Reykjavík Off The Beaten Path

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A Settlement Age farm was found in Garðabær in 1986. It is a Viking long-house dating back to ca 870-930, and an unusually big one, 8 x 30 m, which is the second largest long-house found in Iceland. We don´t know who lived here, this was the land of Reykjavík´s first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, but it looks like a wealthy farmer lived here. It is believed that 20-30 people lived at the farm. An unusual broach was found here, pins, knives and instruments.

One can see the ruins of a long central fireplace, which were typical in these long-houses. There are remains of a weaving room, and many spindle whorls and loom-weights were found here. All cloth was woven in this way back then and during the Middle-Ages in Iceland woven cloth was the biggest export in Iceland.

There is also a pantry here. And 2 boling holes were found filled with burnt animal bones from sheep, pigs, cattle and horses. It was last used in the 10th-11th century. What is unusual about these boiling holes is that they were outside, but usually they were inside. I wonder why.

There are also remains of a pantry here and a smithy.

The Settlement Age Farm was discovered in 1986 when a kindergarten was to be built here. In 1989 further excavation was done and from 1994-2000 some serious excavation was done, supervised by The National Museum. That should have been done earlier, but we Icelanders didn´t think much of these Viking remnants in earlier days. Now a multimedia exhibition has been installed there with very good information on the Settlement Age farm - thanks to Garðabær town. To me the Settlement Age farm is the jewel in the crown of Garðabær town - which is located between Kópavogur (next town to Reykjavík) and Hafnarfjörður.

The Settlement Age farm is always open and there is no entrance fee. It looks like a small park. There are turf walls around it, which were erected later on to show the outer limits of the farm.

This is so interesting, a Settlement Age farm kind of hidden away between the houses and church here in Garðabær. I know that many Icelanders don´t even know that it exist. I stumbled into it on my way to Hafnarfjörður back in 1994+. Back then I had to take 14 years off traveling and my trips consisted of walking from Reykjavík to Hafnarfjörður and back.

Behind Vídalínskirkja church and the shopping complex Garðatorg. Bus no 1 stops on the main road. Walk east towards Garðatorg and turn left.

I have the same tip under my Hafnarfjörður pages, as that is the nearest town to Garðabær - but I fear that this info is kind of lost there, as not many people look up Hafnarfjörður when they want information on Iceland.

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Reykjadalur valley is a beautiful place north of Reykjavík. It is located in Mosfellsbær village and is very dear to me as there my Aunt lives so I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up. I have got so many relatives in Varmárdalur :) My grand-parents owned a summer cottage there when Reykjadalur used to be so far from Reykjavík. It has changed since I was small, Reykjavík has spread, and there are a lot more houses now than there used to be in Mosfellsbær. At one point Reykjavík and Mosfellsbær almost touch each other, that is how much Reykjavík has spread. The inhabitants of Mosfellsbær were 8.631 in 2012.

When I go for a walk there I start by the small waterfall by Álafoss (see my tip) and follow the river Varmá by the woods. I love this walk as it seems like one is alone in the woods even though there are a lot of houses there close by. Reykjadalur is a geothermal area, thus the name "Varmá" which means Hot river. And there are some eels in it, thus the name "Álafoss" which means The falls of the eels. You will then walk past a heating-utility (see my last photo) as this hot geothermal water was used for heating houses and a geothermal swimming pool was also built here.

After walking through the small woods there you arrive by the rehabilitation hospital Reykjalundur and can enjoy their big lawn. This hike is not long - so I usually go back to the main road and walk upto Reykir where I have relatives as well and I visit my cousins on the way to there. By Reykir there is a farmer who sells vegetables at certain times of the week.

There are lovely houses in Reykjadalur and they stand side by side, we call them the Canadian houses, as they come almost ready made from Canada :) One of my relatives lives in one of these houses.

Reykjadalur is north of Reykjavík and can be reached by bus 15 how to get to Reykjadalur by bus

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There was an area between Lagavegur and Hverfisgata which was covered in pretty artistic graffiti. It is allowed to graffiti here in the hope it will cut down graffiti elsewhere. There was music here and people were dancing. There were also kids skateboarding ad playing on scooters. One man was painting over a vast area of graffiti to create a blank wall to graffiti again, so I guess the 'decor' is always changing. A place to sit and relax or people watch.

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There is a lovely walk in Grafarvogur bay which takes you along the seashore in the north - and into Mosfellsbær village if one wants to walk this far north.

