Yesterday was all urban, today was all rural and natural. We toured the Golden Circle, a route in southern Iceland with no roots in the island’s history but includes many great natural sites especially:
- Þingvellir (or Thingvellir) – Where the parliament of Iceland was founded, the first of its type in the world. Also the edge of the North American tectonic plate with the European plate is clearly visible as a wall. I liked visiting here because we drove by the edge of the North American plate with the Pacific plate on the way to the SFO to get here.
- Geysir (or The Great Geysir) – A very active geyser in southwestern Iceland. It was a the first geyser described in a print and is the source of the word geyser. Geysir is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa which means “to gush.”
- Gullfoss (or Golden Falls) – A waterfall of offering a view of a spectacular amount of water movement. That is the closest I can describe it.
More nature to come over the next two days.
Art across from our hotel.
The harbor near our hotel.
The view back towards Reykjavík. The pipe is bringing hot water (86c or 187f) to the city.
A clear day.
Local source of thermal-dynamic power. Smells like what??
The domes represent spots where hot water is extracted.
Þingvallavatn or Thingvallavatn.
Saw lots of this today.
Þingvellir or Thingvellir in english. The parliament of Iceland (first parliament in the world) was established at the here in 930 AD. It is also the edge of the North American plate.
The path down at Thingvellir. The wall on the right is the end of the North American plate. The path descends through a piece of North America that fell off recently.
Geysir expresses itself.
Hot springs near Geysir.
Gullfoss or Golden Falls.
Gullfoss or Golden Falls.
Mountains and glaciers near Þingvellir.
Icelandic horses.
Harpa Concert Hall