Plan B today as we had a private tour booked to tour the Diamond Circle area with the famous waterfalls, Lake Myvatn, hot springs and more which was canceled due to “operational issues.” Yeah, right. We’re betting the tour company took cruise excursions and didn’t have anybody left to guide us. Oh well, as I said Plan B – we’re just going to stay in town and hit the highlights here.
Off the ship by 9:30, we meander through the pier and harbor area, enjoying the relative cool and the buildings all around us which are completely different architecture than we’ve seen so far. Because of the fire danger here – the number of fires that destroyed the wooden structures in the early 1900s – buildings were constructed in concrete beginning in 1927 which you can see in the houses and commercial buildings all around the harbor. Circling around the waterfront, we head into town proper, walking down Hafnarstraeti, a pedestrian street in this area, until we get to the Akureyrakirkja sitting high up on the hill overlooking the city. The views up here are great, looking back down to the harbor – but the church is closed for a funeral, so we don’t have an opportunity to visit the interior.
Moving on, we pass the Rainbow staircase on our way to the Akureyri Botanical Gardens, Lystigardurinn, one of the world’s Northernmost with over 430 native species and thousands of international plants. On our way up the long sloping hill, we begin to see the old wooden houses typical of Iceland – white wood siding, red corrugated roofs – as well as some great statues (up here and also down by the water). The gardens themselves, while small, are gorgeous with all sorts of pretty flowers and green luscious plants. It’s a lovely way to spend time just wandering through nature.
Taking a break, we stop at LYST, the onsite restaurant, for more expensive cappuccino (hey, what are you going to do?), then strike out again exploring the rest of gardens on our way downhill. collages
Our next destination, the Akureyri Museum, is located at the far end of the town encompassing 4 buildings – the museum itself, the museum church, Nonni’s house and the Toy Museum. We’ve got our morning and afternoon cut out for us! The main museum is totally interesting with two whole rooms dedicated to old maps that a German couple who fell in love with Iceland collected throughout their lives. Besides the traditional old drawings, there is a map that was part of a deck of cards, a secret map and a map that depicts a bad day at work. Some dating back to the 1500s. A very fun and interesting collection to study.
Upstairs there is an entire room set up as a club, filled with memorabilia from the club life in 1960’s – outfits, musical instruments, cocktail tables made to look like Vinyl records. There is also a really cute display about a band called Bravo, made up entirely of kids – the oldest was 13! – who opened for the Kinks at 8 shows in Reykjavik. The best story about their 10 minutes of fame was that they stayed in the best hotel suite and could have all the Coca Cola they could drink from the minibar…that is until the event manager asked them to ease up on the Coke as it was too expensive!
Another room holds a brief history of Akureyri, along with life sized depictions of different rooms in typical old houses, retail establishments and commercial endeavors like the fishing industry. There are also miscellaneous transport items like skis and a sleigh, plus a really fascinating exhibit on Ash Wednesday. Totally different here, Ash Wednesday was a favorite holiday for children because they got to dress up in the most colorful costumes and take part in a ritual of beating a cat out of a barrel. Don’t ask. Some of the kids’ photos are just priceless. The final display provides a history of the oldest residential homes, first built in 1777 – some of which still exist today (which we will see later).
Moving on out to Nonni’s house, we find that this isn’t called Grandfather’s house as we thought (yeah, we know, that’s Italian, but you know, immigrants), but the home of the author called Nonni (the pen name of the reverend Jon Sveinnson). Sent away to Catholic school at age 11 after the death of his father, the boat trip to Copenhagen inspired him to write his first book “Nonni” some 20 years later. That book became so popular, he continued on and wrote an additional 12 books, known as the Nonni-books. Originally in German, the books have been translated into many languages and even made into a TV series. The house has all the old original furniture and is configured much as it would have been in the late 1800s and early 1900s, including a very small sleeping attic on the 2nd floor with 3 rooms where Nonni, his brother Manni (who was an artist) and his other siblings slept.
Exiting Nonni’s house, we head over to the museum church, sitting on the site of the very first church ever built in Akureryri in 1862. The original old church was deconsecrated and torn down in 1942, allowing this church, built in 1846 to be moved here from a farm east of Eyjafjordur in 1970 specifically for the museum. The back tar exterior is typical of Iceland construction; the austere inside reminiscent of early settler days. One really amazing tidbit: just the day before we visited, the guest book was signed by the great grandchild – who lives in Victoria BC Canada – of a couple who was married in the church at the original location in 1889 visited. How cool is that?
