Akureyri is a small city in northern Iceland that locals call the Capital of Northern Iceland. Akureyri was first settled in the 9th century and has had a permanent settlement since 1778. One of three Allied air bases during World War II was located here. It was used by the British and the Danes.

This area is also the second largest urban area in all of Iceland. It's an important fishing area with an ice-free harbor, despite its location in far northern Iceland. This is due to geographic factors such as the Gulf Stream from Mexico.

Akureyri had an interesting main street. We walked it back and forth several times. They have a university here and I think that lends itself to a more interesting culture and town.

One interesting sidelight in Iceland was all the stories and legends about trolls and the like. I believe it can be directly attributed to the long cold dark winters with no other form of entertainment except to invent just such stories.

The architecture of these buildings was such that we didn't notice it in any other Icelandic town that we visited.

We got to enjoy another home-hosted dinner in Akureyri. This is our hostess serving us the dinner that she cooked for us. We started off with Rum and Ginger cocktails with fruit and smoked lamb on flatbread. The main meal was fresh cod in a tomato cream sauce with new potatoes and green salad fresh from their garden. She also made fresh sourdough bread with raisins. I could have gladly made an entire meal of the bread. Dessert was rhubarb, ginger, dates and fresh cream. Everything was very good!

No special event was going on in Akureyri when we were there but I think this is a town that just likes a little pizzazz.