Hvalfjörður is situated in the west of Iceland, and the fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. The place has an interesting history.

During WWII, a naval base of the British and American navies could be found in this fjord. One of the piers built by the United States Navy is today used by the Hvalur whaling company for the processing of fin whales, partially for the domestic market, and mostly for export to Japan. None of this in 2019 though.

The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no presence of whales in the fjord; while the only whaling station in Iceland is still located here. In the past the fjord also contained many herring fisheries.

Today the old buildings, and some newer ones,  are still standing for the workers at the station, even if there were no workers this year. Only goats…

Outside the main building, we came across this lovely man and could ask him about old times, the navy men, the whales and the Japanese workers. In fact, as a young man he had worked as a whaler here himself. Now he was just trying to repair and maintain the houses.

Some of the small houses looked inhabited and we could see through the windows how cosy they were inside. A bit small, but much better than a tent. They could maybe be rented by tourists? I asked – but no, the government did not allow that. The huts were deemed too simple. We learned that they had no toilet and no kitchen. There was this main building for that purpose.