In our first days in Iceland we went on a roadtrip to the Northen and second largest city in Iceland, Akureyri. We had rented a car in Reykjavík, and began our 381km trip to the North.
AKUREYRI :
Seasons and Climate
Considering Akureyi is less than 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle, its climate is relatively mild. Summer temperatures reach up to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in summer, and winter temperatures average 32 degrees. Because of its latitude, the city experiences the Midnight Sun around the summer solstice, allowing for outdoor pursuits through the night.
Landmarks
Old Town Akureyi features interesting historic buildings such as churches, an old theater, school and hospital. The oldest building in the city is the Laxdalshus, built in 1795. A guided two-hour walking tour through the district is available year-round. The Akureyi Botanical Garden boasts specimens of almost every plant found in Iceland, along with thousands of non-native plants. According to the Akureyri Cultural and Marketing Office, it is the world’s most northerly botanical garden. Akureyi also features the northernmost 18-hole golf course in the world, host of the annual Arctic Open. In summer you can tee off in the middle of the night.
Another of the landmarks of Akureyri is the church, Akureyrarkirkja, who was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson (who also is responsible for Reykjavík's Hallgrímskirkja). The church also continues his geological theme, but is less blantantly 'basalt' and has a more traditional interior. It was build i 1940, Akureyrarkirkja contains a large and beautiful 3200-pipe organ and a series of rather untraditional reliefs of the life of Christ. But one of the most striking feature is the central window in the chancel, which originally graced Coventry Cathedral in England.
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| The Akureyi Church Choir |
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| Aukureyrarchuch at nighttime |
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| The famous window piece |
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| Service at Aukureyrarchurch |
At one night we also wanted to try out the well known swimming pools. So we packed our swingear and headed off to Sundlaug Akureyrar, which is the name of the swimming pool. It's very hard to explain the feeling you get, when the air is -6C and you're sitting in + 38C warm water witht the snow falling gently from the sky.
The Sundlaug Aukureyrar is once of Iceland's finest. It has three heated pools, hot pots, water slide, sauna, steem room, and pummelling water jets. It's also a fine place to meet the local, as they tend to come in after dinner for relaxtion and a bit of gossip. Thanks to the geothermal energy the water is renewed every 12 hours and holds a steady temperature of 40C.
The estimated number of visitors this year is 500.000!
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| Akureyri Swimming Pool in the cold winter |
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| Here you can sense the steem comming from the hot water |
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| The 25 mt lane which is often used by The Akureyri Swim Team |
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MOSFELLSBÆRThis Saturday Louise and I decided to go on a trip to the small nearby town, 'Mosfellsbær'.
It's a short drive, 15 mins, by either car or bus. The town is known for the waterfall, Álafoss (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈaːulaˌfɔsː]; eel falls), and the small handcraft shops surrounding the foss. By the waterfall there's been a wool factory since 1896, and today the old factory houses the wool outlet shop. The district includes an area stretching to the Leiruvogur cove, which forms part of Kollafjörður fjord. Three rivers empty into the cove: Leirvogsá, Kaldakvísl and Varmá. The population of Mosfellsbær is 8,886 (sep., 2011).
The town is often called "The Green Town", this town enjoys thermal activity and quite a few greenhouses have been built here. Since 1933 it has supplied the capital area with natural hot water for house heating, swimming pools etc. The mountainous area around the town is ideal for walks and hikes, skiing and fishing for trout and char in the small lakes.The Nobel Prize laureate for literature in 1955, Halldór Laxness (1902–1998), was an honorary citizen of the town. He lived there all his life and based some of his novels on his experiences and impressions of his surroundings.
The town has two Sports/Recreation Centers. The best know is 'Lagafell'.
It's a short drive, 15 mins, by either car or bus. The town is known for the waterfall, Álafoss (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈaːulaˌfɔsː]; eel falls), and the small handcraft shops surrounding the foss. By the waterfall there's been a wool factory since 1896, and today the old factory houses the wool outlet shop. The district includes an area stretching to the Leiruvogur cove, which forms part of Kollafjörður fjord. Three rivers empty into the cove: Leirvogsá, Kaldakvísl and Varmá. The population of Mosfellsbær is 8,886 (sep., 2011).
The town is often called "The Green Town", this town enjoys thermal activity and quite a few greenhouses have been built here. Since 1933 it has supplied the capital area with natural hot water for house heating, swimming pools etc. The mountainous area around the town is ideal for walks and hikes, skiing and fishing for trout and char in the small lakes.The Nobel Prize laureate for literature in 1955, Halldór Laxness (1902–1998), was an honorary citizen of the town. He lived there all his life and based some of his novels on his experiences and impressions of his surroundings.
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| Krikaskóli |
There are three schools operated in Mosfellsbær; Krikaskóli (age 2-9), Lágafellsskóli (age 5-16) and Varmárskóli (age 5-16).
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| Krikaskóli playground |
The town has two Sports/Recreation Centers. The best know is 'Lagafell'.
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| Lagafell's water slide and pools |
Lagafell provides 25m swimming pool, 12m indoor pool, children's outdorrs pools, and three water slides, hot tubs, sauna, and wellness studio as well as an indoor gym.
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| The Sculpture |
In the rugged area there's been build a lake, paths, playround, benches and so forth. The trademark of the 'park' is the sculpture made of lava stone and iron.The sculpture, “Hús skáldsins - hús tímans” (House of the Poet - House of time) by Magnús Tómasson, stands at Stekkjarflöt at Álafosskvos. It is based on the town’s symbol and has references to the works of Halldór Laxness.
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| Icelandic monies dateing back to 1768. |
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| Álafoss waterfall |
By
Sebastian Grylls
