Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a wooden fishing boat of the kind used until the 1930s; a few photos and weatherbeaten
oilskins complete the display. Outside, climb the
storm wall
for a look seawards at what
fishermen were up against as they set off or returned - a difficult entry over a rocky shore.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
EYRARBAKKI
Eyrarbakki YHA
Eyrargata 51-53
T
842 2550.
Four
self-contained apartments in a large old house, each
sleeping up to six people (though they can be booked as
double rooms), with kitchen, living room and bathroom.
There's
also an i
n-house c
afé serving light meals. Dorm
3800kr
; doubles
15,790kr
Ì
Rauða
W
raudahusid.is.
Eyrarbakki's answer to Stokkseyri's
Fjöruborðið, though the menu is broader: lobster, of course
(from 3990kr), but also cod with hollandaise (3500kr),
glazed lamb fillet (4300kr), or a simple Caesar salad
(2500kr). Their warm chocolate cake is the business, too.
Bookings advisable. Mon-Thurs 5-9pm, Fri & Sat
11.30am-10pm, Sun 11.30am-9pm.
2
húsið
Búðarstíg
4
T
483
3330,
Þjórsárdalur
Around 45km due east from Selfoss, the powerful
Þjórsá river
cuts down from Iceland's
barren Interior through
Þjórsárdalur
, a once fertile valley laid waste over nine hundred
years ago by a particularly violent eruption of
Hekla
, which rises just across the river to
the east. Broad and flanked by dismal gravel slopes, all overlooked by the fist-like
outcrop of
Búrfell
, Þjórsárdalur is an awesomely sterile place; Route 32 follows the
bank of the river and then cuts right across the mouth of the valley, with side-tracks
leading to relics of vanished times at
Stöng
, an excavated Viking-age longhouse, and
Þjóðveldisbærinn
, a modern reconstruction. There's no public transport to Þjórsárdalur.
Hjálparfoss
Only 100m south of Route 32 at the mouth of the valley,
Hjálparfoss
features a
parallel pair of short, foaming falls, which drop into a round pool, surrounded by thin
basalt columns that spray in all directions or lie piled up like woodstacks; a second,
rougher cataract drains the pool towards a
power station
below Búrfell. Grassy banks
make Hjálparfoss a good place to picnic (the water is too cold for a swim), and the
rough water often attracts
harlequin ducks
in early summer.
Stöng
On Þjórsárdalur's eastern side, signposted Route 327 heads 7km north up to the
remains of
Stöng
; it's a rough and sometimes muddy road, but you should be able to get
within sight of the red-roofed shelter-shed protecting the site. Stöng was the home of a
chieftain named
Gaukur Trándilsson
until Hekla erupted in 1104 for the first time since
Settlement, smothering all of Þjórsárdalur under ash and pumice. The typical
Viking
homestead
was excavated in 1939: a longhouse formed the main hall, with a second,
smaller hall and two attached outhouses serving as women's quarters, washroom and
pens, all built from stone and timber and sided with turf. Neatly built stone
foundations, a central fireplace and post supports provide an outline of the original
buildings, but it's the desolate setting - distant orange and green-streaked valley walls,
and patches of pasture clinging on along the stream - which really impresses.
Þjóðveldisbærinn
June-Aug 18 daily 10am-6pm • 600kr •
W
thjodveldisbaer.is
For a more complete picture of how Stöng once appeared, return to Route 32 and take the
surfaced turning south marked “Búrfellsstöð”, roughly opposite the Stöng junction and
immediately below Búrfell. Before the power station, follow signs left to
Þjóðveldisbærinn
,
a reconstructed period homestead based on Stöng and other sites, roofed with turf and
authentically decked out in hand-cut timber, flagstones and woollen furnishings. It's all
very cosy inside; indeed, with a fire going and a handful of people and livestock around,
the atmosphere would be pretty close - though you'd need it for the winters.
