HAPPY 2013!

I have told you about the monolith Hvítserkur, which is a very popular monolith on the Vatnshes peninsula in North-Iceland. But dotted along the coastline of Iceland you will find many other interesting monoliths and arch-rocks, one of which you will find in North-Iceland at Bakkahöfði cape. It is called Gatanöf and is a very distinctive arch-rock. Most people just drive by so it goes relatively unnoticed. It is very distinctive though and well worth a vis

Knútsstaðaborg is an open lava chamber, 10 square metres in size. It is located in the Aðaldalshraun lava field in North-Iceland, which is an approximately 100 sq.m. lava field. In this lava field, you will see very strange lava rock formations which seem to have popped out of the landscape. Lava fields are usually not heavily vegetated and moss seems to be the only vegetation which can grow on lava. But here you will see grass and heather and shrubbery (birch tr

All Icelanders in the olden days used to live in turf houses and the churches were made of turf. There is only a handful of these turf churches left in Iceland today. One of them is the cute little turf church at Núpsstaður in Fljótshverfi in South-Iceland, called Núpsstaðakirkja church. This turf church is now closed to the public for its preservation. I am a huge fan of these turf churches and the turf houses remaining in Iceland and am so gla

Grafarkirkja turf church - the Chapel at Gröf in Höfðaströnd in North-Iceland - is Iceland's oldest turf church. Parts of the current turf church date back to the 17th century. Back in the olden days, Icelanders used to live in turf houses and the churches were made of turf. Now only a handful of turf churches remain in Iceland. The oldest account on Grafarkirkja is from around 1240 and can be found in Sturlunga Saga, which is a collection o

In the innermost part of Iceland's longest fjord, Eyjafjörður fjord in North-Iceland, a true gem can be found - the beautiful Saurbæjarkirkja turf church. It is one of only 6 turf churches left in Iceland and the largest one of the original turf churches. This lovely turf church, which was erected in 1858 by Rev. Einar Thorlacius (1790-1870) and the noted carpenter Ólafur Briem, can f

Hofskirkja church is a beautiful turf church in the Öræfi region in South-East Iceland.  There are only 6 turf churches remaining in Iceland and Hofskirkja is the last of the old churches to be built in this beautiful traditional turf style. There has been a church at Hof in Öræfi for 700 years and the first written records of a church being on this site are from a cartulary (an old medieval document) from&

Hidden away in Skagafjörður in North-Iceland you will find a beautiful old turf church called Víðimýrarkirkja church - a true masterpiece. Our third president, Kristján Eldjárn, said that this turf church was one of the most clear-cut and beautiful relics of old Icelandic architecture there is.  I think these old turf churches are all gems and cannot choose between them, but Víðimýrarkirkja church sure is

Öndverðarnes cape is the westernmost point of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West-Iceland. I have visited Öndverðarnes several times over the years and it amazes me how many ruins can be found here. This blog is a side-blog of my 5-part travel-blog series about the interesting Snæfellsnes Peninsula. What you will first notice as you enter this area is the small orange lighthouse, Öndverðarnesviti, buil

Hellissandur is one of the villages on the north side of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West-Iceland. It is the first village you will encounter on the peninsula after driving 195 km from the capital city of Reykjavík. This blog is a side-blog of my 5-part travel-blog series about the interesting Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Hellissandur is one of the oldest fishing villages in Iceland. In the olden times, there was a big fishing centre here, with some 60 seasonal

Deep-rooted in the Icelandic national spirit is the old belief in the elves and the hidden people of Iceland. I have written several travel-blogs over the years, in which I have shown you many different elf-locations all over Iceland. We also have many customs related to the elves, most of which are not practiced any longer. In this travel-blog, I translated a couple of well-known Icelandic folklore into English to show you some of the elf-customs related to Christmas and New Year's Eve. Ope