Iceland– adventures in the Arctic winter

Winter is child’s playfor them:

February 2011: We travel to the north of Iceland for a photoshoot and meet

5 young, local Icelanders for a weekend adventure around Dalvík.

BirtaÞormarOrri

Styrmir Þordis

Guesthouse Skeid at Dalvík

Let’s get out and explor

e: the holiday home, whi

ch

is the former cow barn on

Skeið farm at Dalvík, is

fantastically cosy. But

it’s still light outside

so let’s enjoy the snow!

The two mares Wanja and

Chamsa have the same ide

a.

action

reaction

Marine mission: on Dalvík beach

the

5 intrepid explorers find blea

ched

driftwood and washed out track

s in

the dark sand. Orri and Birta are th

e

navigation experts.

Dalvík

Choc

The sea air makes them hungry. After all that fresh air in their lungs, they need some

sustenance: hot cocoa and a big slice of chocolate cake.

colate time

Rendezvous at the harbour. Our 5 sailors go sailing in a

fishing cutter in Ejaförður fiord. Þordis and Styrmir are

checking whether the fish are biting. And all of them

are watching for signs of the white smokers. Hot water

(72°C!) bubbles out of the three underwater chimneys

(up to 45 m high!) at Akureyri.

On dry lan

d again. A

kureyri is

home not

only to th

e

Botanic Ga

rden with

more than

64000 diff

erent plan

ts

but also t

he Nonnahú

s, which Þ

ormar is e

spec ially

excited ab

out: this

is where J

ón Sveinss

on grew up

,

the author

of the “N

onni” book

s. The her

o Nonni en

-

joys adven

tures on Ic

eland. Jus

t like our

5 friends.

Akureyri

The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

We visit Sveinbjörn “Simbi” Hjörleifsson and his Hringsholt riding

stables, 15 minutes from Skeið. Before riding out, the children

and the ponies get to know each other so each of the five

quickly finds their ‘own’ Iceland pony. Orri has now discovered

a passion for riding even though the love of his life is pre-

tending to be a bit camera-shy here.

On top of Kaldbakur (1167 m). The moun -

tain lives up to its name of “cold

back”: the wind is howling round our

ears. We zoom up on the snowmobile to

save our energy for the snowshoe hike

and tobogganing.

Kaldba

kur

Last evening

Back at Skeið the first task is to light a

fire so that it’s nice and cosy when they

share together all their adventures of the

last few days. This will give them plenty

to daydream about when they’re back at

school on Monday.

Warmers for the winter wonderland:

KIDS ATMOSPHERE DOWN JACKET

This extremely wind-repellent down jacket makes

you feel as if you’re tucked up under your

duvet. It has a system zip so it can be worn

under our waterproof TEXAPORE jackets, which

are also fitted with this type of zip.

KIDS HOODED HIGHOFT HACKET

We use our warmest NANUK 300 HIGHLOFT

fleece for this hooded jacket. That’s

what makes it so fluffy and warm.

KIDS ARCTURUS XT PARKA

Extremely durable, this weatherproof parka

has a very thick thermal lining. Its hood is

in the polar explorer style and it has large

pockets to hold collected treasures. The shell

fabric, which contains cotton, is backed by a

waterproof, very breathable lining - keeping

rain, wind and snow at bay.

GIRLS SERPENTINE JACKET

This warm 3-in-1 jacket comprises a water -

proof, breathable shell jacket and an inner

jacket made of warm fleece. Both jackets

are usually worn together in winter but in

summer they are ideal for wearing sepa -

rat e ly.

KIDS SNOW DIVER TEXAPORE

The waterproof winter boot consisting of syn-

thetic nubuck leather has a lovely warm lining

and high-cut uppers – keeping the snow out. The

waterproof, highly breathable TEXAPORE O2 membrane

delivers the weatherproof spec. Thanks to the

triple hook & loop strap system, they are easy

peasy to put on and take off.

Iceland’s north coastThe photoshoot around Dalvík in Feb-

ruary 2011 took 3 days. The fact that

the area is close to the Arctic Circle

was very obvious not only because of

the volume of snow but also because of

the icy wind. But this didn’t bother

the 5 photo adventurers at all.

www.dalvik.is

www.travel2dalvik.com

How to get thereFlight to Reykjavík, e.g. from Frank-

furt, Cologne/Bonn, Munich or Hamburg.

Then onward travel by car, bus or a

do mes tic flight to Akureyri. From A ku -

r ey ri it’s another 45 km by car to

Dalvík.

AccommodationGuesthouse Skeið is about 18 km away

from Dalvík in the Svarfaðardalur val -

ley. The history of the farmhouse dates

back to the 11th century. The holiday

home was once a cow barn; the two horses

live next door in the winter. Further

accommodation options are offered in

the house (e.g. sleeping bag accommo-

dation on the top floor).

www.thule-tours.com/

Outdoor activitiesIn the wintry mountains around Skeið

there is more than just tobogganing and

snowshoe hiking on offer. There are

impressive trails for cross-country and

downhill skiers as well. Horse riding,

mountain bike trips or even hikes to

suit all levels are popular in the

summer.