Today I get to write about my favorite little town in all of Iceland — Seydisfjordur, which is located on the northeast coast of the country:

Props to my sister for telling me about this place after her own Iceland trip — Seydisfjordur is a real gem.

I arrive just after sunset following a LONG day of driving — I spent the morning at geothermal fields near Lake Myvatn, then went north to find a puffin colony (sans puffins) on a beautiful drive to Borgarfjordur Eystri. Now I’m finally in Seydisfjordur for the evening. The town is surrounded by mountains on all sides and I snap this pic on the road into town:

Seydisfjordur is a port town located right on the water; its population is around 700. There’s a cute main street with restaurants. The whole place is remote and picturesque.

One of three restaurants / bars right near the campground:

Normally I would’ve picked one of the three restaurants near camp, but on my sister’s recommendation I walk about 10 minutes down the road to Skaftfell Bistro / Center for Visual Art. She found it in her Lonely Planet guide book and ate one of the best meals of her life here:

There’s a bar and restaurant on the lower level; they have boardgames available for guests. I place my order at the main counter — cod, per Bethany’s recommendation, although the pizza looks and smells terrific — and snag a table. I settle in to edit photos and write blog posts.

Let’s take a closer look because every bite of the cod dish is mouthwatering. It’s a huge hunk of fish, pan-seared and served over delicious chunky mashed potatoes. As Bethany said, they really know how to do cod here. There’s crusty bread and fresh butter too.

I savor each bite. And when I’m done, I stay another hour or so to get more work done. It’s cold outside so I want to keep warm as long as possible before climbing into my tent.

Around 11pm the waitress tells me they’re getting ready to close up. We chat for a bit and I find out that she and her boyfriend (who also works at the Bistro) came over from Denmark a few months ago to work for the whole summer — it took them four days to get here by boat, and they were dropped off right at the port in Seydisfjordur. They haven’t even been to Reykjavik yet. After chatting awhile she says I can stay longer while they clean up, as long as I don’t mind that they play music. It’s a great atmosphere and I love connecting with other people like that.

It’s around 11:30p when I walk back to my campsite. It is freezing and very quiet. I pause to snap this photo:

The next morning I enjoy a granola breakfast in my car.

I document this campsite because it’s such a pretty location — dozens of waterfalls trickle down the mountains around me. I could hear them in the distance at night.

Here’s my tent from the other direction. Aren’t these views magnificent?

So. Many. Waterfalls.

Once my campsite is packed up I grab my camera and walk around town. It’s overcast and moody, which only enhances Seydisfjordur’s appeal.

By now it’s after 10am and I need coffee. This place has water views — sold.

I settle in and blog for two hours, uploading several of the posts I wrote the previous night.

This is so relaxing and I want to stay here all day, but the fact is I have a long drive ahead of me and quite a bit to see.

On my way out of town, I pause to photograph the sign that indicates you are entering / departing a town. They’re all over Iceland and I’ve been meaning to get a picture:

I’m sorry to say goodbye to Seydisfjordur. It’s a pocket of beauty tucked away at the top of the world.

I think I just figured out the title for this post.