Kolufossar

The waterfalls of the troll woman Kola

 

Our second stop on our trip to northern Iceland was Kolufossar - the waterfalls of the troll woman Kola.

 

Near the ring road, the Víðidalsá river plunges over three waterfalls into the Kolugljúfur gorge. The gorge is 1 to 2 km long.

 

 

The waterfalls can be reached from the ring road via road 715 (Víðidalsvegur). The road is a 13 km long circular route. Shortly before the waterfalls, turn off again and follow the signs to the parking lot.

 

 

This is the beginning of road 715, the turnoff from the ring road. However, we waited a little while until the animals had crossed the road and turned off again a little further on to another pasture on the other side of the road. 

 

 

 

You then park in the large parking lot in front of the old wooden bridge that spans the river and the Kolugljúfur gorge and walk across the bridge to see the gorge.  

 

The three waterfalls are called Efrifoss (= “upper waterfall”), Kolufoss (= “waterfall of Kola”) and Neðri-Kolufoss (= “lower waterfall of Kola”).  

 

Together, the three waterfalls are called “Kolufossar” (= “waterfalls of Kola”).

 

 

 

 

 

But please be careful!

The Víðidalsá river originates on a plateau in the former rural municipality of Húnavatn (now Húnabyggð) and flows for approximately 67 km through Lake Hóp to the sea. From mid-June to the end of September, fishing is permitted in the river below the waterfalls up to the Kolugljúfur gorge, approximately 25 km from the mouth at Hóp. The Kolufossar waterfalls in the gorge are so high that salmon cannot swim further up the river, so fishing is only possible in the pool below the waterfall and further downstream to the sea. 

As far as I can tell, the Starir fishing club has leased the fishing rights in the river. Anyone interested in fishing must therefore contact the club. However, the Víðidalsá river and its tributary Fitjá are both known as good fishing rivers: large salmon weighing around 20 pounds are mainly caught here, but char and trout are also found.

Incidentally, the name “Kola” is said to derive from the troll woman Kola:

She is said to have lived near the Kolugil farm, close to today's path to the gorge, before retreating into solitude. 

It is said that she dug the Kolugljúfur gorge with her own hands and then lived on the rocks by the waterfalls. Her sleeping place was on a special slab on the cliffs, which is still called Kolusæng (= “bed of Kola”) today. It was located directly by the river, behind the waterfalls, so that in the morning, before getting up, she could reach into the pool below the waterfalls with her long arms and put the first salmon of the day, still raw, into her mouth. 

 

When she got up, she caught more salmon, which she then ate cooked. A little further west, there is still a large hole in one of the rocks called Koluketill – Kola's cauldron.

 

The troll woman Kola is said to have been buried nearby under the hill Koluhóll. 

 

 

[Translated from here.]

Kaffi Schwarzwald

The small Black Forest Café in Helluland

During our trip to the north of Iceland, we were also at the opening day of Kaffi Schwarzwald in early August 2025, about 8 km from Sauðárkrókur.

The two Germans Peony and Daniel, who run the Guesthouse Helluland, have now set up their small Black Forest café, their Kaffi Schwarzwald, in the front area of ​​their house (with a fantastic view of the landscape).

The coffee shop (kaffistofa) is generally open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Here you can find delicious, homemade cakes (a small, sometimes changing selection) and various hot and cold drinks.

My husband had a piece of Black Forest Cake (Svartaskógarterta) and I had chosen the Frankfurt Crown Cake (Frankfurtkrans) - out of old local ties, after all I was born and grew up very close to Frankfurt and during my childhood there was hardly a family birthday without Frankfurter Crown Cake.

I think I scared Peony a little at first, but I quickly calmed her down - her Frankfurter Crown Cake was a little different than my mom's version, but it captured the spirit of the cake perfectly, and I really enjoyed it!

We also had coffee and hot chocolate.

The prices

A slice of cake at Kaffi Schwarzwald currently costs 1,390 ISK (just under €9.70), and a slice of cake costs 890 ISK (approximately €6.20). Coffee drinks, tea, and hot chocolate cost between 550 ISK and 670 ISK (approximately €3.80 and €4.70). The prices are quite reasonable by Icelandic standards.

The ambience

The café's two guest rooms are very cozy and beautifully furnished; we immediately felt very comfortable.

And I immediately fell in love with the colorful sofa cushions with their Icelandic sweater design!

Small but very cozy!

And the view from the café is truly stunning! Even though we didn't sit on the beautiful, new wooden terrace that day, as the weather was a bit changeable.

The Helluland farm

Helluland is a historic farm at Skagafjörður, with beautiful views of the Vestari-Héraðsvötn, translated the "western district waters" - a glacial river that originates from Hofsjökull and flows into the sea as Vesturós on the west side of the Hegranes peninsula.

