The next video is out and available to watch here. In this one, we drive around Akureyri on a drizzly day. One of the things I wanted to see here were the heart-shaped stoplights. Unfortunately, the city is planning to remove them. We hope they’ll keep at least one as a memento because the lights added so much charm and hospitality to the town.
We first intended to visit Akureyrarkirkja, the Akureyri church. The church boasts stained glass from England, a bas relief balcony, a marble baptismal font, and a 3200 pipe organ. However, when we went, there was a funeral in progress. So, we did what anyone does in Iceland in winter and went to the outdoor botanical garden.
The Akureyri Botanical Gardens was beautiful, even in early winter. Some plants were still blooming and growing, and green peeked through the snow. We saw birds and art in the garden, as well. While we were there, we stopped into Lyst, the café in the gardens. With cozy seating, bathrooms, and a delicious selection of beverages and snacks, Lyst was a much needed rest stop on our walk. We had the most decadent, but barely sweet, hot cocoa. Rich and creamy, but without being too sugary, the hot chocolate is a must try. We paired it with croissants while we watched the rain fall outside. The garden is free and open year round.
Next, we went to the Akureyri Museum, which is actually a lot of museums for one price. We just walked around the outdoor portion for awhile as we waited for our hotel check in time. This day was towards the end of our trip, and we were starting to get pretty worn out. I had planned a day in Akureyri to rest up and relax, so that is mostly what we did!
We went to the downtown area and visited a bookstore, a disappointing yarn store that I won’t link, and we got dinner from Malik Kebab which was really reasonable and very tasty. It is a great area to just walk around and enjoy the European charm. In the video, you can see the Trash Monsters created by artist Jonna Jónborg Sigurðardóttir. Trash bins around the town are decorated as muppet-style monsters. I loved the unique outdoor art in Iceland.
We stayed at Hotel Akureyri which was really convenient to the downtown area. Our room was in the Dynheimar building, orignally Iceland’s very first movie theater. They’ve embraced that history in the decor, too. Every room had a movie quote outside, and the lobby and hallways were packed with movie posters, a tv playing a classic movie, and all kinds of memorabilia. All of it had a lot of vintage charm. In the rooms, you got a guitar also! That was really fun and a unique addition to the stay. The bathroom was huge and accessible, too. I really enjoyed this hotel for the décor and the location. It had laundry facilities, a bar, restaurant, activity area, and more.
Thus we end Day 8 of our adventure. In the next set of videos, we will travel across snowy mountains in the north, see the location of Iceland’s last execution, and end up at the Snorrastofa. Happy adventuring!