Have You Driven a Fjord Lately?

Day 10

June 16, 2025

Today we finished our drive across the northwest portion of Iceland.  The drive from Akuereyri to Grundafjödur took us 4-½ hours as we puddle-jumped from one fjord to the next.  This was the longest day of driving we’ve had for the entire trip.  As we traveled the Ring Road, we became curious about what we were familiar with that is similar in size to Iceland.  It turns out that the state of Iowa is slightly larger than the entire country of Iceland!  Can you imagine spending ten days driving around the perimeter of Iowa and seeing such tremendous diversity?

Our home for the night in the tiny village of Grundafjördur was the Kirkjufell Hotel.  We had a view of Kirkjufell Mountain from our window!  After getting checked in and settled, we drove the short distance to Kirkjufell Mountain, the most photographed mountain in Iceland. If you are a "Game of Thrones" fan,  you might recognize this mountain as Arrowhead Mountain. 

This mountain was shaped by two glaciers sliding past and carving it out!

I was shocked to learn this village, tucked into a peninsula on the northwest corner of Iceland, is a port for cruise ships!  I guess between being the most photographed mountain and its connection to "Game of Thrones", it’s understandable that this is a cruise ship stop; however, Grundafjördur’s population is a whopping 872!  I can’t imagine what the place looks like with 6,000 tourists strolling about!  Once again, we lucked out visiting when there was not a ship in port.

At the base of Kirkjufell Mountain you find Kirkjufellfoss.  It’s certainly not the most powerful waterfall in the country but, as they say, location, location, location!  The scene of the waterfall set against this iconic mountain is bound to impress most everyone!

I noticed a trail leaving the falls that led back to town, so I opted to get a few steps in after spending several hours in the van.  Lauren must have felt similarly, as she quickly joined me on the trail.

As we walked the trail back to town, we saw three Icelandic horses trailside which were practically begging for us to take their photos and give them a little loving!  Getting to have an up close and personal moment with Icelandic horses had been on my list for this trip!

We also had the opportunity to have an up close and personal experience with arctic terns as we strolled along this seemingly peaceful trail.  What we didn’t know was the terns just happened to be nesting in the fields the trail meandered through.  Turns out, nesting terns are very territorial!

A town with this population has minimal options for dinner, which is perfectly understandable.  Quality, not quantity, is an appropriate description of our dining experience at the Harbour Café.  You simply can’t go wrong ordering meat soup and bread or fish and chips!

We strolled the few streets the town has, picked up a few groceries at the local store, walked along the harbor and called it a day!

Next up:  One last stay in Reykjavik!


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