For whatever reason, who knows why, when I hear the phrase “turf dwelling” I immediately think of the Monty Python sketch “Four Yorkshiremen“, despite the fact they don’t mention “turf dwelling” once. They used to live in a cardboard box in the middle of a lake and ate gravel for dinner, if they were lucky.
Perhaps these turf dwellings at Glaumbaer in northern Iceland would have been absolute luxury, back in the day. They certainly seemed snug and warm, cosy and well – rather earthy.
We made a brief stop on our way from Reykjavik to Laugar. You can either wander around some of the outer buildings, for free, or delve into the depths of this communal living dwelling for an entrance fee. The weather wasn’t exactly being kind to us, and we still had a long way to go to our destination, so we didn’t hang around for long. i.e. we chose the free option.
In hindsight, it would have been an interesting diversion from all the volcanic and glacial scenery we had yet to encounter. Should we have gone in, after all???
Luxury
wow these are pretty interesting. Do people live in them or are they just for show?
People used to live in them, back in the day – but not any more. These dwellings are only preserved as a museum.
Thanks for the visit
Oh I love these. They like real life hobbit houses. Thanks to you, now I know where to find them. I can live out my hobbit life dreams in Iceland! Thanks
-Rene
Oddly enough, JRR Tolkien spent time in Iceland prior to writing the Lord of the Rings. Maybe these ARE the real hobbits houses!!
These people must have hard lives…it doesn’t bear thinking about really. Why didn’t they go somewhere warm to live?
It certainly makes for an interesting visit though.
It is a tough existence, but there’s plenty of people who don’t fare well in warmer climes – my mum being one of them – she’d probably do very well in Iceland in mid-winter!!
They do look warm and cosy. They are lovely.
Even with the doors open (you could clamber inside, should you wish to) the buildings were surprisingly sheltered from the elements outside – it was a pretty wet and windy day when we visited. You’d have to get accustomed to the overwhelmingly earthy smell though. It was quite powerful!
nice shots Lu – neat… oh and much better than “a small shoebox in the middle of the road.”
“Shoebox in’t middle of road… LUXURY…”
Thanks Sheila
Hobbit houses- I was really laughing until I read your response of Tolkien having spent time there.
You see?? You never know! The world is a small place, and clearly Iceland is rather inspirational
Hobbit houses! I suppose they didn’t have a wide variety of building materials back then.
I’m actually disappointed that I didn’t come up with that one first… where’s my head at
Yup, not many trees around for huts etc..