Iceland review - 2015, Síða 87

ICELAND REVIEW 85
Fjarðabyggð is characterized by its picturesque fishing villages.
All are surrounded by the region’s signature steep mountains
and shimmering rich sea, but each also offers something truly
unique to the visitor and has its own individual charm.
The Great Outdoors must surely be the municipality’s biggest
draw, with its guided village walks, its ample ocean and fresh water
fishing, and its excellent hiking trails (including in the Hólmanes
nature reserve), to name just a few.
A little more refined but still outdoors, Fjarðabyggð has three
great golf courses and three of Iceland’s most memorable outdoor
swimming pools, where you can survey the landscape and sea from
the luxury of a hot pot—or try out one of Iceland’s best water slides
at the Neskaupstaður pool.
Fjarðabyggð boasts not only activities and scenery, but also an
impressive array of festivals and cultural events; including metal
music festival Eistnaflug—one of Iceland’s most famous festivals
with international appeal and fans around the globe. Then there’s
Neistaflug, a weekend-long festival early each August which is more
family-friendly but no less vibrant.
Other notable events in the Fjarðabyggð social calendar include:
Hiking Week, the French Days and Occupation Day.
Some of these festivals are a clear nod to Fjarðabyggð’s colorful
history; having been the historical home-from-home of groups of
French and Norwegian fishermen and whalers, and later being at
the heart of Iceland’s surprising Second World War story.
You can chart the municipality’s unusually fascinating story at its
many museums and exhibitions, including: the East Iceland Mar-
itime Museum, the Museum House—three-museums-in-one—in
Neskaupstaður, the Icelandic Wartime Museum in Reyðarfjörður,
or the Museum of French Fishermen in Iceland in the still-heavi-
ly-French-influenced village of Fáskrúðsfjörður.
Fjarðabyggð offers several top-class hotels and restaurants serv-
ing food as good, or better, than you’ll find anywhere in the capital.
And that’s just as well, because Fjarðabyggð is a place where you
can forget time: a place which runs to a different tempo and where
comfortable surroundings and good food make all the difference.
Don’t worry though, in Fjarðabyggð you don’t need to stay in a
hotel to have comfortable surroundings. You can achieve peace and
total relaxation from inside a tent, especially at Mjóifjörður—the
country’s smallest (and cutest) village, harbor and campsite. If nei-
ther appeals, then there are also welcoming farmhouses and quaint
guesthouses on offer.
Wherever you stay, be sure to try some of that excellent food. The
local dried fish and fermented shark must be bought direct from the
producer and are an acquired taste. The lamb, dairy and seafood,
however, always hit the spot!
fjardabyggd.is
The East Iceland municipality of Fjarðabyggð is more than just a
town—it’s actually six towns and villages in some of
the country’s most stunning scenery.
FJORDS AND FREEDOM
From left: Mjóifjörður harbor; Eskifjörður; drying fish in Norðfjörður; Nóntindar mountain in Fjarðardalur.
SPECIAL PROMOTION
THE PEACEFUL EAST