On a sunny day it is so relaxing walking here with the view of Mt. Esja, watching the seals - there are always some inquisitive seals here. They will follow you and get very close to you while you walk there, especially if you stop and catch their attention. I have had a seal coming almost up to the shore and then following me until I turned away from the shore. It is quite lovely :) It is believed that they hang out here because of the salmon in the rivers Korpa and Elliðaár river. The place is called Leirvogur bay, where you can find the seals.

There are golf-courses here above the path and I am always a little scared of being hit by a golf ball. And I have found several golf-balls on the shore...

By Geldinarnes island one can see people kayaking. And by Mt. Úlfarsfell one can see people gliding.

45% of Grafarvogur is nature - so there are many lovely walks here - but I especially like this walk.

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I don´t know if this can be added under "off the beaten path" as so many people visit Grótta, but I add this here as this area belongs to Seltjarnarnes, which is the town adjacent to Reykjavík in the west, although one has to be a native to know where Reykjavík ends and Seltjarnarnes begins. I refer to my tip on Grótta.

By the ocean just before you enter the parking lot by Grótta there is a small round geothermal hot-tub on the shore just by the ocean. It is quite surreal taking a foot-bath there, the water is hot and so nice and the ocean is just beside you. And the view of the bay and the mountains and Grótta is ever so nice. I highly recommend it.

In October and November in 2011 Iceland has a special happening so to speak, to welcome foreigners to Iceland. One of the events was that one of our ministers invited foreigners to take a foot-bath with her in the hot-tub.

The hot-tub is behind the shed called Hjallurinn, and there you will also find a bench, a drinking fountain, an anchor and an information video of the flora and fauna on the shore.

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The salmon river Elliðaár is situated in East-Reykjavík in Elliðaárdalur and originates in Bláfjöll-mountains and runs to the Elliðavatn-lake in Heiðmörk (a beautiful big nature reserve area east of Reykjavík). There are two rivers, the big salmon river and another smaller one with 2 waterfalls but no fishing. You can buy a fishing permits from The Angling club of Reykjavík (Stangaveiðifélag Reykjavíkur) which leases the river. Elliðaár is ca 5 kilometres long counting from the dam and to the ocean, with the ocean being only a few metres from Sjávarfoss-waterfall (see my first photo). The angling season is from the middle of June - the middle of September and there are 4-6 rods allowed per day and 936 salmons were caught in Elliðaár last year (2007). Angling is a very popular sport in Iceland, and there are quite a few lakes and rivers where you can buy permits and go angling near Reykjavík or around Iceland. I add the website for The Angling club of Reykjavík.

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One of the most amazing places I have ever been was Jokulsarlon, the Glacier Lagoon.

Located just off the highway in South Eastern Iceland, it is such a bizarre sight when you first see an Iceberg sticking up over the black sand dunes by the road side!

The lagoon is over 200 metres deep and has a small river flowing from it into the nearby ocean. Filled with icebergs, it is a very special place! There is a colony of seals that live here and we were lucky enough to see one doing some fishing close to the mouth of the lagoon.

Jokulsarlon has been used as a filming locations in a few well known movies in recent years, including 2 James Bond movies and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Besides just looking at the lagoon, you can also go on it - in an amphibious (wheeled) boat. It costs around 2,000 kroner and the trip takes 40 minutes (first departure was at 10am) You board the strange looking car/boat just near the visitors centre, and it then trundles along the road for a couple of hundred metres, before plunging into the lagoon.

You cruise amongst the icebergs, taking way too many photos and hoping to spot a seal or two. The guide spoke a little about the lagoon and icebergs.

It truly is a must see!

Located on the main highway/ring road between Skaftafell and Hofn, around 4 hours drive South East of Reykjavik

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Only got a short time to visit Iceland ? Well to get a taste of what this fabulous country has on offer, you can spend the day doing the "Golden Circle" tour. Either with a tour group by bus, or with a hire car, the attractions on route are fantastic!

First stop is Pingvellir, home of the first parliament in Iceland, the largest lake in Iceland and the place where the two continental plates of Europe & North America meet.

Second up is Geysir - home of the worlds ORIGINAL geyser! Here you can see the incredible hot water spurting Strokkur doing its thing every 5-10 minutes.

Third stop is the most powerful waterfall in the world - Gullfoss. It is a two-tiered fall, spectacular to see - and you can walk right down and stand on the rocks right by the falls - a wet weather jacket is suggested - the spray is pretty impressive!

For more details on these 3 sites, visit my Iceland page.