The Golden Circle - Circled Again

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For the second year in a row, we visited the Golden Circle. We wanted to make it different, and we were able to experience something different at each stop.

At Þingvellir, it was different by virtual of the huge crowds. We had to park more than a mile from the visitor’s center at the Oxarafoss parking lot. That meant we got to see Oxarafoss, which was too far for Kai to walk last time. This time, he never once complained about the walking. The gorgeous blue skies didn’t hurt. In fact, it was so warm that I stripped down to my tank top! It must have reached 60° Fahrenheit. This time, we were prepared, with Icelandic cash, to pay for the restrooms. I had intentionally withdrawn cash to pay for both the tolls to Borgarnes and the bathrooms at Þingvellir.

The visitor’s centre was so packed that it was difficult to navigate. In fact, all of Þingvellir was like that. It was a shock, seeing so many people after our sojourn in the quiet Snaefellsnes. In fact, I almost don’t want to tell anyone about the Snaefellsnes! It is different though – where the Golden Circle is stunning, grand, and quite green – the landscape of that peninsula is quite different, and it’s surprises are on a smaller scale, but occur more frequently.

Next, it was the long drive to Geysir, broken by the recommendation to check out Eftsi Dalur, a farm where home-made ice cream is produced. It was a great experience. We had fresh hamburgers, delicious beer (Einstok again!), and ice cream, in a beautiful space overlooking their farm. We got to see the cows in the barn, and again as they trundled, udders full of milk, out to the grassy fields.

At Geysir, Strokkur was fun as usual but we made the visit more fun by hiking up the overlook. It was a steep climb, but worth it for the views. And for the companionship! We met our neighbors, at last, at Geysir. They were coincidentally visiting Iceland too; we were texting all day to see if we were going to end up in the same spot.

My parents loved the huge gift shop at Geysir, as I had the year before, and we bought K. a cute Puffin shirt.

Our last visit, at the end of the day, was Gulfoss. You forget how grand it is, as photos cannot quite capture the experience. The spray on your face, the massive amounts of water gushing forth. It too was quite developed since our last visit, with a big visitor’s center, interpreted walking path, and restrooms.

When we returned to Reykjavik, we checked into our apartment rental. For K’s birthday, we had Indian at the Indian restaurant across the street. Even my parents tried Indian, for K’s sake.

K. was happy we got to see Strokkur go off again:

“Geysir was my favorite time this year, and last year in Iceland.”

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