Ferðahandbók sem Thorbjorg & Oskar skrifaði

Our house is located at the east side of the Vatnsnes peninsula. You can visit the famous rock Hvítserkur in only 13 km. distance to north from our house. The story is that it was a troll that was hedding to Þingeyrar to ruin the monastery there but turned into a stone when the sun caught it! Often you can also see seals nearby there and at the beaches near Hvítserkur. The famous farm Illugastaðir is located at the western part of Vatnsnes, where the story took place from the crimes and murders of Natan Ketilsson by Agnes and Friðrik from the year 1828. The brother of Natan was your hosts Óskars grandfather's grandfather. The novel Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is based on the story about the murders and the penalty that was the last exicute for crime in Iceland. Illugastaðir is a beautiful place near the sea and you can walk a path to the sea and see seals and birds. Tjörn is an old church place at the end of the Vatnsnes peninsula. There you can walk around the cemetery and see the grave of Agnes and Fridrik. Borgarvirki is an old fortress that you can see from the living room window from our house. Its a volcanic plug made of volcanic strata in a columnar shape that the Vikings used for a fortress. Its easy to drive to it from road 717 only ca. 10 km. from our house. The seal colony at Vatnsnes peninsula is among the best viewing sites in Iceland. You can see seals at Illugastaðir and Svalbarð which are both at the western part of Vatnsnes peninsula. The best time to see the seals is two hours on either side of the low tide because that is the time when the seals like to rest and relax on the stones and rocks near the beach.