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I’ve been to Iceland more than once, but the longest I spent there was in October 1994. I explored Reykjavik for several days, and since I had been there on a stopover in 1993, perhaps I could say I was almost an expert on that small, pleasant city.

North to Akureyri

Tony
2004-01-28 10:18:59

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salmon fishing rivers, and in the distance was a tall cone-shaped mountain. We made a short stop at a boarding school. This school was really in the middle of noplace.

Midway to Akureyri we stopped for a half hour break at Stadarskali. Heading further north we arrived in Blonduos, on a wide bay, with the most rugged mountains in Iceland visible in the far distance. This was Hornstrandir. It was all forbiddingly Tolkienesque. Soon after leaving there we were in a farming area, passing fjords on the north coast of Iceland, the main one being the incredibly beautiful Skagafjordur. The final hour would be through Oxnadalur, a canyon and mountain pass. Then we would head down to Akureyri, which is situated on the western side of Eyjafjordur.

Once we entered the mountainous area, it started snowing furiously. We rode along a wild river, crossing back and forth over it a number of times, along a road that didn’t seem to have much in the way of guardrails. To my left were mountains that seem to rise straight up, and one I noticed looked quite imposing, and through the snow and gloomy light, threatening. This was Hraunstangi. Amazingly, there were some farms in the narrow valley between the mountains, and some weekend cottages with spectacular views.

The snow was coming down heavily now, but that didn’t deter the busdriver. At any moment I thought we’d end up in the wild river that seemed a little too close for comfort. But soon we were heading through a pass and off to the right were the outskirts of Akureyri. It’s not a big town, so we were at the bus station in just a few minutes.

I could walk to my hotel, and I checked in with no delays. My room was in the back, and when I looked through the window, I could see the Akureyri church looming on the hill behind the hotel. A nice view, I thought, of Akureyri’s most well-known landmark.

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