East Fjord - The Essence of Iceland

Among all the different regions of Iceland, the East Fjord is the most scenic. A solid 10-hour drive from Reykjavik, visiting this part of the island requires quite a big time commitment. Not only is it one of the most secluded corners, but the region is also full of great surprises. Luckily, all sections of the Ring Road have been paved, so it posed no challenge to our horrible Suzuki Aerio rental car. The region may not have a singular blockbuster, but natural beauty is everywhere we look.

The Road to Egilsstaðir

After a two-night stay in the Mývatn area, we reluctantly bid farewell and continued our journey eastward on the Ring Road. As much as we enjoyed Mývatn, it does not have the fjord landscape we would associate with Iceland. I was genuinely looking forward to a change in scenery. It felt good to be back on the Ring Road. In the back of my mind, I was dreading how much road driving was still ahead of us on this epic road trip. Before heading east, we ensured we had a full gas tank and cleaned our little rental car for the journey.

A really short hike to the base of Rjúkandi Waterfall.

Our first stop of the day was Rjúkandi Waterfall. Located just off the road from the Ring Road, it was only a five-minute hike to the waterfall's base. As far as Icelandic waterfalls go, Rjúkandi is quite petite. But Rjúkandi’s relative obscurity made it all the more enjoyable than its famous counterparts. Sometimes, it was the unrealistic high expectations that could ruin an experience. This turned out to be an ideal stop to stretch the leg. Judging by the Gray Line tour bus in the parking area, I was not alone in this assessment.

The road to Egilsstaðir is relatively scenic, and how the weather changed greatly from valley to valley was fascinating. As we descended into Egilsstaðir and Lake Lagarfljót, I was taken aback by the dense fog in the area. Egilsstaðir, with a population of 2,500, is the largest city in Eastern Iceland and home to the region’s main cultural institutions. My destination for the afternoon was Skriðuklaustur, which is a 30-minute drive away along the lake. Skriðuklaustur was the former mansion of the famous Icelandic writer Gunnar Gunnarsson, who was particularly well in Denmark and Norway. His mansion was also built over the medieval ruins of a catholic monastery complex.

Even though the setting and architecture of Skriðuklaustur were splendid, I admit that the true intention of my visit was not the scenery or the museum. My main goal is to have lunch at Klausturkaffi. According to many, this little cafeteria, run by a mother-and-daughter team, offers the best buffet lunch in the country. Given the high price of eating out in Iceland, I have long planned a lunch stop here. As luck had it, we missed their lunch by about 15 minutes. I ended up settling with indulging in their afternoon “cake buffet,” and Brian opted for their a la carte menu. Funny enough, the cost of his reindeer pie was higher than the cost of the lunch buffet. Their afternoon treats and cake spread were top-notch, and their raspberry skyr pie was to die for.

After “lunch,” we opted to drive back toward Egilsstaðir and visit Vök Baths, another premium thermal bath on my itinerary. It is Iceland's newest private bath with two floating thermal pools in Lake Urriðavatn. Before my arrival, given its locations, I assumed Vök Baths would be the least popular of all the premium baths. So I was surprised to learn they were fully booked for the afternoon. At this point, I could not help feeling somewhat defeated; It seemed like my plan for the day so far had gone awry. After some discussion, we decided to make our way to our destination of the day to get an early start on our laundry.

Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass

Following the recommendation by our Rick Steves guidebook, we decided to make Seyðisfjörður our home for the day. This town of six hundred residents is known as one of the most scenic towns in the country and is only accessible by road via Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass. Known as Route 93, the pass started the climb immediately east of Egilsstaðir, and in the span of ten minutes, the lush greenery gave way to the snow-covered tundra. We were visiting at the beginning of July, so the dramatic change in micro-climate was particularly pronounced. Halfway up the mountain pass, ice patches began to emerge at the sides of the road. Eventually, we arrived at Lake Heiðarvatn, which was still largely covered by massive sheets of ice this time of the year.

High plateau of Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass.

