Iceland: ÓLAFSVIK and STYKKISHÓLMUR

Ólafsvík and Stykkishólmur are towns on the North shores of the Snaefellness peninsula. Fishing and tourism drive their economies, they are clean and friendly.

Ólafsvík 

with its 1100 (more or less) is the one closer to Snæfellsjökull glacier and the Gufuskálar radio mast  (412m), the one I talked about in my previous blog.

We hit the town just in time to find accomodation and dinner.

Ólafsvík hotel offered comfortable rooms and a wonderful breakfast. 

And then we dined in a nearby restaurant - sharing 4 different dishes of fish, scallops, mussels and lamb. 
For dessert there was a delicious "blueberry" mousse. 



They juicy blue berries were fruits of Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum, an evergreen shrub that thrives all over Iceland.

After our seriously carnivorous dinner we took a stroll through the quiet town - by the time of our breakfast the next morning most people would be already hard at work.

Soccer is popular here but with everyone at school and work we are treated to only a field of perfectly cut grass.

What surprised us during our trip was the architecture of the churches in, not only in Ólafsvík but in many other Icelandic towns as well. They all were modern and different from each other. I could hardly imagine such small communities elsewhere having such creative architecture. Several companies realized just that and they are now offering tours of the churches of Iceland who like to study both, the architecture and history of this country.

Iceland accepted Christianity in the 11th century and the way it was done is an interesting story - but later about that.

Ólafsvík is facing the ocean but its backyard boasts a very nice waterfall well worth to hiking to.

The morning of our walk was misty with a hint of rain.

More water. Water in the ocean, water in the fields, water in the clouds.

Water everywhere.

Consider that a blessing.

Stykkishólmur

Drive east from Ólafsvík and soon there will be another town of a thousand souls :

It is a good-bye to Snaefellsnes for us - to these travelling in the opposite direction it would be a gateway to the park..

Though about the same size as Ólafsvík,  Stykkishólmur seemed larger to us. Perhaps it was because the town is economically more diversified - it did serve as a trading post as early as in 1500s and it still continues to be the center of business for the farmers, visitors and fishermen until this day.

Just when we got to the harbour one of the boats was coming in to unload its cargo of ....what? 

Containers loaded with what looked like farmed mussels .... perhaps that's where our last night's dinner came from?

Nearby the port we found the most creative sign!

It makes me smile each and every time I see it. 

And a coffee house that was packed to the seams. We had to take off in search for another one.

Not a huge task - this town seemed to thrive on tourism - even in September.

The local architecture reminds people of Canadian Maritimes - small houses, well kept and brightly painted to make the rain-loaded clouds look more acceptable. Some of us could not wish for a better light! Well, here I am talking just about myself.

Norska húsið 

(the Norwegian House) 
is a striking building that hosts a museum dedicated to the local culture.

Retired? Having nothing much to do? 

Build a museum!

That's what apparently a volcanology professor has done.

We doubt that he had nothing to do - it must have been the passion for the subject that led to this .

After all - where else but in Iceland

can one find so many volcanic features close to home.

The church (for 1,000 people?) surveys the town from the tallest hill.

This time we managed to venture in - it is of a simple design with a very large pipe organ and hundreds of gentle light-drops seemingly falling down from the ceiling. 

All this elegance is crowned by, what to me, is the most beautiful rendition of Madonna with a Child ..... note her Scandinavian appearance. 

She seems to be floating amidst the Aurora borealis in the dark Icelandic sky. 

Here, on the hill and hugging the cold boulders, we found many wild plants. 

Amongst them beautiful clumps of (what I hope to have identified correctly) the Upright Lousewort, Pedicularis flammea. 

They are low-growing, parasitic plants that attach to the roots of their neighbours. A smart way to make a living in a wind-swept tundra.

One last look before we leave Snaefellsnes and we are off to explore the North of Iceland.