Northwest Iceland - The Rough Guide to Iceland - page 216

5

Adjacent to the cottages, a timber building houses the Skagafjörður folk museum ,
with a collection of rustic implements once used on the farm, from spinning wheels to
brightly painted clothes chests. Not only does the farm demonstrate centuries-old
Icelandic building techniques, it's also where Snorri Þorfinsson , the first American born
of European parents (in 1003), is buried; Snorri came to Iceland with his parents and
lived out his life on the farm here. A simple statue of Snorri and his mother, Gúðríður
Þorbjarnardóttir (see p.176), by sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson stands in the graveyard
next to the church.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE VARMAHLÍÐ

By bus All Ringroad buses between Reykjavík and
Akureyri, plus the Kjölur service, call at the filling station in
Varmahlíð; change here for year-round buses to Glaumbær
and Sauðárkrókur.

Destinations Akureyri (2 daily; 1hr 20min); Reykjavík
(2 daily; 4hr 25min); Sauðárkrókur (2 daily; 30min);
Siglufjörður (3 weekly; 1hr 15min).

Sauðárkrókur and around
Set at the base of the broad, north-facing Skagafjörður, 25km north of Varmahlíð,
SAUÐÁRKRÓKUR is the second-largest town on the northern Icelandic coast, with a
population of 2600. It's a likeable spot, occupying a triangle of suburban streets
bordered by fjordside Strandvegur, Hegrabraut and Skagfirðingabraut. Sauðárkrókur's
brightly painted houses and wide open spaces, with views of the bustling harbour on
the edge of its centre, lend a pioneering edge to the town, and wandering around the
streets is a pleasant enough way to pass an hour or two, popping in at the fascinating
fish skin tannery on the way. The main attractions, though, are the boat trips to the
nearby island of Drangey and a dip in Grettislaug hot pool , both connected to
Iceland's classic outlaw tale, Grettir's Saga , and horseriding tours out into the
surrounding countryside.

Minjahús
Aðalgata 16B • mid-June to Aug daily 1-7pm • 700kr
Sauðárkrókur's Minjahús (museum) will not set your pulse racing. It's safe to ignore the
frankly rather poor collection of local art and home in instead on the only other
exhibit: the story of an errant polar bear , shot just 15km from the town centre in June
2008 and now stuffed for posterity. The hungry bear had swum over from Greenland
before roaming the hills above Sauðárkrókur looking for food; check out the alarming
photograph of the foolhardy cameraman and local farmer, who came within 20m of
the bear - both are lucky to be alive today.

Gestastofa Sútarans
Borgarmýri 5 • Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-3pm • 1000kr
The captivating Gestastofa Sútarans (fish skin tannery) is definitely worth checking
out whilst you're in Sauðárkrókur. A 45min tour reveals how the skins (mostly from
fish caught in Icelandic waters, though some larger varieties are imported from
Africa) are tanned, dyed and shaped. The finished product is remarkably similar to
leather, yet is thinner and more workable, and is used for the production of
everything from Gucci shoes to Dior handbags, mostly for the Italian and French
fashion markets. At the end of the tour there's a chance to buy finished skins, which
come in any number of colours ranging from cobalt blue to shocking pink, and cost
around 1000kr.