Drive from Akureyri to Borganes....with a little deviation to Kirkjufell Mountain.

The charm of Iceland is not just in the famous waterfalls and geo thermal areas, but its in the beautiful small churches, old turf houses and unending green fields.

Visiting a Turf Museum in Iceland was always on my list. First few days in Iceland we concentrated so much on the main attractions that we did not get time to visit a turf house. Fortunately, Day 5 was a relaxed day with just a long drive from Akureyri to Borganes and we got the perfect opportunity to break our trip and visit the beautiful turf museum located in the small town of Glaumbaer.

Turf Houses are super insulated houses made to withstand the harsh climate of Iceland. Most of the house would be made out of turf and the roof would be covered in soil and a bed of grass. Only part of the house seen from outside is the door which would often be colorfully painted and decorated.

Kirkjufell

The famous arrowhead mountain beyond the wall (Game of Thrones reference).
The drive from Akureyri to Kirkjufell is not the best and has a stretch of 30 kms of gravel road. If we had checked the gravel map before, we would have known this and could have taken a detour to Borganes. But we were on the gravel road 54 before we realized the mistake.

Kirkjufell is located just outside of the Snaefellsjokull National Park. It looks like an arrowhead from front and a flat wall mountain from the side.

Final Day (Day 6) was reserved for a relaxing soak in the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. This is the most touristy thing one can do in Iceland.....yet you cannot resist it. The warm waters of the lagoon feel so soothing in the cold weather. This is also a excellent way to relax your muscles before a long flight back to San Francisco.