Walking over to the Toy Museum, we pass by this amazing 1958 Jeep parked on the side of the road. In incredible condition, with the original price sticker on the window.
Then enter into a diaspora of all things toys. From those cute Troll dolls I used to collect in the 70’s to baby dolls in their cribs and carriages to stuffed animals and rocking horses to Smurfs – it is this totally eclectic collection of toys that one woman started and the entire community here then began to pitch in and bring her toys. Plus, upstairs is a Memorial room for the Good Templars who donated the house to the town of Akureyri in 2009. Interesting and weird in juxtaposition to all the toys in each room abutting the memorial, but that’s what donating a house will get you here in Akureyri!
Heading back into town, the sights just keep on intriguing us. There are a whole series of what are called Garbage creatures or trash creatures attached to light posts all through town. The “hungry” creatures are knitted sculptures by an artist who reuses all kinds of woolen fabrics and materials to create these creatures. It is said that they make people happy and accept trash because they are always hungry. Wacky – and fun – to the extreme! Collage
We also pass by lots of the old, original homes here in town that were built in wood, but then clad with slate and corrugated iron to protect from fire hazards as well as the oldest house in Akureyri – the Laxdalshus – originally a merchant’s home built in 1795. There is a lovely wooden waterfall in a small park that marks the beginning of the commercial area of town proper, and many of the old timber houses line the street as we make our way back to Hafnarstraeti for our lunch.
Pylsur on the menu, thank you! The traditional local hot dog made from local, fresh lamb meat, served on a bun with “everything” – raw onions, fried onions, mustard, ketchup and remoulade sauce. Totally yummy – and the only affordable thing to eat in this country at $6 USD each! We’re eating at an outdoor foodstand (which is typically how Pylsur is purchased and eaten, with tables that have these cute little hot dog holders so you can put your Pylsur down while you sip on your beverage or just chat and hang out.
Lunch handled, we move on to the Akureyri Art Museum – appropriately located on what is called “Art Street” – for some great modern art. Most of which, as per usual, we can’t take photos. But there are some exhibits where we can – like the really interesting 3D art that incorporates string and rocks into a painted canvas on the wall, an old 3D photo viewer, some really wild visual effects with something being moved about in water, reminiscent of smoke, and some wonderful pottery from an artist named Margret Jonsdottir who still creates pottery today. On the 40th year of her career, the Art Museum asked the public to lend their ceramic pieces made by Margret for a retrospective exhibition which they have placed on the bottom floor of the exhibit, using lights and sound effects to represent water and ocean, like the waves are washing the pottery pieces ashore. Great exhibits.
Explorations done, we head back to the ship, stopping to enjoy the beautiful flowers, a view of the church bells (which are really different out in the open on top of the roof), and various other sculptures along the way and trying in vain to find Margret’s pottery studio which is purportedly right by the ship. We think it was a building on the corner that was only open on the weekend – foiled, we just headed back to the ship to prepare for our busy evening aboard.
Yes, because tonight is Azamazing Evening, except it is onboard so it isn’t really Azamazing, it is more Destination Celebration, and even that doesn’t live up to its name really. The celebration is a show called Land of Fire and Ice featuring Greta Salome, an international recording artist originally from Iceland who has twice represented Iceland in the The Eurovision Song Contest. A violinist, she puts on a fabulous show – interspersed with information about Iceland and shows she has done with children’s choirs in the past to reflect the Icelandic heritage. But honestly? It might as well have been a fly-on act. We started calling it Az-NOT-amazing. Nice show, but nothing like the Azamazing evenings of old. Big huge disappointed sigh.
The highlight of the night though is later in the Living Room where we have Creweoke! Yay! Our fab room steward from the Quest a few sailings back, Gede, who is now the cabin steward supervisor (yay!) is singing – and he’s always excellent! Plus Kirschner, one of the bar servers who is the embodiment of Freddy Mercury – if you close your eyes, you think it’s Freddy resurrected from the dead singing his heart out to you. Fabulous.
And then it is onto the balcony where we watch the gorgeous scenery as we sail out of the fjord and on our away around the island to Isafjordur tomorrow. Perfect end to a lovely day.
Andiamo 