Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2018, Blaðsíða 46

We streak out of Reykjavík along
Route 41, escaping snarls of Saturday
morning traffic and shooting into the
snowy wilderness of Reykjanes. Soon
enough, the city is far behind us. It’s
midday but the sky is still tinged with
pink—daytime never really arrives in
Icelandic December. To the left, snow
drapes the rich, verdant moss that it-
self drapes the jagged lava fields of
the peninsula, and to the right, the
serpentine coastline meets the freez-
ing ocean.
This picturesque route will be fa-
miliar to anyone who has arrived at
Keflavík Airport. The road that links
the airport to the city is quite an
amazing drive in itself, but it’s easy
to become numb to its beauty during
tired and grouchy early morning and
late night Flybus journeys, coming or
going from Iceland.
Today, however, we’re doing some-
thing different. We coast past the
airport turnoff, leaving the traffic
behind, and peel off to the right, into
the heart of Keflavík town.
Advantageous spot
There are no two ways about it—Ke-
flavík feels like a backwater. As we
crawl down the main drag, stuck be-
hind a slow-moving tractor, it feels
like the town expanded over time in a
forced or inorganic fashion, resulting
in a layout that feels almost uncom-
fortable. An office building stands
backed up against an unappealing
minimall; rusting industrial plots
and weathered car workshops lurk
by the roadside behind deteriorat-
ing wire fences. Some of the units on
the high street are closed down and
boarded up, and several storefronts
bear ghosts of the logos that once
adorned them. One café that’s highly
rated on Google is under renovation,
and we peer through the dusty win-
dows at piles of cardboard boxes and
coils of electric wire.
Keflavík’s town centre, though,
is not the reason for our visit. We’ve
come for a night away at Hotel Berg,
a smart boutique hotel that sits on a
hill behind the old harbour. Indeed,
from this advantageous spot, the
hotel looks down toward the town
over grassy knolls, old stone walls
and boats bobbing in the ocean. You
could, but for the planes passing
overhead, be in any fishing town in
Iceland.
Crisp and modern
The hotel feels immediately welcom-
ing. The lobby is airy and spacious,
with crisp white walls, a smattering
of fancy design chairs and comfort-
able sofas, a small bar, and some
bookshelves breaking up the space.
As we check in, the friendly recep-
tionist chats with us. The hotel has
been booked out all summer, she
says, and is still busy even now, deep
into the off season.
As we’re shown to our rooms, it’s
easy to see why. Everything about
Hotel Berg is crisp and modern, from
the floor lighting in the corridors,
to the floor-to-ceiling windows that
cast geometric shadows on the walls
at different times of the day, to the
cosy details that set off the bright,
minimal rooms.
Burning pink
After sinking into the soft cloud of
the bed for a while, we decide to head
for a dip in the rooftop pool. It’s a
small hot pot with iridescent tiles;
long struts cross the water diago-
nally, and transparent dividers keep
the wind away whilst allowing bath-
ers to take in the view. Even on this
chilly afternoon, the pot is a steady
and comfortable 38°. We linger for an
hour, watching the light fade from
bright orange evening, to a burning
pink sunset, and then into inky dark-
ness.
Travel
Distance from
Reykjavík:
45km

Flights provided by:
gocarrental.is
Accommodation
provided by:
hotelberg.is
How to get there:
Route 41 to
Reykjanesbær
46The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 21— 2018
A Flying Visit
Keflavík’s Hotel Berg is a tucked-away gem
Words: John Rogers
Photos : Timothée Lambrecq
... and comfortable rooms. What's not to like?Pool views...
Hað Bláa
The Blue Sea
restaurant with a view
483-1000 • hafidblaa.is
5 minutes from Eyrarbakki
at the Ölfusá bridge
483-3330 • raudahusid.is
10 minutes from Selfoss
and Highway 1 in Eyrarbakki
open daily 11:30-22:00
Traveling the south coast or Golden Circle?
Reykjavík
Eyrarbakki
Keavík
International
Airport
Vík