Akureyri Town Tour

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Another sunny day. What can I say! I'm lucky with the weather on this trip. Today I am off on a long tour to have a look around the Myvatn area with SBA Norðurleið.

Akureyri Tour

I have a long walk to the meeting point from my new hostel which is on the other side of town. It's pretty early and there's virtually no-one about. I hope I'm not the only one on the trip. I picked this company because it specifically didn't penalise solo travellers by cancelling if no-one else booked; most other companies need at least two before they'll go ahead with a tour. I meet my tour guided Oskar and we have a bit of a chat. It turns out we are to be joined by a family who are flying in from Reykjavik for the day, but their flight has been delayed. Oskar decides to take me on a tour of Akureyri and surrounds before they arrive and so we head off in our minibus. I find out that, like in Reykjavik, the Icelanders have been tinkering with the shoreline and it is now much further out, land having been reclaimed. We see the street that used to be alongside the harbour with some of the older style wooden houses, including the oldest, Laxdalshus dating back to 1795. There is an ancient rowan tree next to the house that has a folktale attached to it from pagan times when trees were worshiped: A brother and sister were accused of incest and sentenced to death. Protesting their innocence they implored their god to show a sign after their execution to prove they had done no wrong. From the site of their blood grew a rowan tree and despite being chopped and felled always grew back from its roots. Akureyri now has so many rowan trees that in spring you can smell the scent of their blossom all over town. We also see the Old Hospital, a larger 2-storey wooden building (one of the oldest in Iceland) that used to house the Doctors quarters, 8 beds, a laundry and a mortuary. It also had baths open to the public once a week. It is currently undergoing conversion to a medical museum. We also see Nonnahus or Nonni's house, where the author Reverend Jon Sveinsson - nickname Nonni - lived. He wrote a series of well-loved children's books. The house has been restored and is apparently set out with all the old furniture and kitchen implements that Nonni would have used - not open in April sadly or I would have had a look around.

We head up out of Akureyri's main streets passing a huge factory that processes dairy products - the largest of its kind in Iceland. A little further into the surrounding hills and we stop to watch the first skiers getting ready for the slopes. The ski slope here is usually open until the end of April or for as long as the snow stays. Oskar tells me that all the snow I can see in the hills and mountains surrounding Akureyri will melt with the exception of a few of the higher mountain tops. I find out that the reason I haven't seen any sheep or cows is that they are all being kept nice and warm indoors in barns over the long winter months. The weather is simply too harsh for them and there's nothing to eat when everything's covered in snow. Very soon they will all be set free to roam the hills for the rest of the year.

We pass by Akureyri University housing 2000 students studying at one of the three faculties: Business and Science, Humanities and Social Sciences or Health Sciences. The University was only founded in 1987 and is one of Iceland's two universities, the other being in Reykjavik. As we drive back into Akureyri town proper we pass a big brewery and I hear about the beer ban in Iceland that lasted until1989 - perhaps the end of the ban had something to do with the timing of the University being built! We also pass the harbour with trawlers and fish processing buildings. Fishing is a huge industry for Akureyri and is one of the biggest in the country. The port is also a stopping place for cruise ships in the summer months AND I've just found out was the setting for a Tintin adventure 'The Shooting Star' (the one with a picture of a massive flyagaric mushroom on the front cover!). We pass the circular Hof cultural building completed in 2010. Hof means either a hall or a temple depending on which ancient Norse or Germanic history source you read. It's certainly a very striking building and sits in a perfect spot for taking photos looking down the fjord.

We head back towards the airport but it seems the flight is still delayed so we carry on further out of Akureyri on the other side of town. All along the roadside, following the contour of the land are massive silver pipes raised up off the ground. It turns out these are the hot water pipes that bring the almost boiling hot water (90°) down from the bore holes 20km away to Akureyri and surrounds. When the water finally reaches its destination it has only cooled to 65°. We see the insulation inside the pipes that help to keep the water warm as it travels along the silver snake zig-zagging across the countryside. We take a little detour to see the Christmas House - Christmas all year round at this tacky looking edifice to the wanton consumerism! Not really my thing - swiftly moving on...

We head back to the airport and as there's still a half hour wait until the delayed flight arrives I decide to go and grab a geocache that's near to the airport. I arrive back just in time to meet Australians Mary, Paul and son Jordan. And so we set off on the Myvatn Tour...

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