WET & WILD IN ICELAND!

Thus far in our Icelandic travels, we have stayed in a range of Hotels.  Last night was our first stop at a Guesthouse.  This meant shared bathrooms & shared table at meals.  The reason I particularly chose this Guesthouse, was because the owners are Chefs who have written a few books on Icelandic cuisine & they are passionate about using traditional Icelandic ingredients & very knowledgeable about all things Icelandic .  Being a rather food oriented couple, this was EXACTLY where we needed to be!  Of course, it didn't hurt that the table faced this gorgeous view!

The food....oh my goodness...the food was amazing!  We tasted a few things we hadn't before, which I won't mention as some of the ingredients may cause some people mild heart failure!!  Both of us loved every mouthful & I was highly amused that the only wine on offer (because it was what the Chef chose to go with the meal) was a Villa Maria Savignon Blanc from New Zealand!!!

 

One of the things we valued about this experience was listening to the hosts talk about Iceland & the area around Blonduos. During the conversation, the subject of Hannah Kent's book; 'Burial Rites' came up.  The hosts had a copy of her book on display & it transpired that the  tragic story of those last days of Agnes Magnusdottir (the main character in the book) were carried out around this area.

It seemed appropriate that we should visit a few of the sites when we left today.

However, we awoke to a grey day buffeted by wind & pelting down with rain.  Consequently, we soon discovered that vision was hard from the windscreen.
We did manage to find the site of Agnes' execution, which happened to be the last execution carried out in Iceland, which was 12 January 1830.  Inga (our host) said she had grown up in this valley & knew the story of Agnes.  What had stuck with her was that the people felt sorry for Agnes, they didn't want to attend her execution, but were forced to by the cruel Governor, & if they didn't attend or even looked away, there would be dire circumstances for them.  Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that that proved to be the last execution!

 

After missing turn offs (let's just say there is an ongoing conflict between maps & Mary Lou-GPS) and a number of gravel roads, (which according to the map SHOULD have been sealed), we eventually found ourselves at Eiriksstadir, the former home of Eirik the Red, founding father of Greenland, Father of Leif The Lucky who discovered North America & general all round murderer & scoundrel!
We didn't know what to expect when we stood outside this turf covered mound!

 

We entered a very dark room, which led on to another dark room, lit up by a fire in the centre of the packed earth floor.  To the side were benches covered in animal skins & on them was a Viking woman, who welcomed us in & proceeded to tell us a bit about Eirik, & the land & people of this region.  It transpired that she is actually descended from Eirik, & given that she thought he was completely crazy, I got the impression that she wasn't exactly comfortable with that lineage.
Elsewhere in the room were a bucket of bones which were toys for children in olden times, cooking pots, tools & one corner was taken up with a loom.

Being in this house clearly brought out the inner Viking in some of us!  Jeff was the only male present in the small group of visitors present at the time & manfully donned the garb of the Viking warrior, complete with Russian fox pelt!

 

Eirik definitely had a few anger management issues.  It wasn't too many years in this area before he murdered two neighbours (there was a bit more to the story!!), was exiled, then killed someone else & ended up tootling off to Greenland with family & house!
Whilst there, Leif became a Christian, as did Eirik's wife, but Eirik wasn't having a bar of it!  He was sticking to Odin & Thor.
Until his wife threatened to refuse him in her bed unless he built the first Christian church in Greenland! Of course, that is what he soon did & all was well with the world!!!  The above tapestry was a gift to Eiriksstadir & shows Eirik having completed the Church now reconciling with his wife!

It was wet, windy & we travelled on even more unsealed, pot hole filled gravel roads.  My nerves were a mess.... as was the car!!

AT LAST we arrived in Stykkisholmur!

We checked into out 150 year old Hotel, which also happened to appear in the Walter Mitty film.

We put on several layers of warmth & went for a walk to check out what the town had to offer!

 

 

The Norwegian House was the first stop & is an outstanding example of community cooperation.  It is the oldest  two-storey building in Iceland. People from all over the region contributed  items from different eras in Icelandic history to turn this beautiful old building into a museum.





 

 





The next stop was a new experience for us. A Library of Water!  This is an exhibition of clear cylinders each filled with melted water from various glaciers around Iceland.  It was surprisingly interesting to see the different types & levels of sediment in each one. 

 

Wind & rain are very much a part of Icelandic life & have contributed to the way the land has evolved.  Much as we appreciate this fact.... we were soon very happy to get out of it & into a warm room for a glass of medicinal red wine!! (Um... not from NZ!)