"There were some murders..." thus begins many stories in the Icelandic Sagas! Here the story of one axe murderer is told for the amusement of tourists. While Iceland today is one of the most peaceful countries on Earth, the Norse settlers, aka Vikings, do have a bit of a reputation ...
... and it appears that some of their descendants haven't forgotten how to throw an axe or two ...
This is the village of Siglufjörður, which was where the outstanding Icelandic TV series "Trapped" was filmed. Trapped is about, um, some murders.
A don't miss excursion that far too many people miss is a side trip to Eiríksstaðir, the home of Erik the Red before he had to leave Iceland for Greenland because of, um, some murders ...
Erik is, of course, the father of Leif the Lucky, who explored Newfoundland and North America almost 500 years before the Italian dude ... it was amazing to read some of the Greenlander's Saga in at the actual site of Erik's home. My copy is there in between the shield and helm. This longhouse is a reconstruction, but the foundations of his actual home are a short hike away.
The Allthing is the site of the world's first true democracy (yeah, yeah, the Greeks experimented but the Norse got it right :) ).
This is thought to be the site of the Lawspeaker's Rock ... nearby was were trials were held and justice dispensed in the form of outlawry, which literally meant placing someone "outside the law" and no longer protected by the rules of society. That was a severe punishment in such a harsh land, it was usually over, um, some murders ...
This foss may be artificial, a diversion to provide water to the many people and animals that gathered for the Allthings ...
This following shot is in the restaurant Valhalla, scene of the earlier axe throwing (which, surprisingly, did not result in murders).
Valhalla claims to have the best hamburger and fries in Europe.
They may be right ... it was really good. The Egil's Maltextrakt was fantastic. This was the closest we got to "junk" food the entire trip, and honestly it was probably not bad since it was all fresh.
