Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2012, Qupperneq 46

If the scenery looks otherworldly, you
aren’t the first to think so. It was here
at Eldhraun (“Fire Lava,” man, they re-
ally like poetic names up here) that the
Americans practiced their moon land-
ing, this being the closest approxima-
tion to the celestial orb they could find
on planet Earth.

Astronauts vs. insects
These days, it is still not uncommon
to see people looking like astronauts
around here, although the outlandish
headgear might have more to do with
warding off flies than rehearsing for
space travel. That impressive looking
lake to your left is Mývatn, or “Midge
Lake” (ok, perhaps not so poetic),
named after the pesky little buggers
who do their best to enter your eyes,
mouth, nostrils or other unprotected
openings. This is not, as you might
think, merely because they like to
annoy people, but rather because they
are attracted to the carbon dioxide we
emit.
Knowing this might not give much
relief, but the fact that they rarely sur-
vive being swallowed might offer some
solace. On this particular day, however,
with the sun shining and the air calm,
they seem to have decided that life is
worth living and no Kamikaze runs are
attempted.
Enemy Mine
A bit farther up the road, and looking
even more otherworldly (dystopian,
perhaps), is the Krafla plant. Microfos-
sils to be used for filtering beer and
such are mined here, and not far off
is Hverarönd, with natural cauldrons
bubbling, and the aptly named Víti
(“Hell”), a water filled volcanic crater.
We seem to have descended from the
dark cities to Dante.
All this geothermal activity comes
from Iceland being located right
where the North American and Eu-
ropean continental plates meet. This
is evidenced not only in the natives’
fondness for American hamburgers as
well as English pop, but also right here.
It is assumed that around a third of all
lava the earth has emitted in the past
millennium has come up through the
island. If you ever missed a flight due
to volcanic ash, now you know why.
New cities on the horizon
Continuing westwards one would find
Dettifoss (“Stumbling Waterfall”), the
most powerful waterfall in Europe and
one of Iceland’s premier sights. Head-
ing north instead, one would come
to the northernmost part of mainland
Iceland, almost touching the Arctic
Circle. This is an excellent place to
enjoy the midnight sun in the summer,
the Northern Lights in the winter and
a touch of Fata Morgana any time of
year. If you look out towards the sea
and start to see islands, forests or
even whole cities appearing, chances
are you are in fact being duped by a
Morgana.
The reluctant settler
But this is not where we are in fact
going. Rather, we will be taking a city
trip to Húsavík which, with around
2,500 residents, is by far the biggest
settlement in the area. Rather than go
on a whale watching trip, supposedly
the best in the country, or using it as
a base to go to the Jökulsárgljúfur
National Park, we are here do to what
one usually does when arriving in a
foreign city: having something to eat
and taking in a museum or two.
But first some history. It was in fact
at Húsavík that the first settlement in
Iceland was located and not in Reyk-
javik, as big city folk would have you
believe. This is chronicled in the sagas,
(so it must be true), but still largely
ignored in history books. The reason
is probably that the settler in ques-
tion was an Irish slave named Náttfari,
rather than a noble Norwegian
chieftain such as proper people would
like to have for a founding father. Also,
Náttfari didn’t really want to be stuck
there, but got left behind. Even if he
was the first settler, it wasn’t really his
intention.
From Blood Fields to operatic
rivers
The notorious Penis Museum has now
been relocated back to Reykjavík, but
there are other worthwhile sights. The
town museum Safnahúsið has been
dubbed the best in north-eastern
Iceland by Insight Guide, and now has
another accolade, as locals will be
quick to tell you. This year, they were
awarded the prestigious Icelandic
Museum Award.
The museum includes a lot of
local history, from stuffed animals to
household appliances and weaponry.
The most chilling is a helgríma, (“Mask
of Death”), used for sheep executions
on the so-called Blóðvöllur (“Blood
Fields”). Small children, pregnant
women and others easily upset were
not allowed to enter while they were in
use.
Perhaps most interesting is the
story of Scottish opera singer Lizzie,
who over a century ago left the big
city to live in this remote area with an
Icelandic farmer. She later told locals
that the wailing of the rivers provided
a substitute for the opera houses she
missed, but one somehow gets the
feeling she was mostly trying to con-
vince herself.
Wholly local
Equally as impressive is the Whale
Centre, which includes everything you
ever wanted to know about whales but
were afraid to ask unless you want to
be drawn into an interminable debate
with locals over the merits of whaling.
They have everything at the centre,
from life size skeletons of every local
species to Saga accounts and photos
of Icelandic politicians happily carving
carcasses with an axe. Whatever your
level of interest, it is well worth a visit.
Finally, there is the Húsavík Church,
which has been likened to a ginger-
bread house. Most interesting here
is the painting of the resurrection of
Lazarus, set firmly in the Icelandic
countryside. Locals were used as
inspiration for the characters, but
apparently they were not all happy
with the results (disputing who got to
be the Saviour and who the zombie,
perhaps?).
After the sightseeing, you might
want to retire down to the harbour,
where there is a fair selection of
restaurants, offering everything from
the catch of the day to that staple of
this side of the continental divide, the
hamburger.
You can do Húsavík in a day, or
you can stay for longer and explore
the surrounding area. The drive there
can be made in roughly seven hours
(including stops), or you can fly from
Reykjavík Airport in a couple of hours.
46 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 13 — 2012TRAVEL
High Hopes For Húsavík
How to get there?
Roughly 7 hours by car from Reykjavík or a 45 minute flight.Húsavík85
Words and photos Valur Gunnarsson
The northeast of Iceland has been steadily growing in
popularity as a tourism destination, and small wonder,
as it has a lot to offer. Just off the Ring Road, there are
the haunting Dimmuborgir (“Dark Cities”), which have
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you see the rock formations, which look as if they were
sculpted by an artistically challenged Goth, you can see
why.
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