Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
DETOUR: RTE 590
The dramatic coastline of the oft-forgotten peninsula between the Snæfellsnes and West-
fjords is traced by this 100km track (okay for 2WD; along Rte 60 look for the turn-off at
Fellströnd). Windswept farmsteads lie frozen in time, and boulder-strewn hills, crowned
with flattened granite, roll skyward.
Near the beginning of the track, the farm at
Hvammur
produced a whole line of prom-
inent Icelanders, including Snorri Sturluson of Prose Eddafame. It was settled in around
895 by Auður the Deep-Minded, the wife of the Irish king Olaf Godfraidh, who has a bit
part in Laxdæla Saga. Árni Magnússon, who rescued most of the Icelandic sagas from a
fire in Copenhagen in 1728, was also raised at Hvammur.
You can spend the night at recently renovated
Vogur Country Lodge
( 894 4396;
www.nyp.is
;Skarðsströnd;d incl breakfast Ikr15,500; ). There's also a campground, Á, just
before
Skarð
- a lonely farm that has remained in the hands of the same family for over
1000 years.
Laugar & Around
Just north of the spot where Rte 590 heads west off of Rte 60 you'll find the encampment
at Laugar, the birthplace of
Laxdæla Saga
beauty Guðrun Ósvífursdóttir. Historians be-
lieve they've found
Guðrun's bathing pool
: the hot pool is well marked above the en-
trance to Hótel Edda, and has a small changing kiosk.
Tungustapi
, in the distance, is a
large elf cathedral.
with/without bathroom Ikr22,000/11,000; Jun 6-late-Aug; )
has a newer wing with
modern rooms, an older dormitory-style annexe with shared bathrooms, and sleeping-bag
6-9pm Jun 6-late-Aug)
gets good reviews for its local angelica-fed lamb.
Don't miss the neat
Dalir Heritage Museum
( 434 1328; 1-6pm Jun-Aug)
in the hotel
basement. The curator is a wonderful character who knows a great deal about Dalir's bril-
