Skagafjordur, Iceland: Vidimyri Turf Church

"I have to mow the roof today."

There's a sentence that isn't typed very often. It could apply to the Vidimyri Turf Church, located in North Iceland in the village of Skagafjordur - although the logistics of doing it are beyond my lawn mower's capabilities.

Supposedly there has been a church on this site for about 1,000 years. This one was built in 1834, and is considered such a important historical structure that it is maintained by the National Museum of Iceland. There is a altar inside, with items that date back 400 years, and pews are there for worshipers. A crowd of a couple of dozen people just about fills it.

Visitors can take a walk into the place and also see the grounds. They often wonder - "why turf?" Wood was often in short supply in Iceland, so the the grass filled in the gaps of a roof constructed with driftwood. There are about six such churches in the country.

 

Hvammstangi, Iceland: Icelandic Seal Center

Care for a crash course on seals in Iceland? This is the place.

The Icelandic Seal Center is a nonprofit organization that helps seals in the Northwest Iceland area. There's a relatively short film about seals, as well as a couple of rooms of exhibits and the mandatory gift shop. Proceeds from the museum go to the organization's work, which seems like a good cause.

There's a restaurant above the museum, and tour buses apparently stop there on their way through the area. We gained free admission that way (at least, sort of free as the tour company no doubt paid something). The town of Havammstangi is small (580 people) but rather charming thanks to a nice harbor.

Bifrost, Iceland: Grabrok Crater

This ranks rather high on anyone's cool attractions list. How often do you get to walk around the rim of a dormant fissure volcano?

Bifrost offers that chance. Grabok is only a few thousand years old, and hasn't blown its top in a while. After a climb of some stairs - not too bad - you reach the top. There you can stroll around the rim and see the countryside, which includes a couple of other small volcanoes of the same type. It's maybe a quarter-mile around, perhaps a little more.

Someone's drone allows us to take a look at the area from above:



Grabok is located just off the Ring Road (Highway 1) on the West Coast of Iceland. 

Reykjavik, Iceland: Perlan

You have to give the city fathers of Reykjavik credit. They sure know how to make a water tower multi-functional.

This is Perlan, sitting on a hill overlooking the domestic airport and the rest of the city. Yes, it holds water in its tanks, and the location has been used that way for decades. But in 1991, the place was updated.

The first floor has some open space, and has been used for concerts and conference center. When we visited, people were voting there for the Presidential election - so it can serve as a polling place. On the fourth floor is a cafeteria, souvenir stop, Christmas store, and observation desk. You can get 360 degrees of views from the city up there. Then on the fifth floor is a high-quality (read expensive) restaurant. Put it this way - President Clinton hosted a function there during his time in office; the thank-you note from Hillary Clinton to the chef is on display.

There's also a little public art outside the entrance just to round it out. You can drive up the hill to enter, or you can take a nice walk from the airport area.

Reykjavik, Iceland: Jon Sigurdsson Statue

Tourists stumble across this impressive statue across from Reykjavik's City Hall. They must assume he was a pretty important person.

Sure enough, Jon Sigurdsson Forseti qualifies.

Back in the 19th century, Sigurdsson was the unofficial leader of Iceland's independence movement. He helped the area win some concessions from Denmark. Sigurdsson was pretty moderate as these things go, attacking the project with reason and good sense.

As a result, his memory is well preserved to this day. He's on the 500-kroner bank note for that reason, and he's been on several stamps. Sigurdsson's birthday of June 17 was picked to celebrate Iceland's national holiday.

Reykjavik, Iceland: City Hall

Most City Halls are majestic buildings that are big and tall and radiate power. Reykjavik's is, well, different. But no less nice.

One of the entrances, as you can see is particularly interesting. Another on the street features a pond and fountain; someone was shooting a movie or commercial when we walked by.

It's a typical City Hall in terms of usage. However, it does house a large 3-D relief map of the country. We were disappointed upon discovering that the map had been loaned out to another location for exhibit. Oh well, maybe next time.