Iceland Part XII: West Bound
My Journey: 66.12 North to Sauðárkrókur, More Museums.
5/1/2024, Wednesday
Woke up at the camp, cleaned up and fixed breakfast.
Our first stop was next to the camp ground. Another little outdoor portion of Mánárbakki Museum. Just a quick photo shoot.
As we headed south to link back up with the Ring Road, we passed back through Húsavík.
We linked up with the Ring Road just as it began to make the pass through the mountains to get to Akureyri.
Our first stop was a thermal stream, that one can bathe in, called Foss. The hot water travels away before cooling off enough, just before going over a fall and into the fjord. You have to park along the dirt road and walk a path to the stream.
There is a little grove of trees and a chair you can use. The water feels great but the current is substantial and the rocks below your feet are constantly moving. It is a neat location, but not the most comfortable bath. Of course, I did this nude.
Skinny Dipping at Foss
Just south of Foss is the Forest Lagoon. We got there just as they were opening. This was one of our earliest starts to our thermal bath experiences.
This one has a very masculine feel to it, and unlike so many others, it is very inward focused with the view intentionally obscured by tees. Instead, their focus is on the mountain side and the surrounding woods. In places, the mountain weeps water from its side and the entrance makes you feel as if you have entered a cave.
It is 5 o’clock somewhere, definitely not here, though.
It may have been early, but by this time I had gotten used to having a drink at the baths. Of course, I tried the cold bath, too.
This one may not have been my favorite, but it offers a very different feel than the others and stands out for its unique look. I really felt like I was at a gay camp in the woods. It was just missing the nude gay men. Well, there was us, but we were not nude so…
Forest Lagoon
On the other side of Eyjafjörður (the Forud), there is a Viking site called Gásir. It is also a site of an annual re-enactment. This site was our next stop.
Gásir
There was not much there to see, but in the past, it was a trading post. I took my quick pics and then we were back on the road. It was going to be a time crunch to get to the VR museum before they close at 4:00.
Gásir
To get to the museum, we had to take yet another mountain pass. So, back into the snow we go.
We stopped at Kakalaskáli, a museum that tells the story of Iceland’s Battle of 1238. It is told through audio and a collection of international art. They opened the museum just for me.
Kakalaskáli
The museum is near Haugsnesbardagi Battle Site and it takes about 45 minutes to complete the museum walk through. This museum does a better job of telling the history than the Battle of 1238 exhibit does.
Just up the road from the art/history museum, is yet another outdoor museum, the Glaumbær Farm & Museum. We did a quick drive by as we were under time constraints.
Glaumbær Farm & Museum
We arrived in the town of Sauðárkrókur where the Battle of 1238 Exhibit is. There is a timeline that tells the story leading up to the battle and a collection of reproduction items to help illustrate the story. The museum has both an augmented reality experience that is played using a pad and is a virtual reality experience. Two of the pads where broken and the interface for the virtual reality was difficult to get used to. I don’t think I killed any one in the battle. In the end, I was disappointed in the experience here.
Lessons Learned and Tips:
Not a fan of the Battle of 1238 Exhibit
Don’t Miss Kakalaskáli