Right here you may discover Tröllagarðurinn or the Trolls’ Park which was created by the house owners as a recreation for the visitors at Fossatún.
High picture: In Grýla’s cauldron with my husband and his niece
Grýla – the mom of the Icelandic jólasveinar – the Xmas Lads
The house owners and farm keep operators of Fossatún, Steinar Berg, and Ingibjörg Pálsdóttir, have created a magical world on their land, which I like to go to.
I find it irresistible when individuals get good concepts and act on them, so kudos to the house owners of Fossatún. They’re former neighbours of mine and their son, Páll, was my brother’s finest buddy once they have been little.
The Troll’s Park is for the visitors of Fossatún, and I’ve stayed right here a few instances.
Alone in Grýla’s cauldron
A few of the trolls within the Trolls’ Park are fairly scary wanting. One among them is Grýla, who’s the mom of the Icelandic Xmas Lads.
She just isn’t the nicest of trolls, possibly the worst – and he or she eats naughty kids and cooks them in her cauldron.
I at all times climb up into her cauldron and have my picture taken. I have a set of photographs of myself sitting in Grýla’s cauldron by the years 🙂 I at all times get the chills although when doing this as it’s imprinted in us from an early age to worry Grýla.
Attempting to get on Grýla’s good aspect again in 2013
The Customer’s Information requested me if they may use a photograph of me within the cauldron. So I despatched them one other model of the primary picture on this travel-blog of the three of us collectively by Grýla.
It’s on web page 222 within the 2022 publication of the Customer’s Information.
I feel that they’ve used this picture for five years now, which is gorgeous. So I discover it acceptable that I publish it myself in my travel-blog as effectively because it has been in circulation for years 🙂
Naughty or good?
The idea in trolls in Iceland might be as outdated because the settlement itself when the Vikings settled Iceland in round 874 – and you’ll discover myriad locations in Iceland named after trolls.
The trolls have been residing right here in Iceland although manner earlier than Iceland was settled by us mere people.
As these of you, who learn my travel-blog, know already then I’m an enormous fan of folklore and have written many travel-blogs in regards to the Icelandic trolls by the years, f.ex.:
The mild Troll Bergþór in Mt. Bláfell – Icelandic Folklore from South Iceland.
Ármann in Mt. Ármannsfell and the Troll Video games on Hofmannaflöt Plains in South Iceland
Grímsá river by Fossatún
At Fossatún you’ll discover Tröllafossar – Trolls’ Falls and within the neighborhood, a peak of the mountain Skarðsheiði known as Skessuhorn or the Horn of the Ogress.
The Trolls’ Falls are small waterfalls/rapids in Grímsá river, which is one in all Iceland’s finest salmon rivers. Typically salmons can be seen leaping within the falls, particularly at Veiðifoss waterfall on the left-hand aspect closest to land.
Grímsá river is talked about in Landnáma – the E-book of Settlement in Iceland, and the Vikings went salmon fishing on this identical river some 1,100 years in the past.
Grímsá river by Fossatún
The waterfalls are lovely and the troll environment are so magical. By the falls you’ll discover the pinnacle of a troll within the rocks (see my picture under). It’s man-made however it suits completely into the troll panorama.
I obtained a letter from Menntamálastofnun – the Directorate of Training in Iceland, the place they requested me for permission to make use of the picture under in an academic kids’s guide “Halló heimur”, in a chapter about folklore and trolls.
You possibly can see the picture right here, they used extra of my photographs from different areas in Iceland on this great guide.
A troll at Fossatún
Again in 2005, Steinar Berg seen two ogresses within the rocks by the Grímsá river because it falls into the Trolls’ Falls.
The house owners had lit up the waterfall on the event of internet hosting their first Christmas buffet, and the stone faces of the ogresses immediately appeared within the rock.
One among them is claimed to be a friendly-looking ogress with an exquisite smile.
Are the Trolls’ Falls named after these 2 ogresses? No one is aware of, however it is vitally seemingly.
Varied trolls at Fossatún
The story goes that if trolls are uncovered to daylight they are going to be changed into stone – that’s the reason the so-called nátttröll journey by night time.
However a number of of them have been unfortunate and have changed into stone, like these ones: The three Trolls who needed to separate the Westfjords Area from the Mainland of Iceland – Icelandic Folklore – Vestfjarðatröllin
Mt. Skessuhorn – the Horn of the Ogress
Steinar Berg was fascinated by these ogresses and after seeing them within the rock he began inquiring in regards to the origin of the identify of the Trolls’ Falls and of the Horn of the Ogress, Skessuhorn, within the neighborhood.
He did not discover a story associated to the Trolls’ Falls so he selected writing his personal story in regards to the Ogress Drífa by the Trolls’ Falls in a guide referred to as Tryggðatröll – the Final Troll, with lovely illustrations by Brian Pilkington.
A grim-looking troll at Fossatún
The Final Troll is a fairy story for kids and adults alike and has been printed in Icelandic, English, French, German, and Norwegian – it is a wonderful learn.
Steinar Berg began digging into this matter additional and acquired so impressed by the trolls that he ended up writing 3 extra books on trolls in Borgarfjörður.
