Loves
Where I Stayed: Hótel Framnes, Gauksmýri
Restaurant: Gilið Restaurant in Ólafsvík–it was so quaint and cute, had wonderful seafood soup, and the deck was lovely to sit on during the summer.
Church: Hellnar, the black church in Búðir, Stykkishólmur Church
Historical Site: Bárður’s Statue, Djúpalónssandur, Eiríksstaðir (this was also one of the funniest sites I’ve ever visited–if Erik the Red existed, this might have been where his house was, and this might have been what it looked like)
Experience: Seeing Icelandic horses on the side of the road and stopping to pet them; trying to pick up the lifting stones in Djúpalónssandur/Dritvik (they were used as a test of strength and range in weight from 51 pounds [useless] to 340 pounds [full strength])
Food(s): seafood soup
Things to do
I just really loved driving around and stopping whenever I saw something that caught my eye. There were a few “touristy” places to stop along the way, but really, Iceland is exquisite and you can find beautiful and awesome things all around. Some of my favorite things include stopping in Búðir, and hiking past the church to the cliffs. The view is stunning. I also really loved Djúpalónssandur/Dritvik. The black pebble beaches were awesome, the lifting stones were a nice touch, and the remains of a shipwreck on the beach were really eerie and cool to see. Also, the view of Snæfellsjökull from there is amazing. A great place to snap a few photos.
Ólafsvík is such an adorable fishing town. Quintessential Iceland. Definitely stop off there and enjoy some seafood and before leaving, hit up the bakery on the main street afterward for a sweet snack. You will not be disappointed.
Be sure to check out Berserkjahraun as well:
Meaning “Berserkers Lava Field,” the gloriously weird Berserkjahraun lies halfway between Grundarfjörður and Stykkishólmur. The lava flowed some 3,000 to 4,000 years ago and is young enough to retain all kinds of convoluted shapes, with fascinating color and textural contrasts in the rock and thick mosses.
The berserkers, from whom “gone berserk” originates, were a faction of Norse mercenaries known for their savage battle frenzy. In Old Icelandic, berserkr meant “bear-shirted,” so they may have worn bear pelts; but berr also meant “bare,” so the name may have only signified fighting without armor. Berserkers disappeared by the 1100s, leaving a wake of mystery for future scholars. Some maintain they were merely symbolic archetypes to be invoked in wartime and as literary figures in the sagas.
The Berserkjahraun was named after a famous incident in the Eyrbyggja Saga. In the late 10th century, Vermundur the Slender of Bjarnarhöfn — a farm located just beyond the northwest boundary of the lava field — returned from Norway with two berserkers. They were difficult to handle, so Vermundur gave them to his brother Víga-Styrr (Killer-Styrr) at Hraun, now Hraunháls farm, at the northeast end of the lava field. One of the berserkers fell in love with Víga-Styrr’s daughter Ásdís and demanded her hand. Víga-Styrr agreed, on the condition that the suitor clear a path through the lava field from Hraun to Bjarnarhöfn. The berserkers quickly finished this Herculean task, but Víga-Styrr reneged on the deal and killed them instead (by locking them inside a scalding hot sauna and spearing them as they tried to escape). In the saga, the berserkers are laid to rest in a hollow along the path.
The story could indeed have some basis in truth. A path through the lava field can still be found, and in a late-19th-century excavation alongside it, researchers uncovered the skeletons of two men — both of average height but powerfully built.”
(Source: Frommers Iceland)
