Westfjords, Iceland trip

[j44ke]

Spent the last couple weeks in Iceland, primarily the Westfjords area. Rented a house just outside of Flateyri, a surprisingly hip town on the Onundarfjordur. Used to be a shark fisheries town, but now it has a smoked salmon company, two or three cafés, a sport fishing outfit and some really excellent people. From there we did day trips north to Isafjordur for a boat trip and sweater buying, out to the farm valley of Minnibakki, visited the fishing village (still active) of Sudureyri and spent an excellent morning on the way south to the Latrabjarg bird cliffs in the (GCN+) famous Þingeyri for excellent coffee and more sweater buying. Then a ferry to Stykkishholmur for a celebratory dinner at the Hotel Budir, followed by an overnight in Arnarstapi before a quick drive down to Keflavik airport for a few days in Paris heat to thaw out.

A bit self indulgent to post this thread, but it seems like Iceland is high on a lot of lists for people who like interesting travel. My travel tips would be that a car with good clearance is more important than a 4WD, unless it rains hard or the spring melt has just occurred and then you'd need both. Our white SUV was a red SUV when we were done with it. Bring a lot of layers. There were days we wore everything we brought and other days we kept peeling off and then layering up. Average temp was probably 55F. Rained everyday but only once or twice was really a driving rain and most of it lasted only until the cloud passed over. The sunset around 11:30PM and then came back up around 3AM. I had no problems sleeping but everyone else got whacked out by all the light (just close your g-d eyes, yo.) I'd definitely rent a house (or several) if you can find it, and then have a nice hotel for the first night and the last one. There are some farm houses that are inaccessible except by boat - that's our next trip - but there are others that used to be inaccessible but now have roads and are 30 min. to the nearest grocery/café/gas station etc. Best food experience was in Flateyri where a bunch of Reykjavik foodies with local ties took over the kitchen in the local pub and put out two-three entrees per night with 100% genuine hospitality and warmth, a handwritten wine list and rhubarb desserts. And if you see a dot on the map that says café in the middle of nowhere at the end of a dirt road, go there - it will be great.

Lots of puffins and other seabirds, a gyrfalcon and a pod of orcas swimming by one evening around 11PM.

Go.

[Too Tall]

Thanks for this. Gorgeous pics too. Are you certain you've shopped for enough sweaters? Might have to go back.

[caleb]

Beautiful. Looks like a fantastic trip.

A number of years ago, I applied to a job on the Faroe Islands. Sometimes when it feels like the world is going to pot, I wish I was there.

[Tom]

I ran the marathon there back in 2001 when I was but a pup. We spent a week bopping around with Reykjavik as a base. I'd go back any day, the way you did things sounds quite intriguing.

[Mabouya]

But, but, where are all the McDonald's and Burger Kings? ; )

Very nice. For some reason the post and the pictures sort of remind me of "Babette's Feast."

Next on Jorn's list: either Tristan da Cunha or Kerguelen.

[robin3mj]

Jealous.

We spent two nights in Iceland in 2018 before my BIL’s London wedding. Our kids were very small at the time and Reykjavik was the subject of an unusually strong (for Iceland!) winter storm so we hung around town. I pushed a double stroller through more ice than I’d cared to and hit a few nice bars by myself each night.

I can’t wait to return at a time when the kids can hike the desired attractions and hopefully we can afford it.

[robin3mj]

[Mabouya]

"What do you do when a volcano erupts for the first time in centuries?

For many people on the southern peninsula in Iceland, when the Fagradalsfjall volcano went off in 2021 after 781 years of dormancy, the answer was to take pictures. As the eruption continued over the course of six months, tourists and locals traveled closer to the volcano to take even more. Red bursts flying out of a black pyramid; the viscous creep of flame."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/s...smid=url-share

Jorn, you sure that wasn't you, on the far right?

[open roader]

Fabulous treeless landscapes - really blows my little arboreal familiar mind.

Jorn, sounds like you saw only a fraction of the country - how much (little) did you dedicate yourselves to seeing / covering?

Personally I now much prefer to stay in smaller locations for longer to get to know them better.

[j44ke]

Fabulous treeless landscapes - really blows my little arboreal familiar mind.

Jorn, sounds like you saw only a fraction of the country - how much (little) did you dedicate yourselves to seeing / covering?

Personally I now much prefer to stay in smaller locations for longer to get to know them better.

When my wife and I got married, we had our honeymoon in Newfoundland. That was a great trip. Best moment was lying on the rocks of a point overhanging the ocean and watching a mother humpback whale rolling around with her calf. In July. With down jackets. And that trip solidified our view that staying in a small handful of places and doing road trips out from those central points was a more relaxed way to travel and while you saw less you absorbed more.

This trip originated in a plan made two years ago to get my wife's brother-in-law who has terminal cancer to Paris to see one of his favorite bands before he died. Those plans morphed into flying on Icelandair and then using their extendable stopover policy to see a bit of Iceland. He only has one lung and reduced immunity, so we needed an area with high density of grandeur and reasonably accessible medical services. We saw a Westfjords doc on GCN+ and thought that might work. Isafjordur is a cruise ship hub and has emergency medical services available, including medi-vac helicopters, so we loaded up on international insurance with evacuation coverage and figured out the accommodations within a certain radius, limiting it to two places mainly and looking for daily adventures with destinations that would be great places for a slow lunch - either in a restaurant or outdoors. Meanwhile his cancer reacted successfully to a targeted therapy and while he didn't get his lung back, it meant we could add a longer visit to the bird cliff area and then add a longish ferry ride and split the return to Reykjavik into two days. The meal in Budir at the Hotel Budir was a celebration for a lot of things.

And then we went to Paris where my wife works and has an apartment, her sister and brother-in-law hit the music venues for concerts (Goran Bregovic and Fat Freddy's Drop in Paris!) and my wife and I spent some quality time at street side cafes and museums.

[j44ke]

"What do you do when a volcano erupts for the first time in centuries?

...

Jorn, you sure that wasn't you, on the far right?

What was interesting about that volcano is how many Icelanders went to see it. It was really a unifying moment for their national identity and pride after the damage done by the financial crash and the pandemic. Like everyone had to go say hi and welcome back an old friend.

[Chik]

That looks poetic.

[Todd Amunrud]

Great pics Jorn!

51BC4CA5-E797-4EA7-97E8-6DDF1CDCB2BD.jpg

My one photo from our 2018 “Ring Road” trip over 14 days. My better half likes to see as much as possible, so she plans, I drive, and we follow her lead. We stayed in a variety of Airbnb sets ups: from heart of town apartments to rural cabins. No regrets on any location. Iceland was playing in the World Cup making most places very festive. Highlights for our family: any spot to soak in hot water(the kids would chant ‘time for steam!’), the northern city of Akureyri, Puffin watching, lots of waterfall stops with worthwhile hikes. Things we want to do next time: Skaftsfell National Park(more glacier and inner Iceland adventure) and the western fjords. I’d like to sail, but no way for my wife(ask about our boat ride back from Isle Royale on Lake Superior some time).