Curiously, we spotted a contemporary art installation set up by the lakeshore. The installation was a row of bright, colorful plinths, each with an old monitor mounted at the top. The artwork is undoubtedly striking against the moon-like icy landscape. But given our tiny rental car with ground clearance, we decided not to risk going off-road to see the installation. But of course, I later read up on the stories behind this work. Entitled Heavier Mountain (or Sæki þetta Seinna in Icelandic), the piece is supposed to symbolize the mountain and snow, the two immutable characteristics of Eastern Iceland. But like no other neorealist art I have seen before, the description only confused me.

As good as the plateau of the mountain pass was, descending down to Seyðisfjörður was truly amazing. Everywhere we looked, there were countless cascading water down the side of mountains. Luckily, several parking pull-out areas allowed us to pause and take stock of the amazing views. From one of the viewpoints, we had a panoramic view of the fjord and Seyðisfjörður below. Personally, I would rank Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass as the most amazing drive we have ever made. Every 30 seconds, we were mesmerized by another waterfall and mountain peak. Because this is the only way in and out of Seyðisfjörður, we looked forward to returning this road.

One obligatory stop on this mountain pass is Gufufoss, the Steam Waterfall. It is just one of the twenty-five waterfalls of River Fjarðará. The fall resembles a miniature version of the famous Skogafoss in southern Iceland. Despite its accessible location, we had the waterfall all to our own. Given how popular Iceland has been in the past decade, such solitude could be precious. After appreciating pristine nature, it was time to pay attention to all the infrastructure hidden in plain sight. A series of locks and barriers are designed to prevent flash floods and avalanches. A series of mudslides destroyed 1 billion kroner worth of properties in Seyðisfjörður only eight months prior.

Seyðisfjörður - Cosmopolitan Capital of East Fjord

Much of the Seyðisfjörður’s economic fortunes seem tied to its deepwater port sheltered by the long fjord inlet. Originally established as a herring fishing port by Norwegian fishermen, the town became a major outpost for the North Atlantic whaling activities in the early 20th century. All along the southern edge of the fjord are remnants of its post-industrial heritage, such as oil tanks and warehouses. It surprised me that this little hamlet is also home to Iceland’s first hydraulic AC power plant, now open to visitors as a historic museum in 1913. Seyðisfjörður became the first town to have a municipal electric grid and street lamps.

Post-industrial landscape of Seyðisfjörður.

Personally, my fascination with Seyðisfjörður stemmed entirely from the Icelandic television series Ófærð (Trapped in English). The series is immensely popular outside of Iceland and is considered a classic of the so-called Nordic noir drama. The plot revolves around discovering a headless torso and hunting for the perpetrator. The heavy snowstorm and avalanche rendered Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass impassable, so this small town was thus “trapped” with a dangerous murder. Having driven through the mountain pass, I could easily understand why Seyðisfjörður is uniquely suitable for this plot. Ironically, the production team was trapped in town during filming due to inclement weather.

Central to the story of Ófærð is the international ferry service by Smyril Line, a Faroese shipping company. Seyðisfjörður, not Reykjavík, actually has Iceland’s only regularly scheduled international ferry. Once a week, MS Norröna made the port of call here before stopping at the Faroe Islands and Denmark. I could not tell you how excited I was when I realized our stay coincided with their port day. Given that the fictional captain of MS Norröna was portrayed as the antagonist in the show, it is surprising that they did not bother to change the name of the ferry in the TV series. I wonder to what extent the ferry companies collaborate with the director on filming many of the themes.

One clear thing is just the impact the ferry has on Seyðisfjörður. The contrast between the giant ferry and the pint-size town is dramatic. Thanks to the weekly sailing, Icelanders traveled far and wide to get here, thus giving it a surprisingly cosmopolitan feel. I only wished we had an extra week here to somehow sneak in a detour to the Faroe Islands. The rebel within me did feel the impulse to drop my job and go on an epic cruise across the Atlantic. For now, I am just content with admiring the ferry and sneaking a picture or two of the officers of Seyðisfjörður Police Department, the fictional protagonist of Ófærð.

