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Viking adventure

A 25-day adventure by 2haralds Read more
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    🇮🇸 Þingeyri, Iceland
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    Thinking of Dísa

    Yesterday in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    This is the home of Disa's best friend. I never saw the house she lived in before she moved to Reykjavík with her parents. For me, the museum springs to life.

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    Polar fox

    Yesterday in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The family that runs this guesthouse has a domesticated young fox. It is renowned for its ability to survive temperatures as low as -58°F (-50°C) due to its thick, insulating fur. His fur should turn white as he matures.Read more

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    Of Cows and Courage

    August 18 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    In 1987, the farmer at Neðri-Breiðdalur in Önundarfjörður fjord was forced to put down some of his cattle, due to new laws regarding cattle quota, according to Vísindavefurinn . One of the cows he sadly had to put down was one by the name of Harpa, although the cow was in good health.

    Harpa was therefore transported to the town of Flateyri, where she had an appointment with the butcher. Approaching the door of the slaughterhouse, she broke loose and escaped. She ran to the shore and set about swimming across Önundarfjörður fjord. Miraculously, she made it across in about an hour.

    The farmers on the other side of the fjord, at Kirkjuból in Valþjófsdalur valley, were informed about the situation. The decided to reward Harpa for her perseverance by purchasing her and allowing her to start a new life at their farm. They appropriately renamed her Sæunn, meaning ‘the wave of the ocean.’ Sæunn thrived at the new home and gave birth to a calf eight months after arriving there, meaning she was already pregnant during the swim. She lived for six more years after the ordeal.    Read more

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    Rus

    August 18 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Vikings were a seafaring people originally from Scandinavia, who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe. They voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Greenland, and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland in Canada, North America).

    In their countries of origin, and in some of the countries they raided and settled, this period of activity is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole during the late 8th to the mid-11th centuries. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of northern and Eastern Europe, including the political and social development of England (and the English language) and parts of France, and the establishment of Kievan Rus', the ancestor of the later states of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

    I perked up my ears when I saw the name of this coffee house.    Read more

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    Glaumbær Turf Farm & Museum

    August 17 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Glaumbær Folk Museum comprises 13 buildings and offers a rare insight into how Icelandic people lived in the past, with limited access to the outside world and supplies. Due to scarce opportunities to get timber for building, Icelanders used turf constructions to build their homes. They used Icelandic grass, which is very thick, for insulation.

    The farm was home to Snorri Þorfinsson, the first American born of European parents, in the 11th century. Snorri was the son of Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir and Þorfinnur Karlsefni who was born while his parents were on an expedition to the Americas long before Columbus.    Read more

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    Húsafell Lifting Stone

    August 16 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Snorri Björnsson, who was pastor from 1756 to 1803, built a rock-walled pen for shearing sheep and milking goats, he placed this large basalt stone, known as Kviahellen, or "Pen Slab," at the entrance.

    The stone became a way for locals to test their strength through several challenges. The first was to lift the stone onto the wall south of the northern door. The second was to lift the stone onto the larger stone in the northern wall (where Snorri’s name is carved). The third, or Fulsterker ("Full Strength"), involved lifting the stone and walking the full distance around the pen.

    In 1992, the stone found international fame when it appeared in the 1992 World’s Strongest Man competition, where Canadian Gregg Ernst set a record by carrying it 70 meters (230 feet). The current record is held by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who carried the stone 98.16 meters (322 feet) in the 2019 Iceland’s Strongest Man competition.

    64.693945, -20.871292    Read more

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    Apollo Astronaut Training Memorial

    August 16 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    When you drive around Iceland, it is easy to feel as if you’ve landed upon the Moon. The geography of the country is wild and rocky, a testament to the geological activity that continues to shape our planet.

    NASA apparently felt the same way, because when they were preparing to send the first astronauts to the Moon in the mid-1960s, they decided to train in the most Moon-like environment they could find. And they decided that the most extraterrestrial environment on Earth was just outside the charming fishing village of Húsavík on the northern coast of Iceland. The site was chosen for its geological features, as the astronauts would need to bring back lunar rock samples.

    In 1965 and 1967, NASA sent 32 astronauts to Iceland. Several of the humans who have walked on the Moon, including Neil Armstrong, participated in training in the area. While Iceland was not the only training location, even the astronauts themselves felt that the island country's rugged landscape was the closest to what they would eventually experience on the moon. Iceland's geography continues to be a fertile training ground for future space missions for various space agencies.

    The memorial consists of a plaque engraved with the names of 32 Apollo trainees suspended between two basalt columns, as well as the United States and Iceland flags, and an Apollo mission patch. There are steel globes atop the columns which represent the Earth and Moon. It is installed in a small field overlooking the town, and was unveiled on July 15, 2015, by the grandchildren of Neil Armstrong.

    Örlygur Hnefill Örlygsson created the Exploration Museum in Húsavík in 2014 to commemorate the town’s historic connection to the Apollo missions. The memorial was opened in relation to the museum. In addition to its Apollo memorabilia, it also has information about the history of human exploration, from Vikings to polar voyages to modern day.    Read more

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    Battle of Haugsnes (The stone Army)

    August 16 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The Battle of Haugsnes (The Stone Army) is a large-scale outdoor installation depicting the bloodiest battle in the history of Iceland. The battle occurred on April 19, 1246 during times of great turmoil in 13th century Iceland, as told in the Sturlunga Saga. The owner of Kakalaskáli and history enthusiast, Sigurður Hansen, has arranged 1320 rocks, a total of 600 tons, each representing a warrior on the fateful morning of the battle, moments before the two feuding clans clashed. Those who died in battle and the following days are marked with crosses.Read more

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    Artic Coast Way

    August 16 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The Artic Coast Way  is a 900 km route that runs along the coast of Northern Iceland from Hvammstangi in the west to Bakkafjörður in the east. The Artic Coast Way turns its back on the beaten track and directs the traveler into the untrodden and remote – exploring the north coast of Iceland in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle.Read more

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    Akureyri

    August 16 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Akureyri is a vibrant town nestled at the head of Eyjafjörður, Iceland's longest fjord, surrounded by dramatic mountains and known for its mild climate relative to its northern latitude. Often called the 'Capital of the North,' it serves as a cultural and economic hub for northern Iceland, blending small-town charm with urban amenities. The town's sheltered harbor, colorful houses, and close connection to nature make it a welcoming destination in a rugged landscape.Read more

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    Did you know ...

    August 15 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Húsavík served as the setting of the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a comedic story of two Húsavík natives representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest, with one of the film's songs named after the town. The song itself was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards.Read more

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    An arctic stonehenge

    August 15 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    The Arctic Henge is the vision of artist Erlingur B. Thoroddsen, who imagined it as a kind of Icelandic Stonehenge. But this isn't a replica — it's rooted in the Poetic Edda, Iceland's ancient collection of mythic tales, particularly the dwarves who were said to hold up the sky in the cardinal directions.

    Each part of the structure represents elements of Norse cosmology: time, light, seasons, and the forces that shape the world. The layout aligns with the path of the midnight sun, casting light through the arches at key points in the year — especially around the summer solstice when the sun barely dips below the horizon.    Read more