The Helluland farm is located approximately 8 km from the village of Sauðárkrókur; it's about a 10-minute drive away.

The Guesthouse Helluland

The farm is over 100 years old and is considered one of the first concrete houses in this region. For a long time, the house served as a family home, along with the stables. In 2016, the house was converted into a guesthouse. It is open year-round and, with its five guest rooms, offers comfortable accommodation for up to 10 people.

The current owners, Peony and Daniel, took over the guesthouse in 2020 and have lovingly renovated and furnished it since then.

In the front area of ​​the house, with a fantastic view of the expansive landscape and the district waters, the two have now set up their Black Forest café, their Kaffi Schwarzwald.

The Helluland horse farm

The stables house the farm's horses. The horse farm is run by Icelandic Andrés Magnússon and his German wife Luka Dreiner. The couple offer their guests both riding lessons and tours, both by the hour and for several days.

PS: This isn't a paid advertisement. We weren't invited, and we paid for our cake and drinks ourselves. But we "know" the owners of Guesthouse Helluland online from Instagram, had already had a nice interaction there, and when I read about the opening of Schwarzwald Kaffi, on the very day we were driving north to Sauðárkrókur, we spontaneously made a little detour to check out the café.

[Translated from here.]

Hvítserkur

The basalt rock Hvítserkur

The basalt rock Hvítserkur is a peculiar, surf-carved rock in Húnafjörður, in northwest Iceland, on the east coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula.

The rock is about 15 meters high.

It is a nesting site for numerous bird species, including the kittiwake and the fulmar.

The name "Hvítserkur" literally means "white coat", which probably refers to the many light spots on the rock that cover it like a white coat - a white coat made of white bird droppings.

To some, the rock resembles a drinking rhinoceros or an elephant; to others, it's a troll who was petrified by the sun as punishment for trying to throw stones at the then-existing Þingeyrar Monastery near Lake Hóp. (The monastery was at least 20 km away from the rock, but I have no idea how far trolls can hurl stones.)

Side view

The base of the basalt rock is constantly eroded and hollowed out by the sea, so over time the basalt has crumbled considerably. Furthermore, although the rock is about 15 meters high and about as wide, it is actually only about 2 meters deep.

From the front, Hvítserverkur appears wide and massive - but when viewed from the side, it is just a very thin line in the landscape!

And so, as early as the 1950s, there were fears that the rock would become unstable and collapse.

Online, I came across an article in Morgunblaðið from May 22, 1952, demanding that Hvítserkur not collapse— Hvítserkur má ekki falla! In the article, the author, Ásgeir Magnússon, expressed concern because, as he wrote, the base of the rock had been significantly damaged over the past 13 years, and the rock itself was very narrow. He therefore proposed that a concerted effort should be made to reinforce the "legs" of the rock with 3 to 4 tons of concrete to prevent Hvítserkur from collapsing "for the next 100 years."

Source: Morgunblaðið from May 22, 1952

In May 1955, another newspaper article reported that a fundraising campaign had been launched to raise money to save the rock . Postcards featuring a picture of Hvítserkur were sold, and the proceeds were to be used to stabilize the basalt rock. In addition, both the municipality and several individuals and associations, both locally and in Reykjavík, had pledged financial support for the work.

The collection was successful, and the "legs" of the rock were reinforced with concrete to stabilize Hvítserkur in the long term. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out when the work was carried out. A newspaper article from August 1988 only mentions that Hvítserkur was reinforced at the bottom "many years ago" because there were fears that it might collapse.

For comparison, I have two pictures of Hvítserkur from us here, one from the summer of 2015, the other from the summer of 2025. Honestly, I can't tell if the erosion has continued since then...

Increasing visitor numbers

While Hvítserkur used to be something of an insider tip and not many visitors made it there, the number of visitors has more than doubled recently, and the number of visitors has increased significantly:

In October 2020, a counter was installed on the footpath to the viewing platform to record the number of people passing by. While in April 2022, an average of 126 people visited Hvítserkur per day , or around 3,770 people per month, the numbers more than doubled in the following years up to 2024, reaching around 280 visitors per day, or almost 8,500 people per month.

Directions to Hvítserkur

The basalt rock of Hvítserkur is located on the eastern side of the Vatnsnes peninsula, between Hrútafjörur to the west and Húnafjörður to the east. Road 711, the Vatnsnesvegur, runs along the coast of the Vatnsnes peninsula. The road is nearly 77 km long.

On our trip to North Iceland, we arrived from the west via the Ring Road. On the east side of the peninsula, we turned onto Road 711 and rumbled along the unpaved road for 30 km . Roadworks were underway here, so the journey took some time.