With a population of just under seven hundred, Seyðisfjörður punches above its weight. The town has a thermal swimming pool, post office, state-run liquor store, supermarket, and golf course. This idyllic location attracted many rebellious Icelandic artists in the past few decades. Now home to two independent art schools and the well-respected Skaftfell Center of Visual Arts, Seyðisfjörður also hosts the annual LungA Art Festival every July, which attracts artists and art lovers from all over Iceland. An easy way to soak up the artistic flair of the community is a walk down the short but colorful Norðurgata Street.

The rainbow street & Seyðisfjarðarkirkja.

The presence of a vibrant art community also made Seyðisfjörður a progressive place in an otherwise conservative and agrarian region. The town is known to host the world’s “shortest LGBT pride parade”. The story goes that Snorri Emilsson, a local, could not travel 700 miles to attend the pride parade in Reykjavík in 2014. He gathered six friends to walk up and down Norðurgata Street to show their support for LGBT rights. Many locals saw the images of this first “parade” on social media and encouraged Emilsson to advertise it the following year actively. The next year, 70 people gathered for the parade, and by the end of the event, the crowd grew to 120. Nowadays, the parade attracts more than two hundred regulars.

On social media, the most popular image of Seyðisfjörður is that of a rainbow mural painted on Norðurgata Street. It seems like just about everyone visiting needs a selfie here. With the town’s iconic “blue church,” Seyðisfjarðarkirkja, in the background, I admit it is a beautiful spot. The history of Rainbow Street is quite interesting indeed. It was painted to celebrate the 2015 Pride parade and has now been repainted annually as part of the Pride event. Due to its immense popularity, local business owners even donated the necessary paint for the event. It demonstrates the power of social media marketing nowadays.

Seyðisfjörður town center is essentially an area of about two blocks. Oddly, it did not feel small at all. Each building is spaced just far apart enough to provide a good view of the fjord beyond. The most popular business in town seems to be Hotel Alden. Spread across four buildings throughout the town center, the hotel seems to monopolize all things hospitality. It is the only real hotel in town, with three restaurants and a bar. Sure enough, this was where we stayed for the night. Out of our need for a laundry machine, I reserved a two-bedroom apartment on the top floor. The view out to the fjord from the living room was amazing. Compared to Airbnb, a serviced apartment run by a hotel may be the best of both worlds.

For many visitors, Seyðisfjörður seems to be a decent relaxation place. Without a marquee landmark other than the rainbow road, it seems like this is a fine place to recharge and take advantage of the town’s fine eating establishments. I would agree with that assessment to some extent. But with some research, there are quite many interesting sights to see.

My very favorite is the “abandoned” phone booth on the side of the road. Known as “How's It Going?' Phone Booth, the work by Icelandic artist Guðjón Ketilsson, commemorates the centennial of an underwater cable that connected Scotland with Iceland, thus linking the country with the rest of the world. At this very spot, the submarine cable was brought up from the ocean. On the floor is an illuminated floor with the engraved phrase: “How’s Going?” (Hvernig Gengu?). The phrase was supposed to be the first telegraph message ever received in Iceland, asking how the work running the landline onward to Reykjavík was going. The phone booth bears the relief of a falcon, the national coat of arms of Iceland at the time.

We could see the section of the mudslide from the last winter.

Another equally evocative sculpture/pavilion called Tvísöngur (or Duet in English) is not far from the phone booth. The pavilion comprises five domes, each supposed to be calibrated to the five-tone harmony of Icelandic music. But I suspect its fantastic setting and views are why people took the 15-minute hike to see the piece. Indeed, not making the effort to see this sculpture is my biggest regret from this trip.

