Akureyri, Eyjafjörður, Iceland - 07/09/17

Walking east of Reykjahlid we reached Akureyri,  one of the most anticipated stops in Iceland for us. The city nestles at the head of Eyjafjördur, Iceland's biggest fjörd, with over 70km (45.4 miles), and is the country's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality, being called 'Capital of North Iceland'.
Permanent settlement at the site started in 1778, although it has been used as a trading route since the 16th century, due to it's outstanding ice-free harbor. It started with a population of 12.
Akureyri started to grow from the year 1862, when it regained it's municipality status, due to it's port conditions and fertility. The towns current population nears 20.000.
The town is surrounded by mountains, the highest being Kista (1.447m/4.474 ft) and is annexed to an island; Hrisey island, 35km (22mi) to the north, with ferry services. Hrisey has a population of 200 and is Iceland's second biggest island, it is a site for pet and livestock quarantine.

Interesting Facts:

• Akureyri has one of the largest libraries in Iceland.

• The Icelandic folk dance "Vefarinn" comes from Akureyri.

• The town was site of Allied units during WW2.

• Jon Sveinsson, a popular author of children's books, was born here, today the city has a museum in his memory.

• Akureyri has one of the warmest climates in Iceland, despite being only 100km (62 mi) from the Arctic Circle.

• The northernmost 18-hole golf course in the world, Jadar Golf Course, is located here. There is a tournament each summer which takes place during the night, under the midnight sun.

In addition to admiring the landscapes, we decided to visit a few museums presented by the city, starting with Akureyri Museum.
The museum hosts two permanent exhibitions: "Eyjafjördur from early times" and "Akureyri, the town on the bay".
Here we saw many articles, photographs and artifacts relating to the Viking period, The Middle Ages, religion and everyday life in Eyjafjördur and Akureyri.

Interesting fact:

• Akureyri Museum also has a playroom and offers historical walks.

We also visited Akureyri Art Museum, which proudly presents paintings from North Iceland artists.
It was established in 1993 and as a consequence of it's opening, the region develop as the largest artistic community outside the capital (Reykjavik).

The following Museums are also present in Akureyri: Aviation Museum, Motorcycle Museum, Industry Museum, David Stefansson Memorial (poet and writer), Into the Arctic; a very interesting museum of exploration, Jón Sveinsson (writer) Memorial, Matthias Jocumsson Memorial (Reverend, poet of the Icelandic National Anthem) and Old Toys Exhibition (Like the Museum of Childhood we visited in Edinburgh, back in Scotland).

Next, a product of city beautification, and first public park in Iceland we visited the Botanical Gardens, a place for peace, tranquility and scientific research.
The park was granted to the women in Akureyri, who founded an association (Park Association) to beautify the city. In 1910 they were given a hectare of land, by 1953 it had increased to 3.6 hectares.

Being only 50km/31mi south of the Arctic circle, it has helped to prove that certain plants (shrubs, tress and flowers) can survive on the edge of the Arctic.
By the end of 2007 there were about 7000 species grown in the garden, including those from temperate zones.

Our next stop caused a little confusion, it is called (Hvoll) Dalvik Folk Museum, but it's in fact located in Akureyri. We actually had to walk back a little after realizing it too late.

As expected, the museum presents many historical objects, as well as the daily life, farming, fishing and hunting crafts and people's educations in past times, through amazing educational photos and memorabilia. Aside from the documents, objects and taxidermied animals, the real star here is once world's tallest man Johann Petursson (1913-1984), known as The Viking Giant.
Johann the Giant was born here in Dalvik and measured 2.34 meters (7ft 8in) at 359.35lb (163kg).

Interesting Fact:

• In addition to being a circus performer (and sadly being seem as an abomination) Johann the Great starred in the movie Prehistoric Women (1950) where we played the role of a giant cave man.

He was buried in Dalvik after dying in consequence of a falling accident.

The Museum exhibits some of his possessions, most of which were made to fit his size. We had a chance to see his very tall crutches, to aid with mobility; his enormous shoes and even the contents of his wallet. There also is a demonstration of his size placed on the wall, which can be seen even when the museum is closed.