Akureyri

Iceland has about 300,000 people in it.  About 250,000 or so live in Reykjavik.  The second largest "metropolis" is Akureyri with an approximate population of 17,000.

 

Akureyri was our next stop after our horse ride and we enjoyed a pleasant, short drive in nice weather. 

We stayed two nights, mostly so that we could catch a nearby ferry to the arctic (next entry).  But we also enjoyed a nice stay in the city.

It lies near the mouth of Eyjafjorthur (Ay-yuh-fyur-ther) which is a stunning fjord that we ended up getting some good long looks at from either side.  The culture of the city is somewhat like Laguna Beach in the sense that it is both a tourist destination and yet still busy with the activity of real life.  

There is a quaint little downtown area that was especially busy because there was a festival of some kind going on. 

One evening, we caught a little bit of a concert.  The crowd consisted of at least four generations.  Truly a community thing.  It was cool to see so many Icelanders having fun, being totally indifferent to foreign tourists.  I feel like we got a good picture of Icelanders being unguarded.

We stayed in the campsite near the downtown.  It was very crowded due to the festival, but the weather was incredible, as you can see.

This was our first time camping, and we were very disappointed to find that our rented camp stove did not work.  In fact, all the camping gear was of poor quality.  The sleeping bags and tent were like the cheapest, crappiest thing you would by at K-Mart in 1984.  However, we were never cold at night and the tent stayed upright. 

Our second night in Akureyri, Astrithur (who rented us the gear) redeemed herself by overnight flying a new stove that worked. So all we were out was the cost of a couple cheeseburgers... which were about ten dollars a piece and did not include fries or a coke.  :)

The real highlight of Akureyri was the Brynja!  This is a famous Icecream shack that is located in the non-touristy residential district. I got directions from a local and asked him if it was really good, or was this just a thing foreigners did in Akureyri.  He replied, "Let's put it like this: I have lived here my whole life, and I have never even tasted other ice cream.  Why would I, when I have the Brynja." 

It lived up to the hype.  It was delicious and truly unique. I think one of the things that makes everything in Iceland taste so amazing and unique is the water.  The water that they use to make everything is a thousand times better than any other water that I have ever tasted.

The other highlite was the public pools.  I do not have a good picture of the pools, because they make it hard to get a camera in... and it wouldn't feel right.

The official national religion of Iceland is Lutheran, but practically speaking they all belong to the church of public pools.  Every town has one and it functions as a major civic hub.  Each has a large main pool that is the perfect temperature for swimming, along with two or more smaller hot pools, a steam room, and a kiddie play area.  Some of these play areas are quite elaborate with giant slides and fountains and such.

To enter a pool in Iceland you must shower naked, and there are posters that indicate exactly which body parts need to be scrubbed with soap.  Icelanders are utterly unselfconscious about about the nudity.

Stephanie and I hit the pools our first night in the city, and quickly understood the appeal.  It was awesome and relaxing.