January 2022

The classic stops on Iceland's famous Golden Circle are the waterfall Gullfoss, Geysir geothermal area, and Þingvellir National Park. Those three are on a straight line east from Reykjavik, so one has to throw in a couple of extra stops such as Secret Lagoon or the Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel to make it a genuine loop. We had been to Raufarhólshellir on our second day and were completely finished with swimming pools and lagoons so our plan was to make it a Golden Line.

We decided to start with the more straightforward sights and bypassed Þingvellir to get to Geysir. Although Geysir is the origin of the English word geyser and is the largest of the geysers in the geothermal area, the only one that visitors are likely to see erupting is its smaller neighbor Strokkur. Geysir erupts less and less frequently every year and no one seems to know the current frequency or when the last time was that it erupted, but it's safe to say it probably isn't going to happen during any particular visit. It's no big deal either way because Strokkur puts on a nice display every few minutes.

Behind the cluster of geysers and hotpots near the road a dirt path climbed up the hillside. At the top was a narrow ridge that led to an overlook with a bird's eye view of Strokkur. On the other side of the ridge was a beautiful valley with a meandering creek and farmland with grazing sheep.

We rested at the overlook for a while and watched Strokkur erupt a couple of times. It definitely wasn't as impressive as being right in front of the geyser but it felt good to breathe the fresh air again after spending so much time in the sulfurous vapors at ground level.

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We made a very brief stop at Gullfoss, just ten minutes further east. It's a beautiful, wide waterfall but we'd lost count of all the waterfalls we'd seen over the last two weeks. In terms of size and forcefulness it was similar to Dettifoss and we decided not to make the trek down to the viewing platform to get soaked by the spray.

We were going to need to find somewhere to eat before tackling Þingvellir and the only place on our route I knew anything about was the tomato farm Friðheimar. My impression was that it was something of a tourist trap but probably unique enough to be a worthwhile experience regardless. The parking lot was packed and we walked down a tree-lined dirt road to the greenhouse which housed the restaurant. It was something of a madhouse inside and we were originally told that the tables were booked until closing, but Mei Ling worked her usual Jedi magic and got us onto the waiting list. We occupied our time examining the gift shop and the long rows of cherry tomato plants with fruit in various stages of ripeness. Many of the products in the shop were related to the bumblebees that flock around the greenhouse pollinating the plants.

Eventually we got our table and started off with some of the famous Friðheimar bread. Some people were taking advantage of an all-you-can-eat deal for the bread and tomato soup but it seemed like a waste given the other interesting dishes we saw on the menu. We had quite a good meal of Caprese salad, tomato ravioli, a tomato quesadilla, and some very succulent mussels which we washed down with beer and tomato-based cocktails.

Þingvellir is a confusing place to visit because few people seem to know its boundaries and several roads enter the park from the main highway. The park is roughly defined as the area between the north shore of the Þingvallavatn lake and the curve the highway makes around it. When most people mention Þingvellir they are really referring to a walking path that extends about a mile from Langistígur canyon to Almannagjá gorge and incorporates most of the well-known sights in the park. There is also a renowned dive site called Silfra in the lake and numerous hiking paths for those planning a longer visit. We ended up at a parking lot in the middle of the walking path, close to the waterfall Öxarárfoss.

Öxarárfoss isn't a very impressive waterfall by Iceland standards but is interesting in that it results from a manmade diversion of the Öxará River designed to create a source of drinking water for the assemblies that were convened there. It is also the source of the renowned Drekkingarhylur "drowning pool" that was used for the execution of women convicted of adultery or incest.

We followed the boardwalk north to Langistígur which proved to be the most enjoyable part of our stop at Þingvellir. We had this gorge almost to ourselves which made for a very peaceful and enjoyable walk between the jagged, blocky walls of basalt. At the end of the fissure we were able to clamber to the surface level where we could look back along the path almost to Öxarárfoss. Beyond the gorge was the blue expanse of the lake.

We reversed course and walked all the way back past Drekkingarhylur to Almannagjá. This spot is very significant in Icelandic history because it is the site of the country's first nationwide assembly, the Alþingi. The assembly continued to take place at Almannagjá for eight centuries until it was moved to Reykjavik in 1844. Almannagjá was also chosen symbolically as the site at which Iceland formally declared its independence from Denmark in 1944. For most travelers the main attraction of Almannagjá is that the two sides of the canyon belong to two different tectonic plates, the North American and the Eurasian. The path through the canyon is often described as the "walk between continents". I was pretty sure we had just done the same thing in the quieter Langistígur, and for that matter we had explored another section of this rift just hours after stepping off the plane. If I had insisted on walking the length of Almannagjá I would have faced a mutiny from my tired and hungry family so we returned to our car.

We poked around for a little bit at the edge of Þingvallavatn, trying to get some good perspectives on this famously beautiful lake, but the sun was already beginning to drop and we thought that Mývatn had been far more pleasing aesthetically. We made our way back to Reykjavik, eventually passing through the familiar string of dizzying roundabouts. I counted about fifteen before something distracted me from my tally. We only had one more chance to try a food hall and I chose Grandi Mathöll in the refurbished harbor district. The food was good although we didn't find anything as enjoyable as SKÁL! from the previous night.

After eating we spent a little time walking around the harbor checking out the various colorful and weatherbeaten boats that were tied up to the docks. The neighborhood seemed rather inactive in the evening and we decided we would come back in the morning to see if it was more lively. On the way home we saw Reykjavik's famous Harpa Concert Hall lit up in purple for the evening.