Glaumbær & Hofsós

We had a comfortable night at Lambs Inn and got up to a delightful continental breakfast of cheese, cold cuts, breads (homemade!), and granola & yogurt (skyr is the BEST yogurt ever!). This is pretty typical of breakfast in Iceland. Very rarely will you find bacon & eggs or that sort of thing. They also had cold cereals if you wanted. After stuffing our faces and sucking back 2 or 3 cups of coffee we were ready to hit the road.

As a side note, food in Iceland is expensive.  Our strategy was, stuff your face at breakfast, as it was already paid for with the accommodation, stop at a grocery store or gas station with a convenience store and grab some sandwiches for lunch. This strategy not only saves money, but restaurants and cafes are few and far between and aren’t always going to be available when you want them especially pre-tourist season.

You can actually get some really good prepared sandwiches at some of the stores and some are definitely better than others. On this day we stopped at a Bonus grocery store in Akureyri on our way through town.  They are easily identified by the giant pink pig logo!  It’s actually really interesting wandering through grocery stores in a foreign country, some things are so different. Linda made sure to buy some reusable Bonus shopping bags.  Bright yellow with a big pink pig. I think they are still her favorite souvenir of the trip. (They are! I call them my ‘pig bags’!)

Linda loves the Bónus Grocery Store in Akureyri

The wind was still howling as we took a 1 1/2 hour drive back west on Highway 1 to Glaumbaer located at the head of Skagafjordur fjord. Glaumbaer is a turf house and old settlement site. It’s a fascinating place and is said to have operated on this site since the Age of the Settlements around 900 AD!

Glaumbaer Old Turf House

Glaumbaer Turf House

The present buildings on the site all vary in age. The oldest are believed to have been preserved much as they were in the mid-18th century. The most recent addition having been built in 1876-79, The passages connecting the individual units has apparently remained unchanged for many centuries. There are also two 19th-century timber framed houses on the site.

The two 19th century timber framed houses

The turf house is built of turf, stones, and timber. The walls are built of stones and pieces of turf layered up in a herringbone pattern, with long turf strips between the layers. Since there was little rock at Glaumbær suitable for building, the walls contain relatively little rock and are mostly turf. The rock was used only at the base of the walls to prevent moisture from rising up into them. Imported timber and driftwood were used in the interior framing and paneling.

Glaumbaer Truf Houses – you can clearly see the herring bone layering pattern

The farmhouse consists of a total of 13 buildings (houses), each of which had its own function. The main unit is the baðstofa, a communal eating/sleeping room, where people sat to do their handiwork. Food was stored and prepared in the pantry and kitchen. The central corridor  provided access throughout the farmhouse.

Glaumbaer Turf House – Central Corridor

Glaumbaer Turf House – Kitchen

Glaumbaer Turf House – Pantry

Glaumbaer Turf House – Sitting Room

Glaumbaer Turf House – Bedroom

Hofsós

After visiting Glaumbaer, we drove up the east side of Skagafjordur fjord to the village of Hofsós. This beautiful little village overlooks the stunning island of Drangey and Þórðarhöfð  both which rise vertically out of the fjord.

Icelandic Horses – Drangey Island rising from the Skagafjordur fjord in the backgound

Hofsós is one of the oldest trading ports in northern Iceland dating back to the 16th century. It was at its busiest in the 17th and 18th centuries. Hofsós now has a population of about 200 individuals. The economy has been based mainly on the fishing industry as well as services to the neighboring farms. In recent years Hofsós has built itself up as a tourist attraction and is home to the Icelandic Emigration Center which details the mass emigration of Icelanders to North America, particularly in the late 1800s.

Hofsós – Icelandic Emigration Center is the black building on the left

Hofsós

Þórðarhöfð Island in the bay to the north of Hofsós

Akureyi

Leaving Hofsós we headed back to Akureryi. We stopped for gas at an N1 in Akureyri but the pumps wouldn’t accept my Mastercard.  So I tried my Visa card which actually got declined, apparently by the bank.  Later we would find out my Visa card had been skimmed somewhere. Someone had then tried to use it to withdraw cash and had been shut down by the bank.

Fortunately I was able to use my Mastercard inside the gas station at the counter. Later in the trip we had trouble again at an N1, so from then on we quit using them all together.  We never had a problem at any of the other gas stations in Iceland.

We went back into Akurery to wander around some more, check out some of the ‘little shops’ and find a spot of dinner. After checking a few different restaurants we settled on the one at the Backpacker’s Hostel. It was a warm, inviting and friendly place and it looked like lots of locals went there. It was also really busy and we almost couldn’t find a place to sit.  We had beer, and they had lots of good choices, and some dinner salads, as we were both craving some greens.

Once again tho we were shocked by the prices of the food. A ‘backpackers’ Hostel? Should be cheap eats, right? Nope. We paid $75 for 2 salads and 2 beers! The backpackers in Iceland must have pretty deep pockets!

Dinner at the Backpacker’s Hostel

Linda confronting a troll on the streets of Akureryi

Akureyri

After getting back to the Lambs Inn we had to find a way to make phone calls back to Canada to sort out the Visa card problem. There were no phones in the rooms or at reception and we didn’t have an international calling plan. The owner kindly lent us his cell phone but it wouldn’t work for phone calls to Canada either, so he suggested we try the phone service on Skype. I managed to sign up for that and we managed to get the call through…whew!

As Linda got the credit card fiasco sorted out, I walked out the back of the Inn down toward the sheep pasture. It was a beautiful evening, the sun was out with only a few clouds around and the views across the valley at the snow capped peaks in the distance were gorgeous. However, remember those Viking gods?…the wind was blowing around 55 kph (34 mph) and gusting higher. It was crazy.

Still, I wanted to have a look around. The inn is located on a working sheep farm and there were a lot of sheep and lambs in the pasture. As I approached the fence, a ewe and a couple of lambs came charging over to check me out. To my amazement the two babes looked at each other as if to ask should we? Then they both ran right through the wire fence and came right up to me!  I was a little concerned that they wouldn’t go back through the fence, but they only stuck around for a quick head scrub then ran back to mom. Cute little gaffs!

The sheep pasture at Lambs Inn

Two lambs deciding whether or charge through the fence – you can see the mischievous question in their expressions…should we?

Lamb running up to check me out – notice the wind blowing its wool

We would have loved to sit outside on the deck or try the outdoor hot tub and take in the views as it was such a lovely spot, but sadly the wind was just too vicious. Instead we had a quiet night in the room catching up on our notes and editing photos.