Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2019, Side 13

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snacks in a verdant greenhouse
environment. Up the street, the
Flóra Garðyrkjustöð is a garden-
ing nerd’s mecca. Also located in
a greenhouse, it sells plants of all
descriptions, from tough English
ivy in hanging baskets to delicate
fronds of fern, and from giant,
teeming Monstera to sculptural or-
chids. It’s a quite literal breath of
fresh air, and the colours, shapes
and scents of the thriving flora stir
the senses.
Farm to table
We turn inland at Selfoss, taking in
the easterly view over the flatlands
to the snowy peak of Eyjafjalla-
jökull. The car park of the Kerið
crater is packed, so we instead take
a left to the Snæfoksstaðir forest
area. There’s not a soul to be seen
on the walking trails, which mean-
der through some rich woodland,
heathery clearings and fir copses
to a perfect tucked away picnic
spot.
We don’t stop to eat, as tempt-
ing as it is, because we’ve a reser-
vation at the Fríðheimar café. The
tables of this popular lunch stop
are nestled between high walls of
tomato vines, and the bar is over-
grown with creeping tendrils and
broad green leaves. Groups mean-
der around on guided tours of the
facilities, and diners tuck into the
house speciality of fruity and de-
licious farm-to-table tomato soup
and the buffet of freshly-baked
bread. Each table has basil plants
with scissors to trim your own gar-
nish. Bees buzz through the air,
and there’s a quite civilised burble
of conversation. Despite the bus-
tling crowd, Fríðheimar remains a
blissfully restful lunch stop.
All eco everything
Just up the road is the Sólheimar
Ecovillage. This small communi-
ty is home to around 100 people,
many of whom have special needs.
It’s open to the public, with a shop
selling objects made on site, a sec-
ond-hand market, and a café. Calm
radiates through the community,
from the sculpture garden, to the
burbling riverside walking path, to
the friendly smiles of the staff and
residents.
Nearby Flúðir is another geo-
thermally active town that’s open-
ing its doors to the curious public.
The Flúðasveppir mushroom farm
offers a fascinating tour of its ze-
ro-waste facility, with an airy bis-
tro to taste the eye-opening fresh-
ness of their produce first hand.
The nearby Secret Lagoon spa is
glittering in the late afternoon sun
as we arrive. We walk around the
bubbling, sulphurous hot pots and
the thigh-high mini-Geysir before
sinking into the naturally hot water
and letting any last shred of tension
vanish into the ether.
We wend our way back to Rey-
kjavík through the knotty forests of
Þingvellir and the rolling farmlands
of Mosfellsbær, our eyes glowing
from this energising brush with
the Earth’s natural energy—and
everything that mushrooms around
it. Gold may be considered the top
prize, I think to myself; but per-
haps beneath that shiny veneer lies
a bright and sumptuous green.
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“Flóra Garðyrkjustöð sells
plants of all descriptions, from
tough English Ivy to sculptural
orchids. The colours, shapes and
scents of the thriving flora stir
the senses.”