The last weekend of August I was sitting on a bus heading towards Stykkishólmur, a beautiful little town in the Snæfellsnes peninsula, with not much more than my toothbrush and all my camera gear. I was only going to stay in Stykkishólmur for one night but I was scheduled to take the ferry Baldur across Breiðafjörður bay at 9am the next morning to reach my final desitnation: Flatey Island. There I was going to watch two lovely Americans promise to love each other forever and after in the great outdoors, Ásatrú style, in front of her parents and the Nordic gods. Oh, and the camera gear was there to capture this special moment.
I remember doing a little count last year where I discovered that there were only 6 towns left in Iceland that I hadn’t visited and for some strange reason Flatey was one of them. Flatey has a special place in the hearts of many people I know, both people that own houses there but also just people that have gone there and fallen in love with the place so I was super excited about finally having a reason to go there. Paradise on earth is a term I’ve heard used to describe it more than once. And what a great reason to go there too – I’m a sucker for a good love story and even a bigger sucker for epic wedding tales.
Traveling with a boat to an island you’ve never been to with people you’ve never met to marry the love of your life, at the end of the Icelandic summer with the wind howling and a volcanic eruption brewing, is definitely good material for such a tale.
Flatey island didn’t disappoint although the weather somewhat did. The poor bride had to be wrapped in blankets during the ceremony and both the bride and the groom almost froze their butts off during our attempt to get some photos of them in their wedding attire. Despite the cold, which I’m kind of used to anyway, I loved my time there and am determined to visit again soon.
We stayed at the only hotel on the island, Hótel Flatey, and we also got all our meals there. This was their last weekend of operation and although it was obvious that the staff was in “lets pack this place down and go home” gear they never made us feel unwelcome or gave us less than great service. My room was small but super cute and cozy and the duvet was so good that I’m half tempted to send them an e-mail to see where they got it. I slept like a log after a rather disappointing night at a hostel the night before (squeaky bunk beds killed an otherwise super pleasant experience).
Because everything was closing down there weren’t a lot of people around and it kind of felt the we were alone in the world there. It would actually have been a great setup for a murder mystery but I’m glad the events that took place in my head only happened there. Although I’m sure the island is beautiful in nicer weather and with more people around I actually quite enjoyed walking around on my own talking to the sheep and the birds I met on the way. Oh yes, I do that.
The highlight of my stay in Flatey, apart from the wedding and the beautiful surroundings of course, was the food we got at the hotel. It didn’t matter whether it was the light lunch we had, the dinner after the ceremony or the breakfast the next day – it was all delicious and beautifully prepared. Really beautiful. It would be so easy for a restaurant like that, where the next restaurant is over an hour away on a boat, to serve sub-par food for jacked-up prices but the restaurant at Hótel Flatey had none of that. I was really pleasantly surprised.
Beautiful hotel, beautiful food, beautiful wedding – beautiful 24 hours.
A few practical things about visiting Flatey Island
There are two ways to get to Flatey, you can take the ferry Baldur that goes from Stykkishólmur to Brjánslækur and back, or you can go there on a smaller boat with a company called Iceland Ocean Tours. If you are headed to the Westfjords but you want to make a stop in Flatey you can take the ferry in the morning, stop over in Flatey for a few horus and then head on over to Brjánslækur where you pick up your car with the afternoon ferry.
When we were there the shop on the island had already closed down so if you want to go there but you don’t want to eat at the hotel you’ll have to pack a lunch to bring with you. As you can see above I think you should definitely check out the food at the hotel though. They also had some snacks, chocolates and such, available to buy if you get a craving for something sweet while you are there.
On the way back we hit some rough seas and although I almost never get sea sick I had to go outside and stay there in the fresh air because I felt very queasy. So if you are prone to get sea sick I would consider bringing some sea sickness tablets to take before the journey if the weather is rough and bring some warm clothes so you can sit outside. Just my two cents (based on all the puking people on the ferry that morning).