Iceland: The Golden Circle

Iceland’s most-visited sights are known collectively as the Golden Circle, a loop of three popular natural landmarks within 45 minutes to an hour’s drive out of Reykjavik. The Golden Circle was our first drive out of the capital, on our first day, and it was a great teaser of what to expect for the rest of our four days on the road.

Our first stop, however, technically wasn’t on the Golden Circle, but on the way and worth a quick look. Kerið is a crater that was formed by the inward collapse of an underground magma chamber (magma! Flashback to third-grade science!). More notably, Kerið is the venue of a yearly concert by Bjork, where she performs on rafts set afloat on the lake. Awesomeness.

Our next stop was the Þingvellir National Park, the site where the first Icelandic Parliament, or Alþingi, was founded in 930.

Þingvellir is big—we didn’t cover all of it, but pretty much decided to park the car at a random spot and walk from there. Most of what we saw was a massive wall of rock that stretched far longer than what we could see.

Part of this wall included the Lögberg, or Law Rock, the main gathering place of early Icelandic parliament, chosen because all the chieftains could reach it by some overland route or another. This natural formation of rock also looks seriously impressive, like a place of power should. From Lögberg, the view of the surrounding landscape made it all too easy to picture these powerful chieftains of old coming from all over Iceland, riding across the landscape to converge at the rock… like the Riders of Rohan galloping across the plains in Lord of the Rings. Goosebumps.

Another spot that lent itself to powerful imagery was a waterfall and pool called Drekkingarhylur, where the Law Council carried out ritual executions by drowning… particularly of women. Eighteen women were known to have been executed here from 1618 to 1749.

Of course, if you want plain and simple natural beauty without the history, there’s lots of that too—from long scenic walks…

… to the first of many waterfalls dotting the Icelandic countryside.

Þingvellir is also famous for being the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet… and are drifting apart ever so slowly. Parts of the ridge are sectioned off, so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where continents are being torn apart. However, the many cracks and fissures in the earth are clear evidence of Mother Nature doing some heavy pushing and pulling.

From Þingvellir, it was on to Geysir, the first geyser ever recorded in printed material (and the source of the word “geyser”).

Walking into this field where steam pours out of vents in the ground kicks your imagination into high gear, and you might start to think of witches’ cauldrons sunk into the earth. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble…

Geysir is great for an active mind, but not so for a fully functioning olfactory system. Two words: hard-boiled eggs. Not even Marlon, my egg-loving husband, could enjoy being enveloped in these clouds of sulfuric steam.

The smell is worth enduring for a short stroll around the Geysir, where you see your planet at work—letting off steam (literally, venting) from these small, strange pools…

… and from Strokkur, a reliable old fellow that erupts every five to seven minutes or so, sending jets of water up to 30m into the air.

The great Geysir himself, however, is a lot more unpredictable… and powerful. I’m not sure I’d want to be around if he wakes up.

The final stop on our Golden Circle route was the waterfall Gullfoss. I’m glad we saved this for last; nothing we saw that first day could have topped this. Even now, I still can’t find the words to describe it: massive, thunderous, mighty all somehow fall short.

These twin waterfalls are nothing less than a humbling sight. Once in a while, you’ll encounter things that make you stop and realize how small humans are. For me, Gullfoss was one of those things.

Marlon and I spent a long time just looking at Gullfoss from above, trying to absorb the immensity of it all. Then we decided that the flat rock where those people were standing looked like the place to be, so we climbed down a long flight of stairs and walked up to it.

And this is what it looked like. I love the way the wind and water has cut the rocks into sharp, flat, angular shapes… almost like real tiles.

From afar, the mist rising above the falls looks beautiful, even ethereal. Being in it was a different story—it was like being caught in a thunderstorm, only the squall was rising from the ground instead of pouring from the heavens.

All I had to protect my camera was my jacket, and I was cold and drenched. But as you can see from this photo, I didn’t care.

Being caught in Gullfoss’ mist, surrounded by its thunder, humbled by its power was… in a word, exhilarating. In another… unforgettable.

And that was just day one.