Iceland with Kids

Hafnarfjörður

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Icelandic Horses: How to see them and where to ride them

Last update: May 16, 2022

Icelandic horses are unique, and their history is amazing.

Here’s a quick summary. In the year 982 (yes, nine eighty-two!) a law was passed in Iceland forbidding any horse from being imported into Iceland. A horse can leave the country, but it can never come back. And this law has been in place continuously for over 1,000 years.

These Icelandic horses have a unique characteristic. Most (all?) horses can walk, trot, and gallop. But Icelandic horses have two more gaits: The Tölt, and Flying Pace. Both of these gaits are considered to be extremely smooth for how fast they are. [Read more…] about Icelandic Horses: How to see them and where to ride them

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Friday, July 22 update: Hiking Helgafell

We headed out to Hafnarfjörður to do some hiking today. Our destination was Helgafell mountain. “With an accessible and easy trail, walking on Helgafell is popular for all levels of hikers, including young children.”

The parking area is located here (Google Maps link); it’s about a half hour drive from the harbor area of downtown Reykjavik; it could be much less if you are already outside of town. You’re in the right place if you see this sign at the end of the parking area:

helgafell sign [Read more…] about Friday, July 22 update: Hiking Helgafell

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Thursday, June 23 update: Hafnarfjörður

We’ve taken some time to relax the last few days in Hafnarfjörður, a town about 20 minutes outside of Reykjavik. We spent some time shopping in Kringlan, the largest mall in Reykjavik. It turns out that designation is a bit of a technicality, since Kringlan is 7 minutes away from the larger Smáralind, which is the largest mall in Iceland. Apparently, Smáralind is just outside of Reykjavik?

Kringlan mall
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