Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION
Bjarg
T
437 1925,
W
farmholidays.is.
Guesthouse
accommodation on a working farm 20mins walk out of
town along Borgarbraut. There's a rustic studio apartment
with kitchen and private bathroom as well as three double
roo
ms with
shared facilities; you need your own sleeping
bag.
5600kr
Borgarnes B&B
Skúlagata 21
T
434 1566 and 842
5866,
W
borgarnesbb.is.
Excellent guesthouse with
beautifully decorated rooms in modern Nordic style,
consequently mercifully low on floral flourishes and swirls.
Rooms have private or shared facilities,
and there's
a large
sitting room with stupendous sea views.
16,700kr
Borgarnes campsite
Granastaðir
T
695 3366.
Located
beside the Ringroad just outside the town centre and run
by the youth hostel, the campsite has showers and toilets
and th
ere's th
e opportunity to have breakfast at the youth
hostel.
900kr
Hótel Borgarnes
Egilsgata 12-14
T
437 1119,
W
hotelborgarnes.is.
A 10min walk from the highway
(head down Borgarbraut, then turn right), this comfortable,
modern hotel has 75 well-appointed rooms with neutral
decor, carpeted floors and good views of the sn
ow-capped
mountains across the fjord. Closed Oct to Easter.
24,000kr
Youth hostel
Borgarbraut 9
T
695 3366,
W
hostel.is.
Borgarnes's youth hostel is perfectly located on the main
street, and has comfortable dorms as
well as fo
ur double
rooms
with private facilities. Dorms
3500kr
, doubles
9200kr
3
EATING AND DRINKING
Hótel Borgarnes
Egilsgata 12-14
T
437 1119.
The
best deal in this hotel restaurant is a set three-course menu
for 4800kr, but there's also a few other favourites such as
succulent haddock in white wine sauce for 3400kr and a
tasty pork fillet with a pepper sauce at 3500kr.
Easter to
Sept daily 6pm-late.
Hyrnan
Brúartorg 1
T
430 5550.
The fast-food
restaurant attached to the N1 filling station is the most
popular place to eat in town, though it can be busy with
coach tours; there's haddock and chips (1990kr), pizzas
(from 1690kr), sandwiches (from 790kr) and soup (850kr).
Mon-Fri 8am-11pm, Sat & Sun 9am-11pm.
Matstofan
Brákarbraut 3
T
437 2017.
This Filipino-run
place dishes up burgers (from 700kr), pizzas (800kr) and a
couple of good Asian stir-fries (around 1690kr), and also
functions as the town's one and only pub come the evening.
Mon-Thurs 6pm-midnight, Fri & Sat 6pm-1am.
Settlement Centre
Brákarbraut 13-15
T
437 1600.
For upmarket dining, the restaurant at the Settlement
Centre is the best choice in town, serving a good-value
lunch buffet till 3pm (1890kr), as well as lasagne
(2400kr), roast lamb (4500kr) and an excellent
plokkfiskur
(2500kr).
Daily: June-Aug 10am-9pm;
Sept to May 11am-5pm.
Borg á Mýrum
Another site mentioned in the sagas, the farm of
Borg á Mýrum
, just a couple of
kilometres north of Borgarnes on Route 54, is easily reached by buses to the
Snæfellsnes peninsula. First settled by
Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson
, Egill's father, Borg á
Mýrum is, to Icelanders at least, of double historical significance because of its
association with one of Iceland's greatest writers, Snorri Sturluson (see p.154). It's a
popular spot with misty-eyed home-grown tourists, though few remain more than ten
THE MEN OF BORG
Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson
ended up at Borg á Mýrum very much by chance after falling foul of
his king, Harald Fairhair of Norway. Together with his father,
Kveldúlfur
(“Evening Wolf”, so-called
because he grew violent and supernaturally strong as dusk came on), he fled the wrath of King
Harald and set sail westwards for Iceland. However, during the lengthy and stormy voyage,
Kveldúlfur fell ill and ordered that, on his death, his co
n be tossed overboard and his grieving
family settle wherever it washed up. Following his father's instruction, Skallagrímur first set foot in
Iceland in an area rich in bogs, forests and salmon rivers, at Borg á Mýrum (Rock in the Bogs),
where he raised his family, naming the surrounding area, accordingly, Borgarfjörður (Rocky Fjord).
The third great man to live at Borg was
Snorri Sturluson
. At the age of 19 Snorri married
the only daughter of Father Bersi the Wealthy, of Borg, and moved to the farm following his
father-in-law's death in 1202 to run the estate as his heir. However, his marriage was not a
happy one and just four or five years later, around 1206, he decided to move inland to
Reykholt, leaving his wife behind.
