Go LOCAL, off season - museum with the tallest man of Iceland

When writing this, it seems that more and more airlines will be at ease, as vulcano is calming down.

Well, nobody can predict for how long, but it´s good to bear in mind that nature is stronger, indeed, and we should all treat 'her' with respect.
Before introducing another interesting bit from Eyjafjörður, I feel like sharing a nice model on emissions from the volcano - check the details here.

And yes back to exploring Iceland - presuming that you will make it here despite a cloud of ash. Going local and exploring Eyjafjordur off the season, means much less activities to choose from than in the peak summer season. However, it is still enough to have fun and relaxing holiday in pristine nature, exploring the local culture in its full beauty.

Today, I will introduce an activity which not only Icelanders like doing, when trying to get to know a new place better. Museum visit.
Museums in Iceland are truly special and many of those in the countryside have been founded thanks to a lot of voluunteers´work. Not all of them are open all year round, however, there´s normally a telephone number on the door, and if you ever happen to find a museum closed, do give it a ring. There´s 99% likelyhood that some of the locals could open the door for you.

Today, I´m introducing a local museum in Dalvík with the tallest man of Iceland, and his bicycle, huge shoe and huge armchair he used to rest in...these are just some of the things you can enjoy when visiting the Dalvík museum.
The tallest man was born in Dalvík and there´re quite some memories related to him to be found in the museum.
Another interesting bit are earthquake memories depicting times in 1934, when big earthqake stroke Dalvík.

On top of this, you will find many instalations showing the way locals lived in old days, as well as local fauna and flora. One of the biggest fauna attraction is a huge polar bear who might have come from Greenland...these days standing stuffed.

The museum is small and cute and gives a nice and precious overview of the area. The only drawback are signs and ways to find the museum. If you are driving from Dalvík in the direction of Ólafsfjordur, you will find the museum on your left. There´s a big black and white sign depicting the tallest man and is says HVOLL in big letters - that´s the name of the museum.


Opening times are:

Winter time: Saturdays
14:00 - 17:00

Summer time June 1st - September 1st: Every day
11:00 - 18:00

And here is the magic number, in case you find the museum closed, as well as the link to their webpage: 892-1497.

Go local, try LOCAL Icelandic BEER

If you ever come to Akureyri and will have some time to explore one of the longest fjord in Iceland - Eyjafjörður with its rich history and magnificient nature, you simply CANNOT miss local brewery KALDI.

The brewery with one of the most quality beer made in Iceland is situated in Árskógssandur. It is roughly 20 minutes drive from Akureyri, along the western side of the fjord, in the direction of Dalvík and is an important place for islanders living on a beautiful island Hrísey. The ferry to Hrísey sets off from Árskógssandur and thus KALDI represents a great stop for all those passing Hrísey too.

Famous KALDI beer was born thanks to its icelandic owners and a renowned Czech brewmaster David. David has studied brewing for 10 years, eventhough a standard education is 4 years only. He´s had an extensive experience with brewing beer and comes from a family where beer making is inherited from generation to generation. No wonder that David knows what he´s doing, when brewing high quality - regardless of where it is.

When it comes to Icelandic KALDI, it is made exclusively out of the best raw materials one can get. All the materials come from the Czech Republic, except Icelandic fresh water, which KALDI gets right from a mountain in Arskogssandur.
The beer has no added sugar or any preservatives, and Kaldi is not pasteurized. This is a very unique feature for an Icelandic beer and makes Kaldi as fresh and healthy as it can possibly be.

When I visited Kaldi, I had a chance to get a sightseeing tour by the brewmaster himself, David, and was impressed by the great job that locals in Árskógssandur together with the master have been doing. It would be a waste of words, trying to describe the taste of this high quality beer and I simply encourage all, who ever come to Akureyri, and will have craving for some proper local exploring, go and check this out by yourself.

The only thing you have to do is to phone Agnes up (lovely owner): 8613007 and book your visit that costs you 1000 ISK. In return, you get endless amount of tasting as well as KALDI beer glass as a souvenir and an unforgetable experience.

More information in Icelandic is to be found here: www.bruggsmidjan.is

World class destination in the 'Icelandic Alps'

High quality service, professionalism, uniqueness. These are definitely words that I associate with Bergmenn - extremely dynamic and promising company in the field of, and now breath in:

• ski touring
• ski mountaneering
• heli skiing
• ice climbing
• alpine climbing
• ...and other mountain related activities

Jökull Bergmann, the founder of the company is Iceland´s first and only UIAGM-IFMGA certified mountain guide, who has been offering truly top quality adventure tourism, on the so-called Troll Peninsula, within easy reach of Akureyri (amongst other places).

During the season from around mid of March until the beginning of June thousands of peaks and slopes with vertical descents of up to 1500m offer endless opportunities and represent paradise for skier and mountaineers.

Bergmenn offers various tours related to skiing and mountaineering:

• ski touring
• heli skiing
• ice climbing
• alpine climbing
• hiking - trekking

Eventhough, the company offers tours with fixed dates they also try their best to satisfy special wishes thanks to tailored-made offers.

If you´re one of those who is hungry for proper adventure in the Icelandic Alps do not hesitate and check out the offer:
www.bergmenn.com


And if you´re still hesitating, then turn some good music on and check out the gallery,

there´s some seriously good stuff going on in the remote places of Troll Peninsula.