ICELAND ROAD TRIP: Djúpavík to Akureyri

After a midnight arrival at our hotel in Djúpavík the previous evening we weren't able to enjoy the luxury of a lie in as we knew our seventh day in Iceland would be the longest yet. I have no idea how much driving we did that day but it was probably the most of our entire road trip. That being said we managed to fit in loads of fun things.

The day started with a 4 hour detour all in the name of swimming. I'd been hoping to visit this secluded swimming pool the previous day but that was before I realised that the roads in this part of Iceland are little more than dirt tracks therefore tripling our journey time everywhere. Nevertheless we made it to the beautiful pool Krossneslaug in Norðurfjörður straight away breakfast. It took over an hour to drive the short distance from Djúpavík but it was 100% worth it for the views and secluded feeling. We were lucky that the only people there during our visit were the caretakers as they told us that some days several hundred people can be found swimming at the pool.

There isn't much to see in Norðurfjörður but there was fortunately a petrol pump as our fuel was running low. After an enjoyable swimming we headed back towards Djúpavík as there were a few things we wanted to check out before driving even further south.

Djúpavík is a lovely little village. It used to be a big herring processing area but when the herring factory closed in 1950 the town became practically deserted. Hotel Djúpavík where we stayed looks after the factory now and does tours. We didn't have time for a full blown tour but we did spend a little town walking around and checking out the free art exhibitions. When we arrived the previous evening the factory had quite an eerie vibe but during the day we had nothing to be scared of. Back in 2007 Sigur Rós did a gig here for their live DVD and I've since said to Steve that if they (or another Icelandic band we love) ever do something similar we will be back in a heartbeat.

Djúpavík is a huge diversion from the standard ring road trial in Iceland and there really isn't much to do apart from chill and hike but of all the places we visited during our 2 week visit this was one of the most charming and memorable villages we had the pleasure of staying in. There are fewer greater feelings than waking up in village that feels like the literal edge of the world. The air was so crisp I've never breathed anything like it before and the scenery captivated me long after we left. The sense of isolation you'll feel here is truly remarkable and I really do hope to visit again one day.

Drift wood washed ashore from across the Arctic ocean all the way from Siberia.

As we drove further south we passed through Drangsnes where we stopped the previous evening to visit the roadside hot pots. This time we stopped to check out Sorcerer's Cottage which is part of the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. This turf roofed cottage is a typical dwelling from a couple of centuries ago and whilst it's tiny there's lots of interesting artefacts to look at inside. It's found next door to Hotel Laugarholl which has a lovely geothermal pool but as we'd already been swimming once that day we definitely didn't have time for another dip.

 

After a brief stop in Drangsnes we drove on to Holmavik where we visited the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft HQ. This was a small but interesting museum chronicling the trials, traditions and superstitions of the Icelandic witches. One of the more 'interesting' exhibits was the necropants, trousers made from the flesh of a dead person...

We stopped for a bite of lunch in the cute Cafe Riis. Of course we had soup because that's the only thing we ate in Iceland. Once we left Holmavik that's when the main bulk of the driving began as we didn't have much time to stop until we reached our apartment for the evening. The drive was lovely if a little less dramatic compared to the West Fjords. The couple of hours we spent driving around the trollaskagi peninsula once we left the ring road in the north was beautiful. I didn't take many photos on the way because the weather was quite overcast so everything looked a little grey plus I did manage to sneak in a couple of cat naps whilst Steve drove. 

Whilst driving around the trollaskagi peninsula we stopped in Hofsos for snacks i.e. hot dogs and ice cream. I'd wanted to visit the local swimming pool which boasts infinity views over the ocean but unfortunately we arrived just after is closed.

I was really hoping we'd reach Siglufjörður in time to visit the Herring Era Museum but alas I'd under estimated how long we'd been driving that day. At least we arrived in town whilst it was still light enough to appreciate the cute, colourful houses. If we'd had more time I really would have enjoyed spending a couple hours exploring this fjord side village.

We reached Dalvík around 10pm that evening, the last town before our final stop. I'd read about the cute cafe Kaffihûs Bakkabrædra just off the main road and fortunately it was still open. We grabbed a delicious bowl of fish soup, probably the best on our trip and a basket of freshly made bread. We spent ages talking to the owner, sharing travel trips and hearing crazy stories about passing by travellers. The cafe was the perfect rest stop for an hour or two and I really do wish we had the time to go back for a second visit.

We finally made it to Akureyri around midnight after a long day of driving. Akureyri is Iceland's second city and it's found right in the north of the country. We stayed in a self contained apartment / holiday home at Sæluhús which is just outside the main city centre. Our apartment was very modern with everything you could possibly need including a hot tub. The patio looked across Eyjafjörður which is the fjord the city is built around. We only stayed for one night so we turned the hot tub on that evening as we knew we wouldn't have an opportunity to use it again. In an ideal world I'd recommend staying in Akureyri for two nights as there's plenty to do in the surrounding area.

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PHOTO DIARY: Cologne and Düsseldorf, Germany, December 2015

As per tradition, Steve and I spent a long weekend in Germany for our anniversary back in December. The city of choice this time was Cologne and the Christmas markets were the best I've seen. There was plenty to keep us busy for 3 days from museums, a day trip to Düsseldorf and of course world renowned Christmas festivities around every corner throughout the city.

We caught the Eurostar to Cologne, changing in Brussels and arriving late on a Thursday night. With our train home booked for Sunday evening 3 full days was the perfect amount of time to spend in the city. Especially as it meant we had one full day to explore Düsseldorf which is only a 30 minute train ride away.

