Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
prints is actually Snorri's - make sure to see it before you leave. The church itself, with its
specially designed acoustic walls, hosts the
Reykholt Music Festival
(
W
reykholtshatid.is;
2500kr per concert) in late July, when visiting singers and musicians gather for a series of
classical music concerts open to the public - look out for details posted around the village.
Snorralaug
Across the lawn from the Heimskringla museum and at the foot of the hillock,
Snorri's
pool
, the
Snorralaug
, provides a rare visual example of a piece of medieval Iceland and
is even mentioned in the
Landnámabók
(
Book of Settlements
) and the
Sturlunga Saga
. A
4m-wide geothermally heated pool ringed with stones, this is thought to have been
where Snorri would bathe and receive visitors, and next to it are the restored remains of
the
tunnel
leading to the cellar of Snorri's farmhouse, where he was assassinated in
1241 (see box, p.154). The pool is fed by an ancient stone aqueduct from the nearby
hot spring, Skrifla. Back up the steps from the pool, the Snorri
statue
which graces the
front of the former school was presented to Iceland by Norway's King Olaf shortly after
independence in 1947. It's a clear reminder of the continuing wrangle between the two
Nordic nations over Snorri's origins; the Norwegians strongly maintain that Snorri is
theirs and claim he was born in Norway. Although the Icelanders have gratefully
accepted over three million Norwegian kroner to help set up the Snorri exhibition hall,
the new library and the Heimskringla museum and research centre, suspicions remain
that the Norwegians haven't yet renounced their claims on Snorri.
3
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
REYKHOLT
By bus
Buses to Reykholt run just twice a week (Fri and
Sun) from Reykjavík via Borgarnes, and terminate at the
filling station at the eastern end of the village. Return buses
leave on the same days, and also travel via Varmaland.
Destinations
Borgarnes (2 weekly; 50min); Reykjavík
(2 weekly; 2hr).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Food
is available in both hotel restaurants. Reckon on
around 4000kr for a three-course dinner with fish in both
places. There's a small
shop
at the filling station (daily
10am-10pm) which sells most basics, including food.
Hótel Á
Kirkjubóli 2
T
435 1430,
W
hotela.is.
Overlooking the Hvítá glacial river, this new hotel with a
dozen or so doubles, 10km east of Reykholt, is big on Nordic
simplicity. Rooms are plainly decorated in natural colours
and the t
asteful bathrooms feature slate-walled showers.
20,000kr
Hótel Reykholt
T
435 1260,
W
fosshotel.is.
Originally
built as a boarding school in 1931, and still with an
institutionalised feel to it despite being refitted as a hotel.
Rooms are modern and h
ave fanta
stic views of the Okjökull
and Eiríksjökull glaciers.
20,600kr
Deildartunguhver
While in the Reykholt area, it's well worth checking out the biggest
hot spring
in Europe,
Deildartunguhver
, which lies near the hamlet of Kleppjárnsreykir, 5km west of Reykholt
on the side of Route 50. Drawing on the geothermal reserves that lie all around
Reykholtsdalur valley, and pumping out a staggering 180 litres of 97ºC water a second,
the billowing clouds of steam created by this mighty fissure are truly impressive, reaching
up high into the cool air - in fact it's water from here that runs via two specially
constructed pipelines to heat Borgarnes and Akranes, 34km and 64km away, respectively.
As in so many other geothermal areas around Iceland, water from the spring is also used
to speed up the growth of plants and vegetables by heating up the surrounding
greenhouses
, and during the summer local farmers often set up stalls here to sell their
produce to passing visitors. From the car park, a footpath leads to the spring; it's wise not
to get too close to the open pools of bubbling boiling water as it can, and does, splash
over the protective fence in front. Incidentally, the area around the spring is the only
place in Iceland where the unusual variety of hard fern,
blechnum spicant
, is found.