Beautiful scenery aside, our fond memories of Seyðisfjörður will always be linked to our time with our friends Ivy and Vince. Ivy and I were work colleagues, and we have all lived in the same Jersey City neighborhood for a few years. By serendipity, they were traveling in Iceland at the same time as we did. Knowing that their travel style is much more fast-paced than ours, we opted to meet once every few days for dinner. In what we label “travel in tandem,” we enjoy each other’s company occasionally without close schedule coordination. In addition to sharing fantastic meals, we also got to swap travel tips.

By coincidence, it just happened to be Ivy’s birthday that day, so a nice dinner was warranted! Although we did not get a dinner reservation at the acclaimed Norð Austur - Sushi&Bar, it turned out that the hotel’s main restaurant, Alden, served up some of the most excellent dishes we had in Iceland. Afterward, we retreated back to the apartment for a night of boxed wine and whisky!

On Our Way To Höfn

I will not lie… the drive out of Seyðisfjörður was tough. Most of us stayed up way too late past daytime. Because I knew how long of a drive was ahead of us, I made a point of going to bed on the early side. And by early, I meant 1:30 am. I still do not know just how late they stayed up that night. They somehow went through half a bottle of whisky and a box of wine. So when I woke everyone up at 8 am, they were hangover and groggy. Even though I offered Vince and Ivy to sleep in and check out on my behalf, they politely refused. It was a frantic hour to pack everything up and return on the road. All three of them felt the hangover. Thankfully, I did not drink much and could wake up early enough to rally the troop.

As mentioned earlier, we got another chance to enjoy the wonderful scenery of Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass on our way back to the Ring Road. Brian and I were sad we did not have more time here. If one more day had been added to our Icelandic trip, we would have spent one more night in Seyðisfjörður. But for now, we were ready to press on and explore the most remote part of the Ring Road road trip.

This is the fjord country, perhaps the classic image of Iceland we all have in mind. The “purist” inside me insisted on sticking with the official Ring Road instead of taking the shortcut via Route 95. It turned out to be a bad decision. Given the geographic nature of the fjord, we had to drive along each bay, which took approximately half an hour each. Although the scenery was spectacular, the monotony of the drive began to set in after an hour or two. I struggled to stay alert and had to pull over for a ten-minute power nap once an hour. Brian did not fare much better, he actually napped through most of the drive and threw up a couple of times on the side of the roads. It was fair to say that I underestimated the hypnotic power of East Fjord.

Doesn’t this look like a computer desktop background?

Despite the remoteness of the East Fjord region, this section of the Ring Road is dotted with small, prospering villages. Many of these villages have transitioned away from the traditional herring industry. A notable example is the town of Neskaupstaður and Reyðarfjörður. Two decades ago, the American industrial giant Alcoa constructed a giant aluminum smelter here to take advantage of the new hydroelectric plant nearby. Overnight, the village experienced a construction boom and halted decades of depopulation. Electricity from the glacier-powered streams is extremely affordable in Iceland. Because aluminum smelting is an energy-intensive operation, tiny Iceland produces more aluminum than the United States.

It is said that electricity, in the form of aluminum smelting and hosting data centers, is now Iceland’s major export. The Icelandic government estimated that only about a quarter of the country’s hydropower potential is harnessed. Ironically, I did not learn about the story of Iceland’s aluminum industry until after returning home. Iceland’s abundance of hydroelectric power is tied to global climate change. Scientists believe Iceland may eventually lose much of its glaciers and glacial rivers. It is difficult to grasp that prospect today, but that future may come in the next century.

I felt obligated to press on with a visit to the glacier country, which is still on the schedule for this afternoon. We did not get to stop at any of the towns during this portion of the drive. However, the sights of aluminum smelting plants were unmistakable. After about four and a a half hours on the road, we finally left the fjords behind. I have never been so excited to leave a pristine paradise. We were exhausted when we arrived at our lunch stop in Höfn.

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East Fjord - The Essence of Iceland

The Road to Egilsstaðir

Fjarðarheiði Mountain Pass

Seyðisfjörður - Cosmopolitan Capital of East Fjord

On Our Way To Höfn

Lessons From The Goslok Festival

Ice In The Land of Fire and Ice