Exploring The Viking Isles

Reykjavik is a city where resplendent nature meets cool cultural attractions. You’ll soon find that a visit to the Icelandic capital certainly won’t be a run of the mill city break

Akureyri is the second largest urban area in Iceland with a population of around 18,000. Nicknamed ‘The Capital of the North,’ it is situated at the head of Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in Iceland, only 62 miles (100 km) from the Arctic Circle. Surrounded by snow-streaked mountains, the Akureyri hills flourish in summer with a profusion of arctic wildflowers. Mt. Kerling is the highest peak visible from town, at 5,064’ (1,538 m). Often cloudy, with a mild climate, Akureyri has much less precipitation than its southern counterpart Reykjavik. It is a cultured city, with a university, numerous galleries, museums, art exhibitions, and live theater performances. Nearby Hrísey Island is a spectacularly beautiful and peaceful island often called ‘The Pearl of Eyjafjörður,’ with an atmosphere of calm and settled tranquility. Numerous Atlantic puffins fly overhead, and the occasional whale is seen traversing the fjord.

Siglufjörður is the northernmost town on the Icelandic mainland, a small fishing village of some 1,200 people. Founded in 1918, it was in the past the capital of the North Atlantic herring fishing industry. The Síldarminjasafnið Herring Era Museum, one of Iceland's largest seafaring and industrial museums, houses three different areas where one can learn about both the traditional and the modern herring industry. A collection of many historic fishing vessels and artifacts is proudly displayed by the people of Siglufjörður, detailing how herring was salted, processed and collected. The small harbor with its colorful fishing boats and the red-roofed steeple of the Lutheran church dominate the village-scape. The natural beauty of the area includes high mountains that rim the fjord, freshwater lakes, the Hólsá river, black sand beaches, and a wealth of birdlife all around. This northernmost region of Iceland is renowned for some of the largest and most dramatic waterfalls in the country.

Visit Tromsø in Norway for an Arctic cruise adventure you’ll be talking about for years to come. See the spectacular Northern Lights, go husky sledding in the snow and admire the stunning view from Mount Storsteinen.

Honningsvåg is Norway’s northernmost town, and one of the smallest, with its population of 2,000 jammed into a mere one square kilometer. Devoid of permafrost, this subarctic region displays scores of colorful mountain landscapes carpeted during the summer in a lush tapestry of grasses and mountain wildflowers. In this truly unique environment, many private village gardens grow trees, despite the shortness of the Arctic summer. Honningsvåg is also the gateway to the northernmost point of continental Europe, the North Cape, or Nordkapp, often referred to as the ‘end of the world.’ Storstappen Island, rising from the sea to a height of 928’ (283 m), is a valuable nature reserve supporting colonies of some 140 great cormorants, 100 European shags, 20,000 black-legged kittiwakes, 5,000 razorbills and an impressive 100,000 puffins. To be here is a truly awe-inspiring sensory experience, viewing thousands of birds flying to and fro overhead at the same time, creating an almost deafening cacophony of sound with their cries and wingbeats.

The perpendicular cliffs of Nordkapp, or the North Cape, mark the very top of the European continent. This ultimate destination has long drawn adventurous royalty including Oscar II, King of Norway and Sweden, who visited in 1873, and followed by the King of Siam in 1907. The North Cape is located on the island of Mageroey, a name derived from a word that means "meager." While the landscape may have a lunar appearance, it is not really so isolated. Just 21 miles away, the main town, Honningsvåg, has some 4,000 inhabitants. In summer that number swells when the Sami people and their reindeer settle on the outskirts of town.

Alta is a town on Norway’s northern coast, at the head of Alta Fjord. It’s known for views of the Northern Lights, which inspired the cascading architecture of the Northern Lights Cathedral, built in 2013. Thousands of prehistoric rock carvings are at nearby Hjemmeluft Bay, where there are viewing paths and the World Heritage Rock Art Centre. South of town, the Alta River runs through steep Alta Canyon.

Sortland is a town standing beside a narrow sound between two large islands in the Vesterålen archipelago in Northern Norway. The name Sortland has come down from archaic Norse referring to a ‘dark river farm.’ The 3,110-foot (948m), cantilever Sortland Bridge arcs above the sound, connecting the islands of Hinnøya and Langøya. The landscape of Vesterålen continues the chain of rugged, steep mountains that rises from the sea in the Lofoten Islands to the south. From Sortland it is easy to find breathtaking scenery in virtually every direction. The Møysalen National Park on Hinnøya surrounds the 4,140-foot Møysalen peak, the second-tallest mountain on any Norwegian island. Picturesque fjords such as the Sigerfjord invite exploration along the island coastline. This far north, the Midnight Sun endures between May 23 and July 23 each year, and it never really gets dark between late April and August.

Situated on a beautiful stretch of coastline in Northern Norway, Bodo offers a truly remarkable experience. You can admire the midnight sun from Mount Ronvikfjellet or take a stroll along the chalk-white beach.

