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Our criteria is that it had to have a magnificent view.  Like the view we have in the mountains of Switzerland.  

We imagined it could be a house overlooking a fjord.  

Another criteria was that there should not be a main road such as the ring road in front of the house and especially not between us and the main view.

The same day we found the ideal house we were at a different part of the country.  In North-East Iceland.  Then we found this house that exceeded our expectations. Not only does it have 

Self service is not a big deal.   Most people like to leave their place of accommodation in a good state anyway.  Adding that little extra effort to make the place completely ready for the next guests makes sense.  It is especially easy when you are provided with everything you need to do so.  Clean linen, different colored cloths to clean different surfaces, powerful yet super silent vacuum cleaner and a system to dispose of trash and recyclables. 

Car rental in Iceland is very expensive for the months of July and August.  Yet May and June are even better months to visit and indeed any time of the year can be interesting.  Unlike places that are slightly more northerly Iceland has some daylight (twilight) all year round.  And the weather is relatively mild - although this does not mean that snow storms never happen.  Exposed parts of the country can be very windy, but otherwise the weather is comparable to places much further south.  For example the weather in Reykjavik in January is comparable to the weather in Hamburg, Germany.  (The figures are similar for temperature, wind and rain.) 

• With the Mt Fuji look a like volcano outside we thought it would be appropriate to convert our living room into a semi-Japanese style tatami room.  When we approached some furniture stores in Iceland they did not even know what a tatami is.  So we ended up importing the tatamis ourselves from Asia on what used to be the worlds largest container ship.  An advantage of the traditional tatami room is that it is dual use.  Used for sleeping at night but for living during daytime.  We however found the Japanese low chairs to be uncomfortable so we searched for another solution.  The solution we found was to adapt some sleeping sofas; to make them low sofas and at the same time we achieved a modern Scandinavian look.  Before we made this change the living room was a boring traditional Icelandic living room from the last century.  The result is a grand sofa area where 20 people could sit and circa 10 people sleep.

• High thread count linen with over 300 threads, thick cozy comforters (duvets)

• Especially for people who are not used to 24 hour daylight it is important to have sun-blocking curtains.  A luxury that many guesthouses do not provide.

• We have beige cloths for drying hands, white to use in the kitchen, pink to clean surfaces in the bathroom and blue to clean the floors.

• For simplicity we refer to Snaefellsjokull (Snæfellsjökull) as the Mt Fuji look-a-like.  But in fact Snaefellsjokull is a 

• We are located in the middle of a bird breeding site.  So expect a lot of bird activity especially during the summer from mid May to mid August.  The artic terns are a bit aggressive but simply hold your hand or a stick in the air if you are afraid.  The young ones like to gather on the road so drive very slowly.  This is actually a desired co-habitation by the birds and man.  Originally a farmer desired the birds because they bring free manure.  The birds feel saver from predators like the artic fox and mink.  It is fascinating how these birds fly a distance that is equivalent to flying around the world every year.   There are lots of different species often in great numbers.  

• Some of our beds are made up of latex mattresses and toppers.  There is one more room that has tatamis and naturally we do not place a bed on top of the tatamis but rather multiple mattresses which can be made into a double bed or two single beds.  The other rooms each has one bed, ranging in size from a width of 120cm to 160cm.  

The bridge accidentaly prevents enough oxigen from reaching the fjord in cases where huge flock of fish enter.  Starved of oxigen the fish die, which causes the population of starfish to explode which in turn attracts the gannets who dive for a nice meal.  Orcas and the white tailed eagle are also often seen around this fjord.

The smallest village to have a culture center.  The place is better connected to the next town and village with a bike and hike path than any village we know of in Iceland.  Although traditionally other villages have gotten more attention because of their proximity to the Snaæfellsnes volcano, Rif is better placed for the view towards the mountain because from Rif you can clearly see the caldera which you can not from other angles.  Even places that are very close do not have the same characteristics, for example Olafsvik does not get any direct sun for some period in winter whereas Rif does.  No other place on the peninsula has the kind of bird-life that Rif has, and no other settlement in Iceland. 

The Northern-Lights circle the earth like a halo at a distance of 2000 to 2500 km from the geomagnetic north pole.  We are at a distance of exactly 2250 km from the geomagnetic north pole - a perfect distance.

Only a few houses are directly above the little lake, facing it and the other lakes.  No other house has big windows facing the nature in two directions.   We are on the preferred flight path for the birds that are constantly crossing over during the bird breeding season.

Very comfortable and practical.

See the waterfalls as well

You can also walk towards the cliffs and enjoy hearing the waves.  Apart from being so pictureq another advantage of the midnight sun is that it is never to late to go hiking or to come back from a hiking trip.

Or you can walk towards the cliffs and enjoy hearing the waves

It only takes about 5 -10 minutes to walk to the cliffs