The Glombaer farmhouse is a short distance from our hotel, and it looked like an interesting stop. It's an old Icelandic farm complex of separate buildings, united by a central passageway. The buildings here date from different time periods from the 18th to 19th century. Glombaer is mostly made of turf and driftwood, a style of turf construction that was used universally in Iceland up until 1910 to 1930. It was gradually replaced by reinforced concrete. This farm gives a wonderful look at early Icelandic life
and the resourceful and tough people who live here. There was no heat in the complex of rooms. Everyone wore wool and the rooms were small. The farm included all kinds of fascinating implements and tools. One that caught my eye was crampons for cattle so they wouldn't slip on the ice. The farm told the story of Monica Helgadottir, a formidable woman. I snapped a photo of her story. We thoroughly enjoyed this farm museum.
We then headed into the Westfjords of Iceland, an area the size of
Connecticut with a population of about 7600. In other words, it's sparsely settled. Our drive took us into the vast expanse of this, mostly unpopulated area. Part of the way it was unpaved, but it was mostly paved. The unpaved part wasn't bad, but we were surprised that others were driving the speed limit, 50 mph. We were also amazed to see bicyclists on the route. Are they crazy? How can that be fun all along the fiords? It was cold and windy, 42 degrees with a 22 mph wind gusting to 39 mph. Insanity!
All along the fjords, we saw a large piles of driftwood, evidence that people were collecting it for building projects. There is no native lumber in Iceland so most buildings are made of concrete.
We arrived at our day's rest at Drangsnes, in a tidy, comfortable and warm inn right on the fjord.
Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wxzzxCU7xdkhPpRN9
Connecticut with a population of about 7600. In other words, it's sparsely settled. Our drive took us into the vast expanse of this, mostly unpopulated area. Part of the way it was unpaved, but it was mostly paved. The unpaved part wasn't bad, but we were surprised that others were driving the speed limit, 50 mph. We were also amazed to see bicyclists on the route. Are they crazy? How can that be fun all along the fiords? It was cold and windy, 42 degrees with a 22 mph wind gusting to 39 mph. Insanity!
All along the fjords, we saw a large piles of driftwood, evidence that people were collecting it for building projects. There is no native lumber in Iceland so most buildings are made of concrete.
We arrived at our day's rest at Drangsnes, in a tidy, comfortable and warm inn right on the fjord.
Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wxzzxCU7xdkhPpRN9
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