Reykjavík, Ísland
Today we begin the 2 Day West Coast Tour – Snæfellsnes – Silver Circle Tour. We checked out of the hotel and headed down to the shuttle stop 14. It is just before 8:30, still dark outside, sunrise isn’t until 11:10. Ok, so are headed to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in west Iceland. The peninsula is home to the Snæfellsjokull National Park, at the center of which lies the Snæfellsjokull subglacial volcano.
The peninsula is across the Faxafloi Bay about two hours from Reykjavík. Along the there is nothing too see, but only because it is completely dark. We get to the town of Borgones about 10:00. Here was stop at a gas station for the bathrooms and to get a snack, while the driver goes and picks up two more guests who apparently spent the night in Borgones.
We now understand that it isn’t one two-day tour, but two one-day tours stung together. It isn’t like the group is staying together. After picking up the two new guests we head to our first stop. The first stop is Reykholt. Here we stop at the geothermal field.
The water comes out of the ground here at over 100° C. The water is used to heat homes, businesses and greenhouses. The guide points out that many crops are grown in Iceland in greenhouses, including bananas! Reykholt sits in the valley of the Reykjadalsá River. Reykholt was, at one time, one of the intellectual centers of Iceland and had for many years one of the most important schools in the country. The poet and politician Snorri Sturluson lived in Reynold during the Middle Ages.
Sturluson’s records of the Old Norse language and mythology of medieval Iceland are invaluable to modern scholars. The next stop is in fact at the remains of his farm. Here at the Snorrostofa research center the task of investigating and conducting research into the medieval period takes place. Snorri Sturluson’s (1179 – 1241) main residence is here, including his outdoor hot tub, said to be the oldest hot known to exist.
Iceland became independent of Denmark in 1944. The Snorrastofa Culture / Research Center was established in 1988, with the opening ceremonies attended by Vigdis Finnbogafóttir the President if Iceland and King Olaf V of Norway. The Snorrsatofa became an independent research center in 1995. Oh, and it’s almost noon and the sun is up!
After the geothermal field we visited the Snorrastofa Center, well actually we stopped and saw the Church of Reykholt. The old church at Reykholt was built between 1886 and 1887 and was restored as close to its original form as possible between 2001 and 2006. Reykholt Church is beautifully proportioned, with fine ornaments at both the church door and the windows. Its exterior form is influenced by Reykjavík Cathedral, while it also has certain features from the Swiss chalet style of wooden buildings, e.g. in its bargeboards and the semi-circular glazing pattern above the window transoms. The interior of the church has a neoclassical ambiance including the coffered vault, and the ornamentation of pew ends and pulpit.
Here we saw the Snorralaug hot spring. The word "Snorralaug" means "Snorri's pool." The hot spring was named after the poet because it's located near land he owned, and he used to bathe in the pool, supposedly. He even built a tunnel that led directly from his house to the pool, and visitors to the pool are free to explore this tunnel today. One should note, this is a recreation of the hot tub, not the original.
Even if you've never heard of Snorri Sturluson, you've likely felt the effects of his work. Writers and musicians alike have drawn inspiration from his Prose Edda, an old Norse textbook. Today, this impressive literature is our primary source of information on Norse gods like Thor and Loki.
One famous writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, took names from Snorri's Norse mythology and transplanted them into his work as the names of dwarves. J. K. Rowling has also taken inspiration from the work of Snorri Sturluson, as have musicians like Richard Wagner and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.
Hraunfossar is our next stop. Hraunfossar (meaning “lava falls”) is an intriguing series of springs coming out of the Hallmundarhraun lava field appearing like a long 900m strand of cascades feeding the light blue Hvítá River. That characteristic of springs emerging from lava tubes and rough grooves within the lava made this waterfall unique and quite beautiful. This was also our lunch stop.
The next stop is Víðgelmir perhaps the best preserved cave of the well known caves in Iceland. The Cave Víðgelmir is located in the Hallmundarhraun, which is the largest lava field in Borgarfjörður. Both the exact starting time and duration of the eruption are not known, but it has been estimated that the eruption lasted 1-4 years and the start of the eruption is usually set at around 900 AD.
Four of the five largest known caves in Iceland are located in Hallmundarhraun, and many other smaller caves are scattered throughout the lava field. Archaeological remains are found within many of these caves, along with Víðgelmir, but sadly very little is known about most of these remains.
The lava field itself, Hallmundarhraun, is named after the troll Hallmundur, who is mentioned in Grettis saga (one of the Icelandic sagas). In the saga, Hallmundur helps out the main “hero”, Grettir, and then offers him to stay with him and his daughter.
We arrived just before 15:00. We got suited up with our helmets and lights. At 15:00 we headed into the cave. It was an interesting experience. The cave is covered in ice as water seeps though the lava field above. The temperature in the cave is -2° Centigrade (28 F). A beautiful place. Someone, me, managed to slip on the ice. No permeant damage, but I’ll be sore tomorrow.
We emerged from the cave about an hour and a half later into total darkness. The sun had set at 15:30. The tour was effectively ended. We drove back to Borgones which took about an hour. There they dropped us off at the Hotel Borgones where we were to spend the night.
It wasn’t exactly was we expected, but not that bad. We walked across the street to Bara Borgones and small local restaurant. Here we met the owner, name lost, and the chef Kola. I was already to order the fish and chip but the chef suggested that the lamb steaks would be a better choice. The opener said if they weren’t the best lamb steaks ever, it was free. Hey, what could you do but order the lamb steaks. We both did, and it was very good.
The owner and chef seemed to like us, and even spent time with us after other people came in. The owner also shared a lamb prosciutto with us, which was excellent. And because Mary made such a face at eating horse, he bought some horse for her to try. Hey, I have always liked horse and now Mary does as well.
It was well worth the stop and night here to eat here. Afterwords we walked back to the hotel and called it a night.
Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico e Maria.
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