Siglufjöður, part 1

Last weekend, I had the amazing fortune to go up north with some relatives of mine to the small town of Siglufjöður.  Other than the rainy day trip to the Golden Circle, this was really my first time out of the Reykjavik area.  While I love the city, it was so nice to get a chance to see some of the country side.  And go skiing!

It was about a 5 hour drive, and we did it mostly in the dark.  We went through a bunch of tunnels along the way, some under the ocean, and some through mountains.  It's hard to imagine how hard it must have been to get around before they were built, though some have been around longer than others.  Like the one entering Siglufjöður.  It's one lane, and scares me.  My cousin apparently used to walk through it, which sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to do.

Nice, safe, two lane modern tunnel.

Terrifying tunnel of doom into Siglufjöður

My cousin is originally from Siglufjöður, and her parents still have an apartment there which we stayed at.  It reminded me so much of Amma and Afi's, right down to the smell.  The place is an amazing time capsule, and a really lovely place to stay.

My room was the best. 

I want to know where everyone got these.  Amma had a similar thing.

Amazing old hand tinted photographs.

The town itself was really lovely.  Originally based on fishing and agriculture, the town is shrinking, but still brings in people with the ski hill.  The scenery is absolutely incredible.  Or I´m just still really impressed by mountains.

Wow.

I´m trying to think in square format again. 

Pining for the fjörds.

You don´t understand how much I want to live in a silver house.

Or a yellow one.

The beautiful church.

The church is really something.  It's the center of town, and for a place that was only 3000 people at most, it's really very impressive.  One of my relatives who plays organ was able to get in to practice on the beautiful old pipe organ they have.  The church also has a full set of German made and designed stained glass windows.  I'm not sure how a town this size was able to get all this, but I'm glad they did.

The organ.

1970's German stained glass

Very obviously a fishing town.

I still have to ask what exactly the hanging boat is about.

I apparently have too much stuff on here now, and blog spot is giving me trouble, so wait for part 2 coming soon!