Akureyri to Stykkisholmur

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 Akureyri to Stykkisholmur

What a strange night in Akureyri. Awake every hour to go out onto the balcony by the bijou and stare into the skies for the Northern Lights. No luck. Am I looking in the wrong direction? Am I missing them between alarms? Will I ever see them? Are they such a gift as to only be seen by the deserving? I had strange dreams when I was asleep, and maybe some while I was awake.

We went for coffee at Glaa Kahnan and had some figure-eight shaped Kleina Innihalds–twisted plain doughnut-like yummies before heading out.

"Town no more" sign in Iceland
“Town no more” sign in Iceland

The journey west would be thankfully uneventful. Foggy in parts–but nothing like the East coast fjords. We stopped for lunch at something akin to a Stuckey’s in the middle of nowhere.

Along the Ring Road: Akureyri to Stykkisholmur
Along the Ring Road: Akureyri to Stykkisholmur
Iceland wind and sheep
Iceland wind and sheep

In the middle of nowhere, we passed a bearded old man, dressed in a black suit and black hat walking along the road towards us. It was if he’d stepped out of the book I was reading, Independent People. He did not smile or wave. A few minutes later we came upon this lonely house. I had black and white film in the camera, as if meant for this house, this moment. I got out of the car, but the wind made the house hum and creak. One shot and I was back in the car with chill bumps and my hackles up.

Quintessential Iceland: Lonely Farmhouse
Quintessential Iceland: Lonely Farmhouse
Iceland Farmhouse
Iceland Farmhouse

Skies were clear as we drove into Stykkisholmur. We checked into Fosshotel Stykkishólmur (Room #215).  Clear skies and a corner room facing North, West and East, on a hill facing the fjord. PERFECT for waiting for the Northern Lights.

Dinner was fancy at the hotel….delicate fish with wine/beer and cappuccinos. Bryan went over to a basketball court where a lone kid played and joined him for a game.

Again, I set the alarm clock for every hour. The night was like a dream. At 1:26 a.m., I sat in the window sill and questioned my eyes…was it? I wrote in my journal in the dark, “I think I may be seeing them, A white wisp like a cloud–white wisp like a cloud that goes and comes in the eastern / northern sky, never blocks the stars, same area, near mountain, Never blocks stars.”

The next morning I remembered this as looking like fog coming over the mountain, faint, white and wispy. Coming together and separating. Funny though, there was no mountain there. It was like a dream. Lonely Planet says they are believed to be a gift from the dead or a storehouse of events–past and future. All I can think is “AGAIN! AGAIN!”

Around Stykkisholmur
Around Stykkisholmur
Lighthouse? around Stykkisholmur
Lighthouse? around Stykkisholmur

We would climb Helgafell today, silently and without looking back, so as to get our wishes. Helgafell–Holy Mountain–is considered to have supernatural powers.  According to legend, those who climb Helgafell for the first time will have three wishes come true, provided a few conditions are followed:

  • You must climb the southwest slope, not looking back or speaking on the way;
  • You must make your wishes facing east;
  • Only benevolent wishes made with a guileless heart are granted;
  • You must descend to the east and pay your respects at the grave of Gudrun Osvifursdottir

This woman, Gudrun from the Sagas, was married 4 times during her long life. Her 1st husband abandoned her. She was persuaded to marry his friend/cousin/blood-brother and enticed him to kill her 1st husband. But then, #2 was killed by #1’s brothers. She ultimately remarried twice, but ended up living out her life as a hermit around Helgafell. On her deathbed, her son asks her who she loved the best. Her reply–“I treated the worst the one I loved the most”–is famous for its ambiguity. And the final condition:  You must never tell anyone what you wish for on Helgafell mountain.

And we headed back into Reykjavik.