The highlight of our Day 7 was the visit to Friðheimar Farm and Restaurant, located in Reykholt, about 25 minute ride from Gulfoss Falls.
Friðheimar Farm specializes in tomatoes. We were told it produced 15% of tomatoes consumed in Iceland.
How do they do it in the Land of Ice? Well, the farm is basically one big greenhouse. It is heated by geothermal water that is abundant in the area. The farm is family owned and managed.
It is warm and humid inside the greenhouse. There are tomato plants everywhere, their stems trained on trellises.
The greenhouse uses some sophisticated plumbing, both for watering the plants and for heating:
What does one need to grow plants, besides water, heat and light? Bees, of course – for pollination. Bees come in boxes, like some regular supplies:
Warm and brightly lit interior contrasts will cool and cloudy outdoors:
Besides tomatoes, they also breed racing horses at Friðheimar. They have stables and a sort of hippodrome, where tourists can observe jockeys and horses practicing. The young equestrians we saw there were quite skillful, riding full speed with a pint of beer (or whatever yellow stuff they put in their mugs) without spilling a drop:
The restaurant is right inside the greenhouse, next to the rows of plants. They take both individual guests and groups. Reservations are recommended. The food is not super fancy but quite good, and, naturally, features the local terroir. I especially liked the bread they make, served with a variety of oils and dips:
If interested you can learn more about Friðheimar at https://www.fridheimar.is/en
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