Iceland’s Eastern Fjords

Seyðisfjörður was just the beginning of our journey through Iceland’s eastern fjords. We took a detour off the Ring Road to see the country’s less-traveled coastline, ending in the town of Höfn. It was the first time we experienced some of Iceland’s infamous weather: gray skies, cold bursts of wind, heavy rain, and thick, dense fog. Which honestly, only made the drive more riveting and beautiful.

The valley was still enveloped in fog when we headed to breakfast at Hótel Aldan. I was pretty excited walking up to the red building; part of my favorite movie,The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, was filmed here. It is such an inspiring movie, and one of the main reasons why we were in Iceland to begin with (and its soundtrack has been on repeat since we arrived). Their breakfast was one of the best we’ve had so far; waffles, skyr, fresh-baked bread, and fruit. By the time we left Seyðisfjörður and drove back over the mountain pass, we were able to see a bit more of our surroundings; the sun was determined to break through and burn off the thick fog.

We took a small dirt road along Lake Lagarfljót, located west of Egilsstaðir, to see the Snæfellsstofa National Park Visitor Center and a 16th century monastery. But we almost immediately had to pull over to look at the lake; it was like glass, with an absolutely perfect reflection. David and I have never seen a lake this big be this still. Shortly after passing the lake, we abruptly pulled over again when we saw our first sighting of reindeer grazing by the side of the road!

Just south of Egilsstaðir we turned off the Ring Road, and took the coastal route along Rte 96. On one side were towering cliffs shrouded in fog and glistening waterfalls, and the other side was nothing but the vast, open sea. We almost had to pinch ourselves when we saw more reindeer casually napping by the water. We stopped for lunch at a bakery in Reyðarfjörður, before driving through a tunnel nearly four miles long; only to be greeted on the other side by heavy rain.

We passed through a few more modest fishing villages before returning to the Ring Road. On a whim, Dave turned down a dirt road to try to reach the base of a large waterfall cascading down a nearby cliff. We ended up finding a small, muddy trail that went through a shabby, handmade turn-style connected to a wire fence. It led us up a river to a small pool and a different waterfall, which we later discovered was Sveinsstekksfoss. 

The Lón Lagoon is a shallow bay home to an enormous colony of swans that nest in the spring and fall. Luckily we saw a couple flocks still hanging around. We pulled over to take some photos them, but the swans did not want their picture taken, honked at us and quickly swam away. 

As we approached the craggy mountains of Stokksnes, the weather took a turn for the worse. The rain made it almost impossible to see out of our car, which was being violently pushed around by the incredible wind. The Viking Café at the base of the mountains was a welcomed retreat. It was nothing but a small, two room building that somehow magically held up against the extreme weather. It was so cozy inside. We joined other hikers seeking shelter and enjoyed homemade waffles as we waited for the storm to subside. By the time we finished our snack, the weather had not died down, so we made plans to come back to explore the area the next morning. We drove into Höfn and had an amazing dinner at Humarhöfnin. I discovered how amazing arctic char was, and David tried the area’s specialty, langoustine. We ended with an even better dessert of a biscuit topped with skyr and cherry jam.

The following day was perfect – blue skies and not a rain cloud in sight. We headed straight back to the Viking Café, bought an admission ticket that allowed us to explore the farmer’s land, and drove to the beach. As we got closer to the lighthouse, we saw giant bursts of water flying into the air. The ocean was so angry, with extremely turbulent waves forcing their way onto the rocks.

David and I walked through the grassy sand dunes to the main beach with Vesturhorn Mountain towering overhead. The black sand was like a mirror reflecting the jagged mountains and blue sky. We had to watch our step walking across the wet sand; a few patches acted like quicksand and swallowed our boots, while other areas our feet didn’t even break the surface. It was so incredibly beautiful. This was by far my favorite spot of our trip, and I still cannot believe that we had it all to ourselves.