I booked our accommodation only a month or two before our visit which meant there weren't many places available unless I was willing to fork out hundreds of Euro a night (which I wasn't). Fortunately I came across Bermuda Triangle Bed and Breakfast which is a lovely little apartment costing €224 for 3 nights which for a weekend near Christmas is a really excellent deal. The apartment is in an excellent location (Neumarkt), only a 15 minute walk from the centre of town (or a couple of stops on the metro) we were literally around the corner from a beautiful market and down the road from plenty of fantastic bars and restaurants.

We arrived in the city super late but not wanting to waste a minute we headed out to visit the local Christmas markets (they were already closing by 10pm) and have a few drinks at the local bars; Salon Schmitz, Bar Schmitz and Sixpack.

Day 1:

Peek and Cloppenburg

WDR Arkaden

On our first morning we spent a little time walking around our local area and checking out some of the fabulous architecture Cologne has to offer. We stuck our heads into the Rautenstrauch-Joest and Schnütgen museums that share the same building. Whilst we didn't look around either we did spend a minute or two in the impressive entrance hall marvelling at the glass topped, ultra high ceilings.

We spent about an hour in NS-Dokumentationszentrum der Stadt Köln which is a museum focusing on the Nazi and Soviet rule in the city. There is an awful lot to take in and the prison in the basement is a rather harrowing experiencing but if you're interested in 20th Century European history then it's definitely worth a visit.

We walked past Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, appreciating the exterior façade but didn't go in.

Our next stop was the famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) and what a magnificent site it was in all it's gothic splendour.

There's a lovely Christmas market next to the Cathedral. We grabbed a potato pancake with apple sauce and listened to German Christmas carols.

Next on our list was Cologne's premier contemporary art gallery, Museum Ludwig where we caught the Joan Mitchell retrospective. The permanent collection is pretty wonderful as well. 

Having not actually eaten that much all day we dropped into Peters Brauhaus, one of Cologne's most famous beer halls for some hearty German food. The pork knuckle was ridiculously huge but if you like meat and potatoes this is definitely the place for you. The locally made beer (kolsch) is pretty decent as well and that's coming from someone who doesn't really like beer.

Night had begun to set in so we checked out another Christmas market, this one was next to the city hall and was one of my favourites (Alter Markt). Even though it was rammed full of people the twinkling fairy lights, sweet smell of gluhwein and chestnuts, and festive cheer all around made it an absolutely magical places and definitely one of my favourite markets in the city.

That evening we headed into the Cologne suburbs to catch El Vy play at Die Kantine. Great band in a great venue, just a shame it was such a faff to get to.

Day 2:

Our second day started with brunch at Bastians who put on an absolutely fantastic spread. We then headed to the train station for our day trip to Düsseldorf. Trains are frequent and fast, ours took less than half an hour and costs about €12 each way.

We spent an hour of two checking out the contemporary art galleries K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. K20 had a pretty great Agnes Martin retrospective whilst Kunsthalle was in between exhibitions so there wasn't too much to see.

After a morning of culture we headed to a Christmas market. Perhaps because it was the middle of the day but it didn't feel as special as Cologne.

We walked along the river until we reached the TV Tower which offered wonderful views across the city. Once we were back in town we stopped at Zum Schiffchen, a beer hall, for food but I forgot to take a picture.

We stopped for a beer a Düsseldorf's number one beer hall, Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei, for a local altbier. As you can see it's a lot darker than the beer in Cologne and in my opinion not as nice.

As darkness set in we wandered around the Christmas markets, eating waffles and enjoy the festivities. We even found a cupcake shop to stock up on treats for the train journey back to Cologne.

Back in Cologne we walked through the Christmas market next to the station and cathedral that we'd already visited during the previous day. Come night time it is a totally different experience and the fairy lights form a canopy under the dark sky and you feel like you're in a magical land. Here's a picture of me being cute with some gluhwein in my Blur Christmas jumper.

We'd eaten at really random times that day so we sough out Bei Oma Kleinmann, a restaurant famous for their many different schnitzels late that evening. I'm glad we decided to share one because they are absolutely enormous! En route we also stopped at Brauerei Päffgen, another famous beer hall in Cologne.

Day 3:

We had breakfast in Metzgerei Schmitz for our third and final day in Cologne. I'd been wanting to come to this deli all weekend so it was worth the wait.

Steve loves football so of course we had to check out the Deutsches Sport and Olympia Museum which was actually really interesting. I enjoyed all the Adidas sports wear on display and the Olympic sections were definitely insightful.

We walked along the river and made it back into the town centre where we finally visited Museum für Angewandte Kunst i.e. Cologne's design museum. I'm so glad we sought out this place because the post modernism exhibition was fantastic.

We collected our bags from the apartment and checked out our local Christmas market one last time where we picked up a delicious currywurst before catching the train home. We actually tried to get crepes from Engelbät but the queue was too long.

Cologne was lovely, especially the Christmas markets and for a fairly small city there's an awful lot to do including some excellent museums. I don't feel the need to visit again but I'm so glad I did over the Christmas period as the markets really were magical. Düsseldorf was lovely as well but a day to visit is definitely enough, I saw everything I wanted to so I'm glad we visited from Cologne.

Getting the Eurostar to Cologne is super easy, even with the change in Brussels. The train station is slap bang in the middle of town right next to the Cathedral and with an easy to navigate metro and tram service it's really simple to get around.

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