A Winter Visit to Akureyri - the Capital of North Iceland

This is my 300th travel-blog on Guide to Iceland and I wanted to dedicate it to something special. I have been writing for more than 10 years now and was pondering on what to write about.

In the meantime, I decided to join my husband on a work trip up north to Akureyri, the capital city of North Iceland. It was mid-March and I don't usually travel in the wintertime, I use the winter months for reading and writing.

But I don't regret accompanying him as during our 5 days up north I felt like I had entered a fairytale world - Winter Wonderland. And now I was in no doubt of what I wanted to write about :)

Top photo: Minjakirkjan church in Akureyri

The Akureyri theatre

When my husband was working I roamed the streets of Akureyri for hours on end and took in the beauty of the moment, and a lot of photos.

I was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery. I had never visited Akureyri in the wintertime before and was so happy that it greeted me with such beautiful weather.

A lovely stay at guesthouse FE - gisting

We stayed in this house - the top 3 windows were ours

We stayed at a guesthouse called "FE gisting". I chose this location from Booking as it was one of the cheapest options (apart from the hostels) and I saw that it was in a good location of Akureyri, next to the Akureyri swimming pool.

The guesthouse is located at Þingvallastræti 2, on the corner of Þingvallastræti and Oddeyrargata streets, but in the latter one, you will find the Fairytale garden of the folk artist Hreinn.

The Fairytale garden of Hreinn in the snow

On the evening that we arrived, I walked down Oddeyrargata street with my cameras to see if there were any fairytale figures in the wintertime in Hreinn's garden. I had never seen them in the snow before.

There were a couple of figures still outside, but most of them are put into storage in the wintertime. In the wintertime, Hreinn mends them and gives some of them new costumes. Don't miss visiting this beautiful privately owned garden when you visit Akureyri.

I have written another travel-blog about the Fairytale garden: Wonderfully colourful Fairytale Figures in Akureyri with plenty of photos of the colourful figures.

The reception at the guesthouse

Þingvallastræti 2, where we stayed, is an elegant house and I felt immediately at home when we entered it. This house has a good spirit - "Það er góður andi í húsinu", as we say in Icelandic. 

It is beautifully furnished, old style which I like very much, and you will notice a painting by our noted painter, Gunnlaugur Blöndal (1893-1962), hanging on the wall by the flight of stairs.

His nude portraits were among his best-known artworks, and a novelty in Iceland back then. Some thought they were scandalous, but they were very much sought-after.

Our room at the guesthouse 

The owner of the house, Gísli Gunnlaugsson, gracefully greeted us at the reception. He has lived in this house since 1990+. 

I was wondering what this name FE - gisting meant and saw that beneath the FE-sign there was an almost illegible longer name, Framtíðareign - Future property (home). I later found out that it was the name of the former real estate agency that Gísli ran from Þingvallastræti 2.     

Gísli took us up a flight of stairs and showed us our room, which was bright and beautiful with French windows and a lovely view.

Our bright and beautiful room at the guesthouse

The view from the windows was to the east and south. Akureyri is built on a slope and the so-called Gilið - the Gorge, where the house is located takes you up a steep hill, so we were high up and had a pretty amazing view.

To the east we had a view of Akureyri town and the sea and right in front of our window was the Freemasons House of Akureyri, a beautiful building that was lit up at night.

And, the view to the south was of the pond by the swimming pool (which was 2 minutes away), the elementary school, and the landmark and symbol of Akureyri - the majestic Akureyri church.

This lovely view greeted me in the mornings 

I was mesmerized by this view and during our 5-day stay if I was not helping out at the seminar or walking for hours on end taking photos of snowy Akureyri, I sat in awe by the window :) 

My husband wanted to close the curtains, but I protested as who wants to shut out this beautiful view? We made a compromise that I could have one of the east windows open.

This view greeted me at night - Frímúrarahúsið - the beautiful Freemason's House

I felt so good in this lovely room that I wanted to find out more about who had lived in this house.

The house on Þingvallastræti 2 was built in 1929 by Jakob Frímannsson (1899-1995), the cooperative society manager of KEA - the cooperative of Eyjafjörður, Akureyri from 1938-1971.

Jakob lived here at Þingvallastræti 2 with his wife Borghildur Jónsdóttir for half a century.

Jakob was a town councilor of Akureyri for 28 years and sat on the board of directors of several big companies. He was given the grand knight's cross award of the Order of the Falcon (Fálkaorðan) and more honorary awards.

In 1974 Jakob was chosen to be the Honorary Citizen of Akureyri.

I was not spying on them, just admiring this beautiful house from my window

Jakob was also the instigator of building the Freemason's house. He, on behalf of the Freemasons, wrote to the Building committee of Akureyri to get the plot next to his house for the Freemason's House.

