Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [213]
Café Nielsen ( 471 2626; Tjarnarbraut 1; lunch Ikr950-1550, dinner mains Ikr1850-4650; 11.30am-11.30pm Mon-Thu, to 2am Fri, 1pm-2am Sat, 1-11.30pm Sun) Occupying the midrange bracket between N1 eats and gourmet treats, the standard menu at Café Nielsen won’t blow you away, but you’ll probably end up eating here if you’re spending any amount of time in town. In summer there’s a pleasant leafy terrace and garden. The kitchen closes at 10pm sharp.
Gistiheimilið Egilsstaðir ( 471 1114; www.egilsstadir.com; mains Ikr2990-4900) Dried branches dangle over crisp white tablecloths and stripped wooden floors, giving the dining room an undeniable romantic appeal in the evening candlelight. The speciality here is the beef – Egilsstaðir raises its own cattle – though you can’t go wrong with any of the well-prepared dishes.
Quick eats and an enormous sundae bar can be found at Söluskálinn ( 470 1230; burgers Ikr830, fish Ikr1690) at the N1 petrol station near the tourist office. Or try the Shellskálinn (Fagradalsbraut 13; mains from Ikr800; 10am-10pm) at the Shell petrol station at the top of town, which offers everything from pizza to Thai food.
Self-caterers have the well-stocked Samkaup-Úrval supermarket ( 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun) by the N1 petrol station, and the Bónus supermarket ( 471 2700; www.bonus.is; noon-6.30pm Mon-Thu, 10am-7.30pm Fri, 10am-6pm Sat, noon-6pm Sun) north of Fagradalsbraut. Samkaup-Úrval has a surprising assortment of Tupperware, plastic cutlery and thermoses – perfect if you’re contemplating a camping trip.
The Vín Búð ( 471 2151; Miðvangi 2-4; 11am-6pm Mon-Thu, to 7pm Fri, to 4pm Sun Jun-Aug, noon-6pm Mon-Thu, 11am-7pm Fri, 11am-2pm Sat Sep-May) alcohol shop is on the ground floor of the office building diagonally across from the N1 station.
There’s a small bakery, Fellabakarí ( 471 1800), open on weekdays, at the Ólís petrol station in Fellabær.
Getting There & Away
Egilsstaðir is the transport hub of east Iceland. There’s an airport (1km north of town), and all bus services pass through (Click here).
The Ring Road steams through Egilsstaðir, but if you want to explore the Eastfjords you need to leave it here. Rte 94 takes you north to Borgarfjörður Eystri, Rte 93 goes east to Seyðisfjörður, and Rte 92 goes south to Reyðarfjörður and the rest of the fjord towns.
Getting Around
Avis ( 660 0623; www.avis.is), Hertz ( 522 4450; www.hertz.is), Bílaleigur Akureyrar ( 461 6070; www.holdur.is) and Budget ( 471 2022; www.budget.is) all have agents at the airport.
Bus connections with the Smyril Line ferry in Seyðisfjörður can be really inconvenient. If you get stuck, a taxi ( 898 2625) between Egilsstaðir and Seyðisfjörður costs around Ikr8000.
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NORTH OF EGILSSTAÐIR
The region due north of Egilsstaðir is mostly water and grey sand. Few travellers visit, but if you’ve plenty of time, you might like to admire this landscape of dunes, basalt outcrops, marshes and river deltas (where the Lagarfljót and Jökulsá á Brú join the sea).
There’s no regular public transport, but with your own vehicle you could do a loop drive along Rtes 94 and 925.
Eiðar
Eiðar, 14km north of Egilsstaðir on Rte 94, was the farm of Helgi Ásbjarnarson, grandson of Hrafnkell Freysgoði (see the boxed text). The church, built in 1887, contains an interesting statue of Christ that washed up on the shore at Héraðssandur, near Húsey.
Spread across three dated schoolhouses just off the Egilsstaðir–Borgarfjörður road, Hotel Edda ( 444 4000; www.hoteledda.is; sb Ikr1700-2900, s/d Ikr6800/8500; mid-Jun–Aug) is a summer hotel with lots of sleeping-bag space, rooms with washbasins, a swimming pool and a surprisingly good restaurant dolled up with white tablecloths.
Kirkjubæjarkirkja
One of Iceland’s oldest wooden churches, Kirkjubæjarkirkja (1851) is set in a peaceful deep-grassed graveyard, 3km west of Lagarfoss. It’s a quaint little place, with a dusty harmonium, a sky-blue ceiling, creaking stairs up to