Page 193 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL EATING IBERIA

where sheep wintered, Bernholtz said.
Pike saw potential in the dwelling. Demolition
and reconstruction of the farmhouse began that fall.
Bythetimethecraftsmenweredoneanditreopened
ayearlater,thebuildinghadbeenturnedintoarustic
and luxurious lodge with 13 suites - and a bunkroom.
To the rear of the original structure, Pike built a
large dining room, a spa complete with flotation
tanks, a pool, bar, large recreation and music rooms,
a high-end kitchen for producing meals, library, the-
ater, yoga center, en-suite bedrooms and other
amenities.
Another building houses fat-tire mountain bikes,
ski gear, paddle boards and other equipment. The
farm also has snowcats for reaching the slopes when
its juiced-up choppers can’t fly due to weather and
snowmobiles for touring the snowy countryside. The
Langhus farm is nearby, where you can ride rugged
Icelandic steeds.
My adventure to near the top of the world began
with a flight from the U.S. to Reykjavik, which was
settled in 874 by Vikings led by Ingolfr Arnorson.
With a latitude of 64 degrees, it’s the world’s north-
ernmost capital of a sovereign state.
I spent a day wandering the city, visiting the Na-
tionalMuseumandHallgrimskirkjaCathedral,dining
on Arctic salmon at a small restaurant and swimming Stefania Gudrunardottir, the experience man-
in the mineral-rich Blue Lagoon, which has been ageratDeplarFarm,metmygroupofeagerheli-
called one of the 25 Wonders of the World by Na- skiers at the door and showed us around the
tional Geographic. lodge. Then the lanky Icelander - who went to
From there, it was a short flight on Air Iceland to high school for a year in Kansas - sent us off to
get our skis and a briefing from our heli-ski
Akureyri, a town of 20,000 on the Troll Peninsula’s Ey-
jafjörður Fjord. guides. Photos by Brian Clark
Akureyri has a small ski resort with a vertical drop
ofabout1,500feet.ButIwasdestinedforthebigpeaks
above the Fljot Valley. A cushy suite at the Deplar Farm and bot-
tom: Stefania Gudrunardottir, an experience
In Akureyri, I hopped in a souped-up Mercedes
manager at Deplar Farm, points out the Troll
transport with huge tires and was soon traveling
Peninsula on Iceland’s northern flank.
through mountains where, legend has it, mischievous
trollsdwell.(Ineversawany,butonegnomedidgrabmy Opposite: Deplar Farm, a converted sheep-
ski two days later, sending me cartwheeling down a herder’s farmhouse, serves as the base for
the Eleven Experience heli-skiing program
slope.)
on the Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland.
Within a few hours, we pulled up to what looked
likeapleasantfarmhousecompletewithasodroof.This The luxury lodge has 13 suites, an indoor-
outdoor pool, spa, entertainment room, yoga
wasDeplarFarm,wheretwochopperswereparkedon
studio, gourmet kitchen and other amenities.
their own pads. And while the farmhouse looked mod-
est from the front, it was anything but inside.

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