Iceland: The North - AKUREYRI

We are headed for Akureyri - the town of nearly 18,000.
We should really call it a city instead of  "town" because it is hailed as Iceland's second most important settlement with the largest shipyard in the country.

Akureyri is located just a proverbial stone throw away from the Arctic Circle, yet, thanks to warmer ocean currents, Akureyri reportedly enjoys bearable weather the year round.

It is settled by the west end of Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in Iceland and the scenery is beautiful.

Snow-capped mountain ridges reflecting in the cold water and hemmed by the green pastures of early September amount for the unforgettable drive.

And here we are:

 

The first settlers arrived at the end of the 9th century (890) and it took a long while to establish a trading post in this location. The year was 1602. With trading comes permanent population and by the beginning of the 20th century there were 1,400 permanent residents in Akureyri. 

Things don't happen hastily by the Arctic circle.

Give another century  and Akureyri of 2015 is thriving.
In addition to a University (since 1987), several museums and the botanical gardens there is an interesting downtown with a huge bookstore and many welcoming cafes.
There is also an airport (mostly domestic or to nearby islands including Greenland ).

There are many ways how to get around - one can:

 drive up the hill (like we did)  

walk (like we also did) or  

cycle up the hill (like they do - it hurts just looking at them);  

skateboard down the hill (it hurts too imagining what it would be like for us). 

In any case, this town is worthwhile exploring either way - especially on a nice September day.

We are finding Akureyri to be very artistic; love this pedestrian crossing and the colourful footmarks leading to it.

We are also admiring the wall art - instead of atrocious messages there are true works of art well  worth the look.

             

Downtown of Akureyri is colourful, clean ad visitor-friendly.

And there are MANY places to visit and explore.

All one has to do is read - and understand!

Isn't this the best part of travel adventures?
It seems that the young lady in the picture came well prepared.














A really elegant place to rest the weary legs and calm the growling stomachs is in the centre of the old town ...very friendly and relaxing. Being a tourist in Akureyri is not bad at all .....

No need for selfies in a town like this!

Yup - we are really, really close - welcome to the Arctic.
There is an interesting medical phenomenon called
Akureyri disease and we wonder if it has anything to do with the darkness of the winter ... though they blame it on poliomyelitis.

Flowers abound in this sub polar city - and though we did not find the church open and did not have time to visit the botanical gardens we had a time to remember for the rest of our days.