The Golden Circle is the standard tourist route from Reykjavik, hitting three major attractions and is something one must do in Iceland! We completed the circle (more like a triangle for us, since we didn't start in Reykjavik) and the sights were impressive! The first was Thingvellir, the location of Iceland's parliament, first formed around 1000AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is possibly the oldest legislative body in Europe. Considering Iceland was an inhospitable island filled with Vikings, it's remarkable how peacefully governing occurred! Instead of a king, 51 representatives from across the country gathered at Thingvellir every year in a rift in the land, with fresh water and lots of shelter.
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| Thingvellir |
One person was the Lawspeaker, and he would stand up on a certain rock and recite the laws of the land. This would take a couple days, then the Thing (as they called their parliament) would debate to add or change laws. During this time, people built huts in the rift and lots of trading, celebrating, inflicting punishments on criminals, and arranging marriages happened.
The next stop on the Golden Circle is Geysir, the geyser after which all others are named. Geysir itself isn't so active any more, but its next door neighbor erupts every five minutes or so, drenching tourists standing downwind! (not us, luckily)
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| Geysir |
Finally, we visited Gullfoss, an impressive waterfall. Gullfoss means "golden waterfall," which could derive either from its muddy yellow glacial waters, its frequent rainbows, or legends of greedy men tossing their riches down the river to prevent others from having them. The waterfalls were performing nicely, but there was a strong wind which made us rather damp.
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| Gullfoss |
Despite being crowded, the Golden Circle was a lot of fun and well worth the trip! I'm a bit behind in my posting, but soon there will be tales of puffins, waterfalls you can go behind, "magical" lobster soup, glaciers, and a trip into Reykjavik that involved sampling whale (not the endangered kind, I promise!) In the mean time, I've got to get ready to leave - I fly back to Wisconsin tomorrow! Hooray!
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