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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
To me, there is something iconically Iceland about a turf house. Beautiful little buildings with mud walls and roofs hidden in the landscape. We had seen a few scattered around the country, but hadn't been to a dedicated "turf house site" and we knew such a thing existed. Glaumbær turf farm was the perfect place to see these structures up close and learn more about Iceland's history and culture. And yes, the sun came out and we soaked up every bit of sunshine and thanked the photo gods for giving us enough light to capture this stunning part of the country.
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
"Glaumbær turf farm is a former vicarage, a dwelling house, situated in the densely populated farmland of the inland fjord Skagafjörður in northern Iceland. The farmstead is still inhabited and was modernized in the 20th century with new dwelling houses and stables and is still an inhabited vicarage. The old house is a part of the National Museum's Historic Building Collection and houses part of the Skagafjörður Heritage Museum. The site has been inhabited for centuries; written sources suggest that a church has been there since the 11th century and an 11th century long-house has been excavated at the site. Glaumbær is mentioned several times in the medieval Saga literature. The age of the buildings vary considerably, the youngest dating from around 1880 and the oldest back to mid 18th century" Source.
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| Church at Glaumbær Turf Houses |
"Glaumbær is composed of 14 clustered houses and is around 32 m wide and 28 m long. Six houses face the yard to the east, forming a gabled farmhouse. To the south is a smithy, two storage houses, living rooms on each side of the entrance and firewood storage to the north. The entrance gives access to a long passageway that connects the other houses; a dairy, the hearth kitchen, three pantries, back entrance, a guesthouse and a baðstofa at the end, divided into three rooms. To the north of the farmstead is the Glaumbær church in the middle of a cemetary. No old outhouses remain at Glaumbær" Source. We were short on time so we did not go IN the actually turf houses. However, for a fee, you can.
To actually go in the turf houses, you need to pay an museum admission fee.
Admission 2017
1600 ISK ($15.50) per person (age 18+)
1200 ISK ($11.67) for groups (6+) and students
0 ISK children (age 0-17)
See the opening hours here.
To actually go in the turf houses, you need to pay an museum admission fee.
Admission 2017
1600 ISK ($15.50) per person (age 18+)
1200 ISK ($11.67) for groups (6+) and students
0 ISK children (age 0-17)
See the opening hours here.
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
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| The grounds at Glaumbær Turf Houses |
"The walls are almost exclusively made from turf, klömbruhnaus, snidda and strengur, although stones are present in the lowest part of the walls, thus forming the foundation for the turf walls. All the rooftops are covered with turf, but only some of the gables are made of timber, especially those facing the yard. Glaumbær is an outstanding example of a large turf farm, built in the northern style. The building technique highlights the extensive use of turf, including the picturesque turf gables at the back of the houses". Source
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
Not only were the turf houses themselves insanely unique, the landscape around them was gorgeous. Mountains in the background, green fields, stone walkways, and a general beautiful area. We spent about 30 minutes walking around the grounds, and photographing the amazing landscape out in front of us.
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| The grounds at Glaumbær Turf Houses |
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| Yellow house at Glaumbær Turf Houses |
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
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| View looking out of the entrance of Glaumbær |
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| View looking out of the entrance of Glaumbær |
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| Glaumbær Turf Houses |
GPS: N65° 36' 39.762" W19° 30' 16.036"
KW Worth the Trip? Yes! Beautiful area with cool historic turf houses
Crowds: No, small groups
Fees: No unless you go in- fee to enter the houses
Bathrooms: Yes
Parking: Yes
Hike: No
Access: Easy - Just 8 km off the Ring Road (7 minutes each way). Road 75 off Ring Road (1) .
We didn't make it very far past the turf farm before we were stopping again to take in another beautiful landscape. This time, with a herd of someones horses as we drove out of the farm
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| Icelandic Horses |
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| Icelandic Horses |
At first, the horses were slightly far off in the distance and were hard to photograph. But within 10 minutes, they were inching their way over to us, closer and closer to the fence. We may have looked slightly crazy but beautiful Icelandic horses, blue skies and an open field.... it's always worth the wait especially for a few horse lovers.
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| Icelandic Horses |
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| Icelandic Horses |
We saw several babies in the crowd and loved seeing the variation in color in these horses. Bay, black, chestnut, pinto, and every color in between was represented in this herd of horses. If you want to read more about Icelandic horses, be sure to read my post all about my experience riding in Iceland and all about the breed.
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| Icelandic Horses |
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| Icelandic Horses |
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| Icelandic Horses |
Strandgata 1,
530 Hvammstangi, Iceland
Sími/Phone: +354 451 3131
gauksmyri@gauksmyri.is
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| Sjavarborg Restaurant |
This restaurant came recommended to us by the workers at the inn (they own this one too) and had great reviews online. The restaurant at the inn was doing a buffet at the lodge that was a little outside out price range. This restaurant however was right on the water, had a beautiful view of the water, and had a menu ranging from delicious burgers to other awesome entrees with a price point for everyone.
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| Sjavarborg Restaurant |
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| Sjavarborg Restaurant |
We split the regular burger and the fish burger and paid $43.50 for two burgers (with a 10% discount). This restaurant is owned by the same people over at the lodge and you get a 10% discount for showing your room key. The burgers were AWESOME and this fish burger was definitely the better of the two. For a great meal for a reasonable price and an awesome view, Sjavarborg Restaurant is a great pick.
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| Sjavarborg Restaurant |
Day 7 lodging was right off the Ring Road, and another day closer to Reykjavik.
Gauksmyri Lodge was certainly one of the most unique lodges we stayed in. While some had themes, this lodge had a theme and really dedicated to it. Everything about this lodge was horses. It just screamed Icelandic horses and had that earthy dark and warm lodge feel.
$215 for 4 people for the night (with breakfast included). It was a large family room on the corner of the building with four twin sized beds, a couch, and a sink. Bathrooms were community/shared for the building.
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| Gauksmyri Lodge |
Not only was the theme horses, the property was dedicated to horses. Our room overlooked a racetrack and the barn was just a short walk on the property. You could take lessons on the property, and even watch a horse show or a demonstration right on the property. There are several packages involving riding lessons, dinner at the farm, and lodging. Uniquely Iceland with all the charm of a riding lodge and stable. Amanda and I obviously loved this spot.
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| Sign at Gauksmyri Lodge |
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| Key to our room at Gauksmyri Lodge |
About the lodge
"Gauksmýri Lodge was establised by Jóhann Albertsson and his wife Sigríður Lárusdóttir in 1999. Both Jóhann and Sigríður had been breading horses together for about 16 years before that time and also individually before that. In 2006 they opened a new guesthouse with 18 rooms with private bathroom as well as a large dinging room and a reception area. Sigríður fought cancer for many years, but lost her battle in November 2015. Now Jóhann owns the company together with his children Albert & Hrund and his son in-law Gunnar Páll. Hrund and Gunnar Páll moved to Gauksmýri in January 2016 together with their new born daugther Hekla Sigríður.
Gunnar Páll is now the CEO of Gauksmýri EHF. Gunnar Páll & Hrund manage the company while Jóhann has stepped aside and is now more involved with farm work and horse breading.
Albert is living in Reykjavík studying business at University of Iceland." Website
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| Our family room at Gauksmyri Lodge |
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| View outside our room at Gauksmyri Lodge |
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| Leaving Gauksmyri Lodge |
Day 7 in Iceland was a great one with some sunny skies, great food, an awesome lodge, and new landscapes on our cameras. Tune back in for day 8 as we head to Snaefellsnes Peninsula and slowly make our way back to Reykjavik.
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