I & I - 2011, Page 31

31I&I
Helgafellssveit in Snaefellsnes, 63;
Snorradalshreppur, also in West Iceland, 61;
Tjörnes, just north of Húsavík in North-East
Iceland, 56: and, with the smallest popula-
tion, Árnesshreppur in the West Fjords, 50.
Reykjavík is by far the most populous, with
118,326, followed by Kópavogur with 30,357
and Hafnarfjördur with 25,913, both in the
capital region. Next is Akureyri, North Iceland,
with a population of 17,573, and number five
is Keflavík, with its 14,091 inhabitants, 50 km /
30 miles west of the capital.

There are 76 municipalities
in Iceland, and by far the
largest, Fljótsdalshérad,
population 89, covers nine
percent of the republic. Only
four other municipalities
have fewer people:
Head counting
with the snowmobile. Whether diving, ski-
ing, horseback riding, jeeping, hiking or sea
angling is your thing, Eyjafjördur can meet
your needs. Cultural happenings are also
plentiful, most notably in the new concert
and culture center Hof by Pollurinn, the
placid seaside of the region’s hub, Akureyri.
The town boasts a variety of fine-dining
restaurants, including Hof’s 1862 Nordic
Bistro. Try anything with the sheep sorrel
dressing. And one thing must not be for-
gotten in between all the wild adventures
and/or museum hopping: to soak in one
of the region’s many swimming pools. The
rural pools at Hrafnagil and Thelamörk are
particularly good for draining away the
stress and relaxing stiff muscles.
While tanning in the Eyjafjördur sun in the
paddling pool at Thelamörk and breathing
in the smells of the surrounding country-
side, my stomach started rumbling and my
thoughts drifted back to the blue mussels.
They offered us a doggy bag… why didn’t I
accept it? sagatravel.is; northiceland.is
By Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
From left to right: Skiing at Mt. Hlídarfjall;
Akureyri town center on a sunny day; Akureyri’s
new culture center Hof; the blue mussels of
Hrísey; the stately countryside church at Grund;
the Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum in
Svalbardsströnd.