A recent trip to Europe ended up flying us through the far northern island country of Iceland.  I had wanted to visit this country since hiking about in the tundra and mountains of Norway back in the early years of the 1980s.  The vast treeless moors of the Hadangervidda and the Jotunheimen served as magnificent introductions into the immense beauty to be discovered in the subarctic.  Iceland figured to take the natural beauty up a notch or two. The tundra also provided a bridge between magical nature with the political past at Þingvellir.

Winter is always coming on Iceland

In the world of tourism, a lot has changed regarding Iceland as a destination.  The national flight carrier, Iceland Airlines, probably has a lot to do with it, but so have many popular media events, many none more so than The Game of Thrones series which shot many of its more spectacular outdoor scenes from Icelandic locations.  Popular social media has played a big role, as well, as the word of mouth has definitely gotten out regarding Iceland’s potential.

In the 1980s, I hoped to join one of the hiking tours offered by the local hiking association, Ferðafélag Íslands, similar to what I had done earlier in Norway through Den Norske Turistforening.  Enjoying the best the country has to offer with locals seemed like an excellent way to get a flavor for the country.

Alas, I ran out of time.  Plus, Iceland – like Norway – was not a cheap country then and maybe even less so today.  I also knew even less about Iceland at the time than I did Norway.  There were not a lot of flights to the country either at the time.  So, I put it on the backburner of my mind while I began a career back in my hometown, shifting from over a month of vacation received in Europe through the Army back to the miserly two-week vacation, the norm for the US.

Over the years, I became vaguely familiar with the growth of Iceland as a place for tourists to seek out – hot springs, geysers, waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, vast stretches of subarctic lavascapes.  The occasional adds from Icelandair featuring stopovers in the country were also hard to miss.

Icelandair

Icelandair used to fly to a few cities on the East Coast, but they aggressively moved to other cities all over the US offering one other opportunity for travelers to approach Europe from.  They also offered their stopover program – up to a week – for “free”.  The stopover program resulted from their scheduling, or their scheduling accentuates the program – I am not privy to their thinking – since many flights coming in from European destinations arrive too late for people to make same day connecting flights back to the US. 

Outward-bound seems to be no problem, it is the flights onward to North America.  Flights from Iceland onward to Europe turn around and come back to Keflavik – Iceland’s main airport.  They return too late to match up with many of the North American flights, hence the stopover solution.  It does not hurt that Iceland Airlines patches into too many of the Icelandic tour offerings either.

On the recent trip I ventured out on, I hoped to fly to northern Italy and return from Barcelona.  Using one of my mileage programs had me going to a couple of stops in the US, before heading to Morocco and then Italy.  The return was through Amsterdam.  Flying in those directions had the problem of seriously depleting my mileage accounts while boosting the amount of time for the trip.  Icelandic was quicker and cheaper.

Icelandic Hype

Quite frankly, I was not expecting Iceland to live up to its tourist hype.  Between commercial hype for tours of all kinds – hot pools, whales, puffins, 4×4 travel on and off glaciers, horse riding, northern lights, diving between the tectonic plates … and the list goes on; plus, the unabashed praise, so it seemed from travelers all seemed jaded and surreal.  One thing to