The 18th-century turf-farm museum at Glaumbær is the best museum of its type in northern Iceland and worth the easy 8km detour off the Ring Road, following Rte 75 north from Varmahlíð.
The traditional Icelandic turf farm was a complex of small separate buildings, connected by a central passageway. Here you can see this style of construction, with some building compartments stuffed full of period furniture, equipment and utensils. It gives a fascinating insight into the cramped living conditions of the era.
Also on the site are two 19th-century houses – one is home to Áskaffi, an impossibly quaint tearoom with old-world atmosphere and dollhouse dishware. Peruse the brochure explaining the history behind its delicious traditional Icelandic tarts, cakes and pancakes. (The other house contains the ticket office and souvenir shop.) You can visit the cafe without paying the museum entrance fee.
Snorri Þorfinnsson, the first person of European descent born in North America (in 1004), is buried near the church (1000kr, open 9am to 6pm June to August) at Glaumbær.
