After a few days of driving through the Westfjords, characterized by quaint fishing villages and serene picturesque countryside, I’d gotten used to the quiet.
Entering Ísafjörður felt like diving into a cosmopolitan city, despite its petite population! It is indeed the largest town in the region, with plenty of excellent restaurants and hiking options. Ísafjörður means ice fjord and the settlement sits on a spiraling spit surrounded by water reaching into Skutulsfjörður.
Keep an eye out for Arctic Foxes, we saw our first one of the trip here running across the road early in the morning.
Where to eat:
+Gamla Bakaríið or the Old Bakery, is in the heart of town nestled into a narrow brick lined road. You’ll notice the vintage car that serves as great advertisement, but this place is no gimmick. It is one of the best bakeries you will ever experience.
It is cozy inside, display cases are filled with beautiful looking sweets, though it is uncertain what they may be.
Go with whatever catches your eye; it is unlikely that you will be disappointed.
Even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, there are ready made sandwiches and plenty of breads. Try a horseshoe kringlur, soft and dotted with caraway seeds, great when dipped into hummus for lunch and I’d bet even more divine slathered in Icelandic butter.
+Tjöruhúsið Restaurant
Seafood lovers will rejoice staying in Iceland’s historically largest fishery, with the freshest ingredients on hand. Ísafjörður has the most 18th century timber frame homes in the country and this restaurant, which was a fish warehouse from 1781 is one of them. 
A family owned restaurant which runs fresh a catch buffet, you’ll start with a langoustine and tomato based fish soup – one of the most deeply flavorful around. Hunks of bread with rich Icelandic butter are meant to clean the bowl. 
Soon after the spread is ready, with fish as the sole meat and a plethora of sides.
The host announced that wolffish, cod, and halibut were on tonights table, but there is no printed menu.
Undeniably fresh and relentlessly delicious. You can pay for dessert or enjoy the gratis (and succulent) dates along with nibs of chocolate, tea, or coffee.
Seating is family style at long wooden tables with benches, you are situated next to strangers that might end up becoming friends.
Dinner is at 7PM, $50pp for fresh catch buffet (under 14 free), call for reservations in advance.
Where to hike:
+Naustahvilft
Plateaus surround the deep blue waters of the fjords, on the far side of Ísafjörður is a unique mountain with a crater like depression. Of course Icelanders would create a mythical tale to go along with the geological oddity, and this area is known as the Troll Seat. So it goes, a troll hurried home before daybreak, so she would not turn to stone upon sunrise. She got back early enough to soak her tired feet in the harbor, and the indent of the mountain is where her large rump rested! The hike up to the ledge of Ernir Mountain is short and steep, a roundtrip .8 of a mile gaining 650 feet in elevation.
There is no direct path, but many herd trails etched into the mountainside initially following a bubbling stream.
Do not worry about getting lost while picking your path, you can always see the parking lot. Once you reach the top of the seat, a huge boulder has a mailbox with a notebook you can sign your name in accomplishment.
From here the views down into town are impeccable.
Explore the trails through the basin like boulder field filled with interesting flora.
For me, down is worse than up when it comes to a steep, muddy route! Take your time and wear appropriate shoes.
To find the trailhead, drive towards the Ísafjörður Airport and you can’t miss the small hikers parking lot adjacent to the airstrip.
+Old Óshlíð Road
Once the most perilous road in the country lay just north of Ísafjörður, between the villages of Hnífsdalur and Bolungarvík. In 2010 a tunnel opened, closing the road between the cliff and the sea to auto traffic. But you can still hike or bike on the wild side, and see exactly what went wrong. Take the coastal road north heading towards the tunnel, just before you enter bear right on the gravel pull off (66.113983, -23.121073) into a likely deserted picnic area.
This place doesn’t see much traffic anymore. Starting down the road, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about – it seemed just like every other fjord road…actually a lot nicer than most since it was paved.
When the sun was shining it made the glaciers across the fjord glimmer with vigor.
Staring out into the water I thought I saw something shift, then again, and more until I was certain – there were whales spouting out there!
Closer to view many birds flitted about the shrubbery, sitting just long enough for a photo.
Vibrant purple lupines grew tall in clusters along the patches of grass beside the road.
A collection of delicate waterfalls dropped down a lush mossy mountainside.
Up on a hill a group of sheep bleated to let us know we were not alone.
After passing through a series of tunnels, the landscape became more imposing.
Fearsome looking cliffs above, so sheer it was clear that many rockslides could occur, causing fatalities on the road.
Then those very boulders appeared, first one here or there, but soon a seemingly impassible stretch to maneuver.
Suddenly it got so bad that it was as though one of Iceland’s mythical trolls had taken a bite out of the road!
Half of the asphalt just tumbled down the slope right into the sea and that is why people no longer drive down Óshlíð…
Or so you would think, but we did see a car come down this road. It is just wide enough to squeak by with courage, and we watched what this man would do at the boulder field. He parked, got out, started rocking the boulders from side to side until momentum developed, and moved them just enough to clear a path for the vehicle. So at your own risk depending on conditions, it might just be possible. Much more scenic to hike or bike though! From one town to the other the road is 4.5 miles long, and then back again.
Where to sleep:
Try an AIRBNB, ours had geothermally heated floors!