That is what Grýla appears like from behind – she has acquired an extended tail
His second guide known as Tröllagleði after which a sequence to the second guide was printed referred to as Hringaló og Grýla, which is the identify of two trolls, Grýla being the worst of the entire trolls as she loves consuming kids, as I informed you earlier in my travel-blog.
In 2015 his guide Trunt Trunt was printed.
Steinar Berg needed to begin a troll-related vacationer trade and created a Troll Park with troll statues from his books.
A cairn on the Troll Park
If you’re a visitor at Fossatún you may go on an hour-long Troll stroll with info indicators in 5 languages from the troll books main the way in which.
You’ll amongst different attention-grabbing troll-related issues discover a cairn from the guide the Final Troll, the place the ogress removed her worries into the cairn and you may nonetheless see the imprint of the ogress’s hand on the cairn.
You can too do away with your worries by placing your hand into the ogress’s imprint and there are directions by the cairn.
The data signal by the Troll Park
That is how it’s finished: “Lay your proper hand in your coronary heart and your left hand on the rock slab on prime of the cairn. Breath deep, shut your eyes, and consider all the great issues which have occurred to you in your life“.
It has develop into a standard follow for individuals to recite the traces of one of many poems of the famous Steinn Steinarr (1908-1958) as they launch their worries into the stone:
“Sure, it’s a lengthy and tough highway
and life is temporary and far will go astray.
However sleek by temptation and hardship’s load
your objective will at all times shine and bide your keep.“
A objective on the Troll Park
On the Troll stroll, I discovered many troll video games, the Troll kick and the Trolls’ Play on phrases – and a miniature turf home for kids with giant farm animal bones as an alternative of toys. You possibly can see the Troll stroll path on the map above.
Kids love this place – I’ve visited Fossatún with my husband’s niece and I could not tear her away from the Troll Park, there was simply a lot enjoyable stuff to see and do.
She is from London, so she is used to every kind of leisure, however I collect that her Icelandic genes made her fall in love with Fossatún.
A miniature turf home at Fossatún
There’s a pretty restaurant at Fossatún, the Rock ‘n’ Troll restaurant the place additionally, you will discover a big vinyl assortment and gold information hanging on the partitions.
Steinar Berg was a widely known file producer and the proprietor of the music firm, Steinar Data earlier than he moved to Fossatún and have become a farm keep operator and a troll specialist.
Steinar Berg’s file assortment contains greater than 3,000 information and you may select one of many information and ask the employees to play it for you whereas eating on the restaurant.
The file assortment at Fossatún
My mom and I as soon as stayed at Fossatún on our manner north to Akureyri. We often drive to Akureyri in a single go, solely stopping at chosen areas throughout the 4-5 hour drive up north.
However this time round we selected pampering ourselves and take it simple and booked one night time at Fossatún, which is barely 84 km away from Reykjavík, the place we reside.
We had a selection between staying within the guesthouse or on the nation resort. We opted for the guesthouse as it’s got a kitchen.
Our room at Fossatún
I at all times go for having a kitchen throughout my travels in Iceland as as a result of my meals allergy symptoms and restricted weight loss program I can not eat in eating places and must make my very own meals.
My mom allowed me to make use of the picture of the 2 of us above after I had implored her for her permission to submit it on my travel-blog 😉
By now I’ve written some 300 travel-blogs about Iceland and included a myriad of photographs of myself travelling throughout my nation, so I like having my mom with me in one in all my photographs 🙂
With my mom at Fossatún
There’s a lot to see within the neighborhood of Fossatún, so it’s a nice location for an in a single day keep.
Aside from the troll environment at Fossatún, you may go to the Saga city of Borgarnes, the agricultural neighborhood of Hvanneyri, Europe’s strongest sizzling spring Deildartunguhver, the Krauma geothermal baths, the historic web site of Reykholt, the attractive Hraunfossar and Barnafossar waterfalls and plenty of extra sights of curiosity.
Hraunfossar waterfall is my favorite waterfall in West Iceland
My mom and I visited all of the websites I discussed above, however throughout my childhood, my mother and father made a number of household journeys to Borgarfjörður, so I actually felt like a child visiting these lovely locations once more with my mom 🙂
Again then there was no Hvalfjarðargöng tunnel, so we needed to drive by Hvalfjörður bay, which made the day journey significantly longer, so we might discover a place to remain in a single day.
After a full day of revisiting Borgarfjörður, we returned again to Fossatún and my mom had dinner on the restaurant.
Soaking in a sizzling tub at Krauma by Deildartunguhver sizzling spring
Visiting all these lovely historic websites within the Borgarfjörður area makes for a beautiful day tour. You possibly can even do the entire Silver Circle tour from right here.
I’ve written one other travel-blog in regards to the Silver Circle with the intention to see what there’s of curiosity on this space in chronological order: The Spectacular Silver Circle in West Iceland.
Lovely Fossatún
Right here is the placement of Fossatún on Google maps, and right here is the web site of Fossatún.
I’ve invited my mom for extra journeys to Borgarfjörður, as as an alternative of giving her flowers on Mom’s day I give her a resort keep as an alternative. Right here is one other travel-blog about one in all our journeys to Borgarfjörður with an in a single day keep at a resort.
Have a stunning time on the lovely Fossatún in West Iceland 🙂
