Iceland review - 2013, Page 46

Spell
44 ICELAND REVIEW
There is something about this town and its
community that gets people hooked. “Many
people come here and immediately start try-
ing to find an excuse to stay,” our host, manager of
Hotel Aldan Ríkey Kristjánsdóttir, says in explanation of
Seyðisfjörður’s growing popularity among artists.
It’s something we would hear again and again during
our stay.
Áslaug, the photographer, and I arrive in early
November, a week after a storm threw a blanket of thick
snow over the fjord. Large piles of snow border the streets
and the highland pass that winds down into Seyðisfjörður.
Nestled in the long and deep fjord of the same name—a dramatic setting sur-
rounded on all sides by 1,000-meter-plus high mountains—Seyðisfjörður easily
lives up to its reputation as one of Iceland’s most picturesque towns.
In winter the fjord is quiet and the subzero temperatures add to the calmness
by hushing the otherwise tumbling waterfalls. Once a week, the hum of the
Norræna ferry breaks the silence on its arrival to Seyðisfjörður, the closest harbor
to mainland Europe. Trucks queue to load and unload goods before driving the
30 kilometers over the winding Fjarðarheiði mountain pass to Egilsstaðir, the
largest town in East Iceland and its main service, transportation and administra-
tion center. In winter, it’s mostly machinery and other goods which arrive, and
fish that is carried back on the ferry to Europe, providing an important lifeline
for the 660-strong community and the entire region.
At a distance of over
700 kilometers from
Reykjavík, the town of
Seyðisfjörður, tucked
in the East Fjords,
seems a world away.
Its natural beauty,
tight-knit community
and vibrant art scene
attract creative souls
from all corners.  
By Zoë roBErt
PHoToS By áSlaug Snorradóttir
oF seyðisFjörður