Reykjavík Grapevine - ágú. 2020, Blaðsíða 29

A Day In The 900
Food, folks, and fulmars in the Westman Islands
In a country already known for its iso-
lation and dazzling nature, the West-
man Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) still
manage to feel especially far-flung.
The archipelago shines bright under its
green summer cloak, while grey sea-
birds called fulmars twirl and dance
effortlessly through the gale, some of
them soaring right alongside the ferry,
which journeys daily from Landey-
jahöfn to Heimaey, the largest island
and home to the Westmans’ only town.
On the final approach to the har-
bour, the bright greens contrast stark-
ly with the vibrant coppery and tawny
browns of the cliffs flanking the har-
bour. My travel companion, Grapevine
photographer Art Bicnick, has been to
Heimaey numerous times and puts it
quite aptly: “When the sun is out here,
it looks like somewhere in the Carib-
bean.”
Lunch & learning
After the early morning, two-hour
drive and forty-minute ferry ride to
reach Heimaey, a good, substantial
lunch is in order. Enter Gott. One of
the Islands’ best-known eateries, its
owners make all sauces, stews, soups,
bread, and cakes on site from local in-
gredients with great care. The cauli-
flower burger makes for a filling, but
refreshing lunch, stuffed with a mix-
ture of cauliflower, avocado, quinoa,
and tomatoes, held together with fluffy
mashed sweet potatoes and served
with a side of small potatoes baked to
absolute perfection.
With body and mind reenergized,
it’s off to the Sagnheimar Folk Muse-
um, which features exhibits on many
surprising and peculiar episodes of
the Islands’ history: for example, the
importance of the annual festival, its
1627 invasion by Ottoman pirates, its
numerous inhabitants who converted
to Mormonism and emigrated to Utah,
puffin hunting traditions of yore (now
largely abandoned), the 1973 eruption
that saw the evacuation of all island-
ers for several months, and the numer-
ous locals who represented Iceland
in the 1936 Olympics. Museum cura-
tor Hör!ur Baldvinsson gestures to a
notebook on the wall belonging to one
of the athletes, filled with handwritten
notes on its pages. “[He] was friends
with Jesse Owens, who left him a note
in this memory book of his,” he ex-
plains. “We got it from his family.”
Puffins & plant-based
After having amply experienced the is-
land’s gastronomy and history, it’s time
for some nature as a digestif. Thielittle
peninsula of Stórhöf!i winds outward
from Heimaey’s southern tip in a sinu-
ous semicircle, and is home to vibrant
seabird colonies. Fulmars, kittiwakes,
guillemots, Iceland gulls, and gannets
all nest in great numbers here, but of
course the Atlantic puffins, whose larg-
est colony in the world can be found on
this island, are the stars of the show.
They flutter swiftly in all directions,
propelling themselves with continuous
beats of their long, skinny wings, fer-
rying catches of eels in their dazzlingly
multicolored bills back and forth to
their burrows to feed their young, who
according to Hör!ur, will probably be
fledging in the next week or so.
While the puffins relish their catch,
we instead opt for mid-afternoon
drinks at the Brothers Brewery. A wide
selection of beers is on offer, with
something on the menu for all tastes,
from fruity IPAs to hearty lagers. One
of the most notable drinks on the menu
is the Óskar imperial stout, a strong
brew with a hint of almond that gives
it an almost coffee-like taste, the lat-
est in a long-running series of annual
house brews named after local sailors.
The day ends with dinner at Éta,
a burger restaurant newly opened by
the owner of Slippurinn just across the
street. Boasting a crisply cooked bean
patty topped with generous quanti-
ties of pickled onions, served along-
side cauliflower buffalo wings cooked
to perfection, the vegan burger combo
makes for a satisfying, filling, and deli-
cious end to the day.
29The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06— 2020
Words:
Nico Borbely
Photos:
Art Bicnick
Guide
Walter Mitty could never
"[Puffins] flutter
swiftly in all di-
rections, propel-
ling themselves
with continuous
beats of their
long, skinny
wings.”
Travel distance
from Reykjavík:
150 km
Car provided by:
!ocarrental.is
Ferry provided by:
herjolfur.is