Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Blaðsíða 43

that matter, but as it’s built on the grounds
of a cemetery where a funeral was already in
progress, I decided instead to head down to the
other museum building.
Next door was a building housing the
Sports Museum of Iceland, the Icelandic
Topographical Museum, and the previously
mentioned Rock Museum. Ingibjörg, who had
lived as far afield as Copenhagen before return-
ing to her home town to work in the museum
area, proved an excellent guide as she took me
through all three museums.
The Sports Museum of Iceland is done
entirely in Icelandic because, as Ingibjörg
explained, “Few people are interested in the
history of Icelandic sports apart from Iceland-
ers themselves,” although guided tours in
English are available. Akranes is a fitting loca-
tion for such a museum as the town’s football,
ÍA, has won national championships enough
times to make Akranes known as “a football
town.” A couple points of interest: Vilhjálmur
Einarsson won the silver medal for Iceland in
the triple jump at the 1956 Olympic Games in
Melbourne, Australia. Here, the three steps he
planted are recreated in bronze, with the exact
measurements between them faithfully recon-
structed. The strides between them are so great
that you get the feeling that Mr. Einarsson was
probably no shorter than most office buildings.
Also on display is a memorial dedicated to
World’s Strongest Man Jón Páll Sigmarsson,
including a bicycle that he folded several times
with his bare hands, just to prove that he could.
In the next room is the Topographical
Museum. The most interesting part of this
museum is the collection of maps from the
Middle Ages to the 20th century. As Ingibjörg
explained, “Before 1900, there wasn’t any way
to land a ship on the south coast or even get
very close to it, so most of the time, cartog-
raphers simply guessed what the south coast
was shaped like.” And, of course, no medieval
map would be complete without drawings of
fantastical beasts, and Iceland’s waters appar-
ently hosted more than a few. Everything from
giant stingrays to fire-breathing whales were to
blame for the disappearances of ships that ven-
tured up this way in the Middle Ages. Once
the museum heads into the 20th century, you
can see old surveying equipment on display, as
well as some pretty interesting “then and now”
aerial shots of locations such as Jökulsárlón and
Surtsey.
Exporting Hell
The conclusion of this tour brought us at
last to the Rock Museum. This is essentially
one large room, and looks a lot like the master
bedroom of a troll king - crystals, petrified
wood, and volcanic rocks of vibrant colour
cover the walls. In the centre of the room is a
cut-away display of the tunnel that runs under
Hvalfjörður. Seeing just how much water and
rock the tunnel burrows underneath gave me
the chills. As if reading my mind, Ingibjörg
said, “There is a seismograph at the bottom of
Hvalfjörður. During the Independence Day
earthquake of 2000, the tremors didn’t even
register. You see these layers of crystal rock?
They act as cushions, absorbing the vibrations
caused by earthquakes.” My mind sufficiently
at ease that I wasn’t going to be buried alive on
my way home later that day, we moved passed
jasper and rock crystal - the most common
crystal found in Iceland - and then to some
sulphur on display. Ingibjörg explained that at
one time, the exportation of sulphur to Europe
was a major industry in Iceland.
“There’s a diary from the year 1270,” she
said, “that says that this sulphur was used in
European churches. Priests would toss some
sulphur into a censer - poof! - to more vividly
depict for the congregation what Hell was
like.”
At the end of the tour of the Rock Mu-
seum, she showed me some small clear crystal
embedded in black rock.
“If these crystals had formed at just 100°C
hotter, they would have been diamonds,” she
said. I nearly felt sorry for them.
The ship that acts as a landmark for the
museum area, Sigurfari, is the only cutter still
in Iceland. I was curious about exploring it, but
when Ingibjörg told me that you can only walk
around on the deck of the ship, as the wood
below deck isn’t very strong, I decided to skip
it. I thanked this very helpful guide for her
time and headed into town.
Compared to Akranes, Borgarnes is just a
Burg
The point Gunnar had made about Akranes
being a good place to raise children is a valid
one. As I walked around town, it seemed
as though there were five children for every
one adult, all of them playing, climbing over
mounds of snow and, on two occasions, skip-
ping. The predominance of kids would give
one a creepy, Children of the Corn vibe if they
didn’t seem so happy.
At the centre of town, on a traffic rounda-
bout, is a statue of a fisherman called, appro-
priately enough, “The Seaman,” which was
erected in memory of drowned sailors. The
sea is a constant in this town. As you walk the
streets that cut through the two-story build-
ings of this sprawling isolated city, the homes
seem to end in waves. In many ways, this gives
Akranes the feeling of being an island itself.
Having visited my fair share of small towns
in Iceland, Akranes certainly is unique. While
most towns its size in Iceland have a rural feel
to them, there is something distinctly blue
collar about Akranes - it has the bustle of a city
despite its size, giving it a more cosmopolitan
feel than nearby Borgarnes or even Mosfellsbær.
This might be because of the rapid growth spurt
the town is currently going through, one that
isn’t likely to slow down any time soon. But
my more romantic side would like to believe
that Akranes’ charm stems from the fact that it
started out unique, both culturally and reli-
giously, and remains an anomaly to this day.
Whatever the reason, Akranes is a town that
has a lot to offer everyone - from the first-time
visitor to the seasoned tourist of Iceland.
Akranes
Akranes is a picturesque town just moments away from the Reykjavík
City centre. You can actually take the city bus from Reykjavík to
Akranes, using your Reykjavík visitors' card, and hop off in Akranes
within an hour. It doesn't get easier - or cheaper - than that, and you
have a full day of fun ahead of you! Akranes is a beautiful town,
sheltered by Mt. Akrafjall, which is actually quite easy to climb, if you are
into mountain climbing. The view from the top is simply amazing, from
the Snæfellsjökull glacier on one side to Mt. Esja and Hvalfjörður fjord on
the other. All year long Langisandur Beach is an outdoor paradise as
there is little that is as good for body and soul as to walk along the
shore, soak up the aroma of the sea, and lose all sense of the daily
grind in the gentle lapping of the waves or the rhythm of the surf. The
air doesn't get much cleaner or refreshing than that. Then there is the
Akranes Museum Area; a collection of four museums and one of the
biggest tourist attractions in Akranes, where you can see and learn all
there is to know about Icelandic culture, Icelandic rocks and stones and
also the history of sports in Iceland.
Akranes
Welcome to
The Akranes Tourist Information Centre
Tel: 431 5566 - Fax: 431 5567 - E-mail: museum@museum.is
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