Within the small town of Hólar in northern Iceland, Nýibær provides visitors with a glimpse of the past. Public access to this historic turf house allows one to see what rural Icelandic life was like in the past and it really is cool to see!
Category: Iceland
If you’re traveling through the small town of Hólar in northern Iceland, you should stop by the the Auðunnarstofa or Auðun’s House. This is a replica of an ancient Icelandic house serves today as the Hólar Bishop’s Office.
Hólar, Iceland is a small little town in the northern part of the country that has so much history and drama within its walls. No stories are probably more dramatic than that of Bishop Jón Arason, the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland.
Nestled within the small town of Hólar, Iceland, you can find the Hólar Cathedral. As part of the Church of Iceland, the Hólar Cathedral is the official church of the Bishop of Hólar and is the latest of a long line of historic churches.
Situated in northern Iceland about an hour and a half drive west of Akureyri, is the old “capital of the north”, Hólar, Iceland. This tiny town, which today has a population of about 100 people, was once the religious center of Iceland and served as its northern capital for over 700 years. Today, to those curious travelers, it serves as a window into the past and there is so much to see.
Northern Iceland is a dream for the adventurous traveler (well, really Iceland as a whole, to be honest!). The Hverfjall crater, or Hverfjall volcano, in northern Iceland gives people the chance to walk the rim of an ancient volcano. It is one of the best preserved ancient volcanoes you can see today. Walking the rim of this huge crater gives visitors a sense of the immense size and dramatic explosion that must have occured when the crater was created between 2,500 and 2,900 years ago.
Dimmuborgir is one of Iceland’s most well-known tourist attractions. The interesting formations, the walkable paths, the close proximity between the lava fields, Lake Mývatn, and the Hverfjall volcanic crater, and the fact that it was featured prominently as part of the lands beyond the wall in Season 3 of Game of Thrones make it a must see destination if you ever find yourself in the northern part of the country.
With Christmas quickly approaching, I decided to visit the old folktales of Grýla and Leppalúði that harkens from the frozen lands of Iceland. Here in the States, naughty children receive the threat of coal from Santa, but in Iceland, naughty children might be used as the main ingredient in a winter soup! If you are still unafraid after reading this, you can visit Grýla and Leppalúði in person on the streets of Akureyri in northern Iceland. But for now, read along to learn about Grýla, Leppalúði, their Yule cat, and the Yule Lads.
When visiting Iceland, we were excited about the thermal springs everywhere. Everyone has heard of the Blue Lagoon located southwest of Reykjavik for obvious reasons, it is a stunning facility where, as a guest, you are pampered. But not many people have heard of the Hveravellir thermal springs. My husband and I (fiance at the time) were looking for something a little less formal. We wanted to go straight into the ground. No finesse, no spa, just pure thermal springs and us. Hveravellir did not disappoint did not disappoint.