The Westfjords in northwest Iceland is a remote and sparsely populated peninsula of steep, tall mountains cut by dozens of fjords. The lack of flat lowlands suitable for farming played a key role in keeping this region wild and sparsely populated. The raw and untamed natural landscape around Ísafjörður is characterized by a subarctic environment. A colorful show of blooming tundra wildflowers carpets the mountain slopes and valleys during the short, cool summer. Vigur Island, second largest island in the Westfjords region, is one of the most renowned areas in Iceland for viewing nesting birds en masse. The area’s cliffs host an astonishing wealth of nesting birdlife, while the occasional arctic fox can be spotted patrolling the edges of the bird colonies in hope of an easy meal.

Like most Icelandic towns, this one on the northwest coast was started by fisherman and whalers. The name means ice-fjord. It is a perfect place from which to explore the cultural and economic staples of Iceland. An excursion to Sudavik reveals a town started by whalers and nearly destroyed by an avalanche in 1995, now rebuilt out of the path of further slides. Its lovely church was donated by whalers, as well. The own also holds a center for the study of the indigenous arctic foxes. The Maritime Museum in Isafjordur illustrates the lifestyles of the early inhabitants, including many implements of their trades, and also a wall of accordions, one of the few forms of entertainment on bygone days. Another option is a boat ride to nearby Vigur island, a nesting site for many species of seabirds, including eider ducks, whose down is yet another example of local economy based on the surrounding seas.

Reykjavik is a city where resplendent nature meets cool cultural attractions. You’ll soon find that a visit to the Icelandic capital certainly won’t be a run of the mill city break

Imagine a narrow fjord bordered by rugged peaks, vertical rock walls and serpentine rivers of ice plunging into the sea. This is Skjoldungen Fjord, named by Wilhelm August Graah after the honorific title Skjoldungen which, according to Norse mythology, was given to successors of legendary King Skjold to the Danish throne. Numerous tidewater glaciers calve during the summer, releasing large chunks of ice that plunge into the fjord. Above, huge crevasses and free-standing pillars of ice, known as seracs, are silhouetted against a blue Greenlandic sky. Barren of large trees, Skjoldungen Fjord is carpeted in colorful dwarf birch and willow forests that may grow several feet high, as well as a variety of low-growing Arctic wildflowers. This fjord was likely inhabited by Paleo-Eskimo (Inuit) nomadic people as early as 4,000 years ago. Archaeological remains of later historical periods, such as Thule culture graves, have also been found, indicating that Inuit people have lived in the area continuously. Scattered within this stunning scenery are remains of more recent abandoned Inuit dwellings along the fjord’s western shores.

Tasiilaq, formerly Ammassalik and Angmagssalik, is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,985 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland.

In the deeply serrated Eastern Fjords of Iceland’s east coast, the fishing village of Eskifjordur is scattered along the shore under a looming peak. Founded as a trading post in 1789, it thrives today on the fishing industry. The townsfolk proudly claim the striated peak of Hólmatindur as their personal landmark., although the town takes its name from the other peak Mt. Eskja. The Maritime Museum, housed in a building dating from 1816, traces the history of the town and its linkage to the sea, as does the moving statue to lost mariners on the main road. Helgustadaman was once renowned for the crystalline spar mineral mined there, and a couple in the town have spent a lifetime collecting and cutting beautiful minerals and crystals from all over Iceland. Their display of over a thousand specimens is in their home but open to visitors. The town’s church also has displays of art.

Lerwick, Britain's most northerly town, and is a small, bustling, cosmopolitan seaport with a population of over 7,000 people and fine architecture. Shetland Museum, located on Hay's Dock, is an award- winning attraction. Discover the island’s many secrets through its exhibits, and take a look in the boat shed, where you can see demonstrations of traditional boat building. Also of interest is the stone-walled town hall, built in 1884, displaying an impressive array of beautifully intricate stained glass. Towering St. Magnus Cathedral, constructed in 1863, is likewise well worth a visit. People have lived and prospered here since Neolithic times. The site of Clickimin Broch, a hollow-stone-walled structure, was a Late Bronze Age farmstead of the 7th century BCE. Historic Fort Charlotte, built in 1653, is a five-sided fortress, with cannon batteries pointing out to sea. The Shetland Textile Museum, with its fine weaving, and the quaint Crofters Museum will detail life in a much gentler time. The name Lerwick is derived from Norse and means ‘bay of clay.’

Kirkwall is the largest town of Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name Kirkjuvágr, which later changed to Kirkvoe, Kirkwaa and Kirkwall.

Scrabster is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some 1 ¹⁄₂ miles from Thurso, 22 ¹⁄₂ miles from Wick, 112 miles from Inverness and 271.7 miles from Edinburgh. Scrabster Harbour is an important port for the Scottish fishing industry

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