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Strokkur Geyser
"Some 120 paces S.E. of the Blesi is the Strokkur (‘butter tub'), an intermittent fountain ..."--Baedeker 1912.
DSC_1116The "Golden Circle" is the popular name for a tour of Iceland's most popular tourist destinations: Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir hot springs and Thingvellir National Park. (Baedeker in 1910 didn't call them that, but did list them as the top places to visit in Iceland!) They can all be visited in a day tour out of Reykjavik. Our Globus circle tour of Iceland began with these destinations.
Driving out of Reykjavik, the lava and moss landscape was similar to the drive in from Keflavik Airport. The landscape of Iceland proved to be a great contrast with that of Greenland, despite similar latitudes. There are trees and open fields in Iceland with farms, villages and wildlife, albeit punctuated with the every present lava fields covered in moss. (Visitors are reminded not to step on the moss. Trails and paths exist through the lava fields.)
Our first stop was at the Hellisheiđi geothermal power station to see the Geothermal Energy Exhibit. The plant uses geothermal energy to both generate electricity and provide hot water. About 85% of all houses in Iceland are heated with geothermal energy while geothermal power provides 25 per cent of Iceland's electricity. (The balance of electricity generation is
Kristnitökuhraun Lava Field
Hellisheiði Lava Plateau east of Reykjavik. The lava field formed during an eruption of Reykjafell in 1000. It is typical of the landscape between Reykjavik and Sellfoss, a moss covered lava field with a few trees and rolling hills.
DSC_1050 hydro.) We learned that homes in Iceland do not need hot water heaters, as hot springs provide the hot water required. ON (Orka náttúrunnar), an Icelandic electric power company, operates the plant. It also supplies hot water to the Reykjavik metropolitan area. ON electric car charging stations are seen all over Iceland.
Next on the itinerary was the Geysir hot springs area. The Geysir Center is across the highway with a hotel, restaurant, snack bar and gift shop. Here we were treated with a demonstration of making
rúgbrauð or
hverabrauð, an Icelandic rye bread baked underground in a milk carton. Again, Icelandic geothermal energy steps in. Ingredients are placed in a container, usually a milk carton today, and buried in a geothermal area. The heat bakes the bread. Trying a sample, I found it sweet with the consistency of banana bread. Toppings offered included cheese, smoked salmon and fried egg.
Across the highway lay the hot springs. There are a number of bubbling and steaming hot springs and mud pots here. A stream of very hot water runs alongside the path. Signs warn visitors not to touch it. Susan and i wondered if one could dip a mug
Vífilsfell
Vífilsfell on the Hellisheiði Plateau, 2,149 ft (655 m).
DSC_1056 into the boiling stream and then add a tea bag! Strokkur geyser is active, erupting every few minutes. We waited a bit here and success! Afterward, we spent some time in the very hot gift shop.
From Geysir, the coach took us to Gulfoss waterfall.
Gullfoss, meaning Golden Falls, is a two-tiered waterfall on the Hvítá River. The Hvítá is a river of glacial water from the Langjökull glacier. A path leads down to the lowest tier of the waterfall, but we stayed up at the top tier for an overall view. At Gulfoss, we were in sight of the Langjökull glacier, the second-largest glacier in Iceland. Several glacier mobiles were in the parking lot at Gulfoss preparing to take adventure seekers out for a drive on the glacier itself. We had lunch at the Gulfoss snack bar and gift shop, a ham and cheese panini.
We now went to Thingvellir National Park. The Thingvallavatan Rift Valley is the meeting place of the North American and European tectonic plates. The territory is rugged and the uplift and split of the plates can clearly be seen. It was only with the understanding of the workings of tectonic plates that
the geology of Thignvellir was understood. Thingvellir, or rather
Þingvellir, means "Assembly Plain". Famously, the
Alþing met here annually from 930 to 1798. The meeting was an assembly of all free men at which laws were decided and justice meted out. The Icelandic parliament os still called the
Alþing and views itself s the successor to these meetings at Thingvellir. A path leads through the cracks and crevasses of the rocky terrain. Lake Thingvellir, Iceland's larges lake, is below as is Thingvellir village.
Golden Circle tours typically return to Reykjavik at this point. But our tour now pushed on to the northwest, to the community of Bogarnes. Bogarnes is a small town to the north of Reykjavik. It lies across the Bogarfjörður (Bogard Fjord) on a peninsula. Our hotel, Hotel Hamar, was actually located on a golf course. The hotel offered a striking view of the mountains across the fjord.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Iceland's beauty
We've been to Iceland twice and we never get enough of the waterfalls!