The delightful town of Akureyri

I am currently sitting in the lounge in Copenhagen, after a crazy morning in the Reykjavik KEF airport.  That alone will have to be it’s own post.  Reflecting upon my 10 days in Iceland, I realized how much I loved the North, especially Akureyri.  If I could do it all over again, I would definitely stay longer in the north.  But this is me, and I enjoy quaint, small lovely towns.  Also, I’m not entirely too sure why, but I experienced a lot of rudeness in the south, i.e. Reykjavik region.  This isn’t to say that people there are necessarily rude by nature, but simply those I happen to encounter.

1. Traffic lights & Icelandic economy

So, as promised, the story of the heart-shaped traffic lights in Akureyri.

The economic crisis of 2008 in Iceland hit the country hard and many people had lost almost everything they had.  (I remember when it happened, I was watching the news in my $6 guesthouse in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.)  Iceland’s economy was devastated and a lot of the people lost all hope of surviving this ordeal. 

One artist in Akureyri decided to cut some cardboard and make one red light in the town into a heart, to give hope to the townspeople.  To remind them to smile through the bad times, and that things would work itself out eventually.  The mayor of Akureyri liked the idea so much, every red light in town was then transformed into a heart.  And it stuck.  The way Disa, the host of my horsebackriding tour, explained it, the heart reminds people to smile with their heart, and that good things always come from bad things

Following the economic crisis, Iceland invested heavily in their tourism industry, which I would say greatly paid off.  So tourism is that good thing that came from the economic crisis.

2. A stroll around Akureyri

Anyway, back to Akureyri.  It’s a lovely little. town, with street art that fills the walls of buildings and alleyways.  (Originally this started as all graffiti does, illegally…but Akureyri decided to embrace this.)  Now, there is several prominent art that is featured by local artists, which rotate every few months.

Visit Akureyri for its Street Art

There is also an art museum in Akureyri, but that last day when I planned to go, I decided to bolt instead, because the temperatures dropped dramatically… (and it’s tough to force yourself to be outside for the full duration of the day, after you’ve checked out of your hotel/guesthouse… so that was skipped…)

You all have heard me gushing about this town, so here are some photos to show you just how great it is.

Also, there is a main church in town, Akureyrarkirkja, but shame on me, I never took a good photo of it. I was just so obsessed with the rest of the town, I guess.

3. Visit Akureyri for its Food

Besides the restaurants I tried on the food tour, the others I tried were really good as well.

Akureyri Fish & Chips

Cafe Berlin 

Kristjans Bakari

Parting Thoughts on Akureyri

So I realize with my several posts on this lovely town that I’ve now put it on the map. Try not to all rush there at once but if you do, you’re guaranteed to have a swell time. Visit Akureyri and you won’t regret it! If you’re into small towns anyway. And with that, I bid you good night from Vienna!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

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