On the 9th day of our roadtrip around Iceland, we made a daytrip to Seyðisfjörður. It was our third and last daytrip from our base in Egilsstaðir. First we spent some time in Egilsstaðir, but after a nice lunch at Skálinn Diner (as usual), we took Road #93 to Seyðisfjörður. In the evening we checked out a few of the places we skipped the day before.
The East Iceland Heritage Museum
We didn’t have to go far to visit The East Iceland Heritage Museum (Minjasafn Austurlands) in Egilsstaðir. It’s located just across the street from Hótel Valaskjálf, where we stayed. The museum aims to preserve the history and heritage of East Iceland by collecting and preserving things that reflect the society, the culture and the everyday life of the people in the area.
There are two exhibitions in the museum that are both really interesting. One is about the reindeer in Eastern Iceland. In Iceland, reindeer are only found in the East. They play a large role in the culture and heritage of the area. The other exhibition is on the historical old rural community of East Iceland. This community lasted until the mid-20th century. The pieces in this exhibition show things that the people used in order to survive. But also shows that despite harsh living conditions, the people were extremely artistic and found inspiration to create beautiful things for decoration and pleasure.
Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass
To get to Seyðisfjörður from Egilsstaðir, we drove over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass. Fjarðarheiði is 27 km long and reaches a height of 620 meters at the most. During a big part of the year, the mountain pass can be problematic, due to excessive snow.
We were surprised by this interesting art piece on Fjarðarheiði. It’s called Sæki þetta seinna (“I’ll pick this up later”) in Icelandic, or Heavier Mountain in English. Local artist, Davíð from Davíðsstaðir, created the art installation. It refers to the gloom that lives among the people who live in the black night of the mountains most of the year.
Closer to Seyðisfjörður, on the mountain pass, is a Monument in Memory of Þorbjörn Arnoddsson, a driver and traveller from Seyðisfjörður. He broke the winter isolation of Seyðisfjörður in the winter of 1952-53 by starting to drive a snowmobile over Fjarðarheiði. He was eventually awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Icelandic Falcon Order on June 17, 1975 for his pioneering work in the field of transportation.
Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður is a lively fishing village with a population of approximately 700 people. A marine telephone cable was laid between Seyðisfjörður and Europe in 1906. This enabled Iceland to have telecommunications with foreign countries. Seyðisfjörður was also the first town in Iceland to have electric street lamps.
The international car ferry Norræna sails between Europe and Iceland all year around and stops in Seyðisfjörður. In recent years, Seyðisfjörður has become a popular tourist destination and many will recognise the town’s beautiful blue church and rainbow street from countless Instagram pictures. Numerous events, festivals and art exhibitions are held in Seyðisfjörður all year around, attracting people from all around Iceland and abroad.
After heavy rain in December 2020, several mudflows hit the town, destroying many houses. The town was evacuated and luckily no people were harmed in the catastrophe. However, a total of 39 houses were damaged, including the headquarters of the local SAR team.
Tvísöngur
Tvísöngur is a very interesting sound sculpture by German artist Lukas Kühne. The sculpture consists of five interconnected domes, ranging in height from 2 to 4 meters. Each dome has a resonance that corresponds to a tone in the Icelandic musical tradition of five-tone harmony, to which it works as a natural amplifier. It really fun to walk inside these domes and make sounds. We spent ages there, and luckily there was no one else around to witness us being way too into this art piece!
Tvísöngur is located on the mountain above Seyðisfjörður and it takes approximately 15 minutes to walk up to it from the Fish Factory, Síldarvinnslan. The walk itself is beautiful and offers amazing views.
Þórarinsstaðir
Not only is Þórarinsstaðir a beautiful place with an amazing view of the fjord, it’s a very important archaeological site in Iceland. In 1998, excavations in the area unearthed the remains of a viking age timber church. Timber churches were common in Scandinavia during the viking age. However, most Icelandic churches from that time were built of turf and stone. In fact, the remains in Þórarinsstaðir are the only viking age timber church found in Iceland to this date.
The timber church at Þórarinsstaðir was built sometime between 940-1000. It was altered in the next 100-200 years and finally abandoned before 1200. The church lay buried for many centuries. In 1938 it was accidentally discovered when farm workers were digging a pit in the ground for storing hay.
During the excavation of the site in 1998, a graveyard was also discovered. The graveyard contained 60 graves from the late 10th to the early 11th centuries. The burials were are mostly Christian, but show influence of pagan practices.
Gufufoss
On our way back to Egilsstaðir we stopped by Gufufoss waterfall, which is conveniently located right next to the road. The name Gufufoss (“Steam Falls”) refers to the steam or drizzle that comes from the waterfall as it falls into the river below. This waterfall always reminds me of Skógafoss, which we visited on Day 2 of our roadtrip around Iceland.
Vallanes
After dinner in Egilsstaðir, we went on a little excursions to visit the places close by we didn’t have time to go to the day before. It’s a good thing the days are really long in summer!
Vallanes is a farm and a vicarage, where many leading scholars and literary persons have lived through the centuries. Today, Vallanes is one of Iceland’s largest farms growing entirely organic grains, fruits and vegetables. In the forest around Vallanes is a really fun hiking trail called Ormurinn (“The Worm”).
Hallormsstaðaskógur
Hallormsstaðaskógur National Forest is one of the largest forests in Iceland. It covers 740 hectares of land and has a total of 85 tree species from over 600 places around the world. The forest is located next to Lagarfljót and has lots of beautiful trails.
In Guttormslundur is the oldest larch grove in Hallormsstaðaskógur, planted in 1938. Guttormslundur is named after Guttormur Pálsson (1884-1964), who was a forester in Hallormsstaðaskógur for 46 years.
Is this the Lagarfljótsormur (“Lagarfljót Worm“)?