Road 711 - Vatnsnesvegur

After about 30 km, turn right onto road 713 (Hvítserksvegur). The route descends about 500 m toward the coast, down to the parking lot.

When we arrived, we were a bit surprised – we hardly saw any other cars along the route, but there were quite a few vehicles parked in the parking lot, people milling around or sitting at a wooden table having picnics. It was quite busy, but we still managed to find a parking space without any problems.

By the way, a car full of tourists was parked at the junction with Highway 713 – the occupants were apparently debating whether they dared to drive down to the parking lot. The road wasn't in such bad condition, though; it was dry and not at all muddy, slippery, or anything like that. All in all – a good day for this tour!

From the parking lot you can walk in either direction to the viewing platform, from where you have a beautiful view of the basalt rock from above.

Or you can walk from the other end of the parking lot across the meadows down to the beach (" fjara ").

The walk is a bit long, but then you can walk along the coast to Hvítserkur...

... and then at low tide you have a beautiful view of the basalt rock up close.

The drive to Hvítserkur on the unpaved road is a bit long, it's not a "quick detour", and you won't pass by here by chance, but if you have enough time, I find this basalt rock with its very special shape a very worthwhile destination!

[Translated from here.]

Í norðurhluta landsins

Into the north of the country

We spontaneously took a two-day vacation and drove to the north of Iceland, at least as far as Sauðárkrókur.

We visited the basalt rock of Hvítserkur, the Kolufossar waterfalls, and met Jón Ósmann. We ate delicious Black Forest cake and Frankfurt crown cake at Kaffi Schwarzwald in Helluland. We fought in the Battle of Iceland in 1238.

On the way back, we stopped briefly at the church village of Glaumbær. My husband at least didn't ring the church bell at Blönduos' new parish church. Finally, we visited the seal center in Hvammstangi. After that, we drove straight home.

I'll tell you more about the individual stops on our vacation in the next blog posts.

By the way, we first visited Sauðárkrókur in 2004, on our first trip to Iceland, where we stayed at Hótel Tindastóll. We've barely changed in the past 21 years - the Hótel Tindastóll and I, don't you agree?!?

[Translated from here.]

Yet another lopapeysa

All the same knitting pattern, but it looks completely different in different colors...!

This pattern comes from a Finnish knitting book for Icelandic patterns. I bought the book in February 2023.

The book states that the pattern is "easy to knit", and I actually find it wonderfully simple and it develops so naturally that all I need to do is look at the pattern in the book once at the beginning of each row and the rest of the row then practically follows itself.

So this is still my current favorite pattern!

I find it incredibly quick to knit - which is why I've knitted it several times and I'm still so thrilled. All the sweaters and jackets are made of Léttlopi wool, which is a medium-thickness Icelandic wool.

I think I have now knitted the pattern in 7 different variations:

First, I knitted the pattern as a cardigan for myself, with a hood for maximum everyday usability, in a really beautiful, fresh gritz green with yellow, red, and purple.

And because my sister liked the jacket so much, I knitted her the same pattern as a jacket – basic color black with brown, yellow, and green.

Later my husband got the same pattern as a classic lopapeysa (= sweater), in Icelandic colors - main color blue with red and white.

A dear friend then got the pattern as a sweater in purple, gray and white - to match the purple lupins here.

And for another dear friend, I knitted the pattern as a turtleneck sweater in turquoise, light green, and pink. It was a surprise gift for her move, and somehow those were just the colors I immediately associate with her. This time, I knitted the Lopapeysa with a matching hat with lovely, plush pompoms.

And because child 4 has somehow grown and outgrown his previous lopapeysa with a Viking pattern, he also received a new sweater at the beginning of the year – with an open collar that can be turned up, at the request of the knitter. He picked out the colors himself in the store, choosing "Hafblár" (= "Sea Blue") as the base color, along with "Vertrarbraut" (= "Star Nebula") and "Bleik samkemba" (= "Pink Symphony"). Oh, yes – in this photo, my husband is wearing our youngest's new lopapeysa.

I knitted this current version for a dear relative at the beginning of summer. I had asked her beforehand what her favorite colors were. The answer was: orange, dark red, purple, black, and a vibrant green. Well, just how vibrant the green is is a matter of opinion, but overall, I think I was able to pull off the colors quite well. And I knitted the Lopapeysa with a hood - because I know how much she loves hoodies. I feel the same way!

I'm still a bit handicapped after my accident on the patio in July. Unfortunately, my left shoulder is still not quite right, and I can't knit the way I'd like to yet—I really miss that! But I hope I'll get better... I still have two unfinished knitting projects here, and I've already bought yarn for the next one!

[Translated from here.]