And, this beautiful house was built in 1946 with additions made in 1981.

I love this building style and the symmetry. I could stare at it for the longest time, thinking about the Knights Templar and the Temple of Solomon. 

The Freemason's house from the other side

My father's cousin, who lives in Akureyri, told me when she saw my photos on Facebook, that in 1942, Jakob had been the best man at the wedding of my great-aunt, Ragnheiður, who lived in Akureyri after moving there from Húsavík village.

The wedding took place in Húsavík on the 65th birthday of my great-grandfather Bjarni Benediktsson at Bjarnahús and it was a double wedding as Ragnheiður's sister, Bryndís, also got married on this same day.

Ragnheiður Bjarnadóttir (in the middle) with her sister Regína (to her left) and my grandmother Kristín (to the right)

I love this connection, that the first owner of Þingvallastræti 2 had attended this double wedding of my family, and was glad that I had chosen this accommodation :)

I have written another travel-blog about Húsavík: Húsavík the Whale Watching Capital of Iceland and the Story of my Ancestors.

A lone cat on its round in the snow

When we were little we would always stay with my great-aunt Ragnheiður and her husband Arthur when we visited Akureyri. 

After she passed away I have stayed in various accommodations in Akureyri as I love visiting this town.

I have camped in a small tent on a campsite next to a supermarket, stayed in a hostel, in a haunted guesthouse, and at different hotels here in Akureyri through the years.

I still have many relatives in Akureyri, but none of them is that close that I can stay with them.

My cousin and more relatives once lived in this beautiful house called Sigtryggshús

Then our best friend moved to Akureyri and always had a spare room for us, so we didn't have to think about finding a place to stay anymore. Now he passed away, so I have to look for accommodation again.

I am glad that I found FE-gisting and I will for sure stay here again when travelling up north. And I will ask for the same room.

It is more expensive to stay here in the summertime though, I noticed.

The Akureyri College looked magical in the snow

During these 5 days, I walked around Akureyri and couldn't believe how beautiful it was in the snow, and how lucky I was to have visited it in such lovely winter weather.

I have always loved Akureyri and its charming old houses, and during this winter visit, I saw the town in a completely different light.

Akureyri is renowned for its old and well-maintained houses in the oldest part of town, so it is a delight to visit this part of Iceland.

Icicles on Akureyri's oldest house, Laxdalshús built in 1795

While looking for good photo opportunities I noticed the melting icicles on many of the old houses.

Icicles can form on the houses in the wintertime, so be careful when you are walking around Akureyri on a winter day, and don't walk next to the houses, stay closer to the street. The same goes for my hometown, Reykjavík.

The icicles are beautiful but can be lethal if they fall on your head. 

Lystigarður Akureyrar - the Akureyri Botanical garden

I visited one of the main attractions of Akureyri, Lystigarður Akureyrar - the Akureyri Botanical garden and I was alone roaming around in this beautiful garden.

It was magical walking amongst the many snow-covered trees in this garden that is filled with people in the summertime.

Lystigarður Akureyrar was founded by a group of housewives back in 1912. They ran it until 1953, when Akureyri town took over and a Botanical garden was added in 1957. 

You can read up on Lystigarður Akureyrar and see how beautiful it is in the summertime in my travel-blog: Akureyri - the beautiful Capital City of North Iceland.

Nonnahús museum in the snow

I walked as far as Nonnahús museum as I always great the statue of Nonni, another Honorary Citizen of Akureyri.

Jón Stefán Sveinsson (1857-1944) also called Nonni got the opportunity as a child to study abroad and became a Jesuit priest, Pater Jón Sveinsson.

He only visited his beloved Iceland on two occasions after he had moved abroad and his body is buried in Melatenfriedhof cemetery in Cologne, Germany.

Nonni wrote 12 children's books about his life in Eyjafjörður fjord that have been translated into approx. 40 languages.

Nonnahús, which was built in 1849-1850 is his childhood home and is now a museum.

Jón Sveinsson - Nonni

This was the first time that I had seen Nonni in the snow. I always have my photo taken with him, but this time around I was alone, so we took a selfie ;)

Unfortunately, the museums were closed when I visited, but the whole of Akureyri looked like a museum, and I felt as if I were inside a postcard, so I was happy with just being outside and taking photos. 

Minjasafnskirkjan - the Museum church is a part of the Akureyri museums

You can buy a pass for 5 of the Akureyri Museums including Laufás turfhouse museum on the other side of Eyjafjörður fjord. I have visited all but 1 of them.

I have written another travel-blog about our beloved Nonni: Nonnahús and Nonni - the Honorary Citizen of Akureyri the Capital City.

The Christmas House in the snow

On this day, after my husband had finished working, we drove for 10 km to one of the obligatory stops in Eyjafjörður - Jólahúsið - the Christmas House, which is open all year round.

You can see in my travel-blog what I wanted to buy at the Christmas House: the Christmas House - Jólahúsið is open All Year Round :)

The Akureyri Marina - Smábátahöfnin á Akureyri

The Akureyri Marina and eider ducks in the left corner

Two minutes away from the place where my husband was teaching his class is Smábátahöfnin á Akureyri - the Akureyri Marina in Sandgerðisbót in the part of Akureyri called Þorpið - the Village. 

I had never visited the marina before as it is in a part of Akureyri where I never go.

Eider ducks

The weather was still, and it was frost and sunny, just the perfect weather conditions.

There were beautiful reflections in the sea and some eider ducks were peacefully floating on the calm sea.

I took a video of the marina and posted it on YouTube so you can see how peaceful and lovely this moment was.

The Akureyri Marina - ice floating on the sea

The marina was so serene that I spent a long time taking photos but also taking in the beauty of this place.

And I thought to myself: "This is life".F

The trip back to Reykjavík

The center of Akureyri town

After 5 wonderful days, we left Akureyri and hoped that the heaths would be passable.

Akureyri is 388 km away from Reykjavík, where we live and it usually takes us some 5 hours to drive back given that the road conditions are ok and that we only stop in one place on our way back.

We usually stop in many places, but this time around we just wanted to get back quickly and safely.

The drive takes you for 25 km through the beautiful Hörgárdalur and Öxnadalur valleys.

Mt. Hraundrangi

Although it sounds like a long drive then the scenery in the Hörgárdalur and Öxnadalur valleys is so beautiful that you will not feel like the drive is this long.

I greeted my favourite mountain in Iceland, Mt. Hraundrangi, and took the only snowy photos that I have of this majestic mountain.

I always stop and greet it when I travel up north. It is a majestic mountain and I have seen people stopping in the middle of the road to admire it and take photos.

Beautiful Hraundrangi

There are some places where you can stop, so let's never stop in the middle of the road.

There was fog on the highest peaks but, fortunately, it lifted just in time and the blue sky and a ray of sunshine appeared :)

I have written another travel-blog about Hraundrangi: Hraundrangi in Öxnadalur and Hörgárdalur Valleys in North Iceland - my favourite Mountain.

Gil gorge looked beautiful in the snow

After driving through the valley, we ascended on the Öxnadalsheiði heath.

Vegagerðin - the Road Administration closes the Öxnadalsheiði heath in bad weather, as the highest point is approx. 540 meters.

Always look up their website for information about road conditions and the website of Safetravel to see the conditions of the roads. The red colour means that the roads are impassable and have been closed.

At the highest point of Öxnadalsheiði heath - the fog was, fortunately, lifting

It was relatively clear when we passed Öxnadalsheiði heath, only a bit foggy at the highest point, but I would not want to be stuck on this heath in a blizzard as there is a long way down into the steep canyon.

The old road was higher up and you can still see parts of it. My mother told me that when she was a little girl and driving with her parents, then her father told her and her brother to be dead still on this part of the old road.

Descending Öxnadalsheiði heath

The gravel roads in the olden times were much more dangerous than today, and it took a long time to drive to Akureyri from Reykjavík.

Now it only takes some 5 hours if you don't make many stops on the way. And we, Icelanders, are often just driving from one place to another, so we tend to be more in a hurry to reach the destination, than our fellow foreign guests on the road.

On the other hand, seeing that I am a travel-writer, then my husband and I take our time in the summertime and visit the valleys and off-the-beaten-track places. But not this time around.

Skagafjörður in the wintertime

I was happy when we started descending Öxnadalsheiði heath and from there on (until Holtavörðuheiði heath) the weather was beautiful.

I have written another travel-blog: An interesting Hike into the craggy Kotagil Canyon which is a beautiful gorge with a waterfall at the end of the gorge.

The gorge is in Norðurárdalur valley, the valley you drive through after you descend Öxnadalsheiði heath.

Bólugil gorge in the snow - shot from a moving car

Now we drove into the historical Skagafjörður, which looked lovely in the snow.

The photo above is of Bólugil gorge, but I recently wrote a travel-blog about the well-known Icelandic folklore about Bóla and Skeljungur.

They were 2 farm workers on the farm Silfrastaðir - and their fate was awful: The Ghost Skeljungur and Bóla in Bólugil - Folklore from North Iceland.

Víðimýrarkirkja turf church in Skagafjörður

We drove through Skagafjörður, about which I have written several travel-blogs, f.ex. the Horrific Viking Battles in Skagafjörður, and only stopped by Víðimýrarkirkja turf church, as I wanted to see what it looked like in the snow and sunshine.

Víðimýrarkirkja turf church is one of the most beautiful architectural treasures of Iceland. There are very few turf churches left in Iceland, only 5 original and 1 reconstructed turf church.

Víðimýrarkirkja turf church

Here you can see what they look like: A List of the beautiful Icelandic Turf Houses that I have visited on my Travels in Iceland.

These lovely turf churches need constant upkeep and are very delicate, so they have to be preserved the best way we know how.

I have written another travel-blog about this beautiful church: Víðimýrarkirkja Turf Church in North Iceland - is it the most beautiful of them all?

Descending Vatnsskarð mountain pass

We now continued on our journey south and ascended the Vatnsskarð mountain pass, which was ok, snow on the road and icy on parts of the road though.

We drove the long Langidalur road and passed Blönduós village as we were in a hurry, but we usually make a stop here.

The roads were clear of snow and ice but drive slowly as there is always a danger of black ice.

Langidalur valley

The rest of the journey was uneventful until we reached Staðarskáli.

We planned on stopping at Staðarskáli for half an hour or so as my husband had to do some work on his laptop.

Strangely enough, I fell asleep while I was sitting next to him waiting for him. So he stayed for a bit longer.

The roads were clear of snow and ice - Blönduós village around the corner

When we left Staðarskáli and wanted to venture on the Holtavörðuheiði heath we met a car from the Road Administration of Iceland, and found out that the heath had just been closed due to bad weather!

If I hadn't fallen asleep inside the restaurant we could have been stuck on Holtavörðuheiði heath!

We can always expect blizzards in the wintertime and this is one of the reasons why I am not eager to travel around Iceland in the wintertime.

Driving into the unknown on Laxárdalsheiði heath

We were directed through Laxárdalsheiði heath and Brattabrekka, where the weather was likely to be less bad.

We were in luck that this route was not impassable as well, as sometimes happens and travellers get stuck in Staðarskáli.

When we ascended the Laxárdalsheiði heath we saw the black blizzard in the distance and hoped that we would not have to drive through it. 

We had just entered the Laxárdalsheiði heath when the visibility got worse and we saw that some people were in trouble. One car had not seen a curve in the road and driven straight off the road and was stuck in the snow.

Driving on a clear road in Dalasýsla after passing Laxadalsheiði heath

An Icelandic couple on a jeep was trying to pull them up on the road again but in vain. Then another jeep stopped so we went on our way.

Only a part of the Laxárdalsheiði heath was bad, but we were soon out of danger and hoped that Brattabrekka would still be passable.

When we drove through Dalasýsla we wondered why a part of the road was not paved and found out on the news the following day that there had been so many potholes in the road that the tarmac had been removed as it was better to drive on a dirt road than driving into the potholes.

There was poor visibility at the highest point of Brattabrekka

We now ascended Brattabrekka - Steep Slope and hoped for the best. It was kept open by the Road Administration of Iceland and a snow plow was going back and forth clearing the road.

Only at the highest point at approx. 402 meters, there was all of a sudden no visibility, but we were able to follow the marker posts.

Brattabrekka slope is mentioned in the Saga of Grettir the Strong chapter 67 when Grettir robbed passers-by in Brattabrekka.

Descending Brattabrekka slope

All of a sudden we found that we were descending and as the snow lifted the beautiful Borgarfjörður opened up. We were relieved as from this point driving to Reykjavík would most likely be a breeze.

There were still warnings of gusts of wind beneath Mt. Hafnarfjall, where it often gets very windy. But it is so often windy in this spot that it didn't feel out of the ordinary.

It would have though if we had been driving an RV, but it happens from time to time that they are blown off the road here and below Mt. Esja in Kjalarnes where it can also get very windy. Always listen to the weather report when driving an RV.

Mt. Hafnarfjall - photo taken through the windscreen

This winter adventure of ours was for sure memorable and I am glad that I decided to accompany my husband on his third winter trip this year up north to teach hypnosis.

Just keep in mind that in wintertime, we get blizzards so follow the weather report and never pass a road sign saying that the road is impassable, it is put there for a reason.

We have seen people passing the impassable signs only to have had to be rescued by our rescue team. And that is costly. 

I'll leave you with a photo of snowy Mt. Hlíðarfjall in Akureyri

Also note that the highland roads are closed in the wintertime.

When planning your Iceland trip take into account that the shortest winter days only last for approx. 4 hours. You can check how many hours of daylight there are in each month here.

Have a lovely time in Iceland :)

Ref.:

Vikublaðið - Þingvallastræti 2

Frímúrarahúsið á Akureyri

Jakob Frímannsson - minningargrein