Friday, 17-May-2024


I’ve mentioned previously, but I love it so much that I have to reiterate: The fun part of my roadtrip in Iceland was being able to stop at all the neat little things that I was while adventuring.

Hvalfjordur is a good example – It’s nothing much, sort of like the Saga of Kjartans in that it was just a placard on the side of the road. This time, with a strangely long dock stretching into the fjord nearby… but otherwise, just a simple lonely little sign.

I saw it in passing, pulled off the road at the next turn-out, and backtracked. Stepped out, took a moment to appreciate the cold and the wind, and just enjoyed the unrushed freedom that I had before checking out the sign, snapping a few pictures, and then getting back onto my trusty steed and charging off once again.

You can read the placard in the photos, but the long story short is that Hvalfjordur was an allied naval base during WWII – Iceland was actually neutral in the war, but was invaded by the British and United States for use as a base to support shipping in the North Atlantic, as well as a stop-over for aircraft flying from the US to the European theater. Hvalfjordur was one of the naval bases, a spot where everything from small tankers to the giant battleships could moor and refuel.

It’s neat to hear these tidbits of history, and I’m so thankful for the freedom to just stop and enjoy the world around me. Whether that’s a placard, a random fish spine that I found on the beach… or a dock and rainshower off shore.