Iceland Day 7 - Back to Reykjavik
We started off from Grundarfjordur about 10 after breakfast at the hotel. The first stop was at a fermented shark museum. A family farm that has been producing the edible version of the Greenland shark for over 400 years, and is the largest supplier worldwide (meaning in Iceland, since they’re the only country that does this). They source their sharks from local bycatch, about 40-80 per year. The shark is then cut up and stored in open crates for ~6-8 weeks to let bacteria eliminate the toxin, and then hung to air-dry for 6 months while the resulting ammonia is reduced. The museum included a bunch of stuff both from the shark trade and random other things, as well as a chance to see the drying barn. What was left in it was the last of last winter’s processing, so it was pretty well aged already, and resembled hung ham. It also included a taste of the stuff, which I skipped after having tried it back on day 2.
The next stop was Stykisholmur. The original plan was for three sites there, but the volcano (art) museum is out of business, and the modern art piece containing tubes of water from all of Iceland’s glaciers was only on the list because the combo ticket covered it. But we did climb the hill on the former island protecting the harbor to see the views while getting pelted with extremely wind blown hail, and we stopped for lunch, yet another form factor for fish and chips.
Finally the remaining site in town opened at 1. This is “Norwegian House”, named either for where the wood was imported from, or for the owner who collected the rents on local farms that passed to the Norwegian government during the dissolution of the monasteries. The house, built in 1832, was the first wooden frame house with 2 full stories built in Iceland. The bottom floor is the gift shop (in the owners original store) and exhibition space, but the upper floor has been restored and at least somewhat resembles how it was furnished originally. With limited exceptions, however, it is unfortunately difficult to tell which is original, which is replica, and which is simply from the right period. The attic is an open to the public storage area with a wide range of items ranging from a treadle lathe to a jar full of old golf balls.
After the museum, we drove back down to Reyjakvik, made a brief stop at the guesthouse to check in (not the same one as before, but similarly equipped), and then drove down to Fargradasfjall, the new volcano. Unfortunately, while the eruption is considered ongoing, it has chosen not to be active this week. So we didn’t bother to hike all the way up to see an empty crater, but did go far enough to see the lava flow. It was interesting to see rock younger than me. After that back to Reyjakvik, dinner at another food hall, and back to the hotel for the night.
The next stop was Stykisholmur. The original plan was for three sites there, but the volcano (art) museum is out of business, and the modern art piece containing tubes of water from all of Iceland’s glaciers was only on the list because the combo ticket covered it. But we did climb the hill on the former island protecting the harbor to see the views while getting pelted with extremely wind blown hail, and we stopped for lunch, yet another form factor for fish and chips.
Finally the remaining site in town opened at 1. This is “Norwegian House”, named either for where the wood was imported from, or for the owner who collected the rents on local farms that passed to the Norwegian government during the dissolution of the monasteries. The house, built in 1832, was the first wooden frame house with 2 full stories built in Iceland. The bottom floor is the gift shop (in the owners original store) and exhibition space, but the upper floor has been restored and at least somewhat resembles how it was furnished originally. With limited exceptions, however, it is unfortunately difficult to tell which is original, which is replica, and which is simply from the right period. The attic is an open to the public storage area with a wide range of items ranging from a treadle lathe to a jar full of old golf balls.
After the museum, we drove back down to Reyjakvik, made a brief stop at the guesthouse to check in (not the same one as before, but similarly equipped), and then drove down to Fargradasfjall, the new volcano. Unfortunately, while the eruption is considered ongoing, it has chosen not to be active this week. So we didn’t bother to hike all the way up to see an empty crater, but did go far enough to see the lava flow. It was interesting to see rock younger than me. After that back to Reyjakvik, dinner at another food hall, and back to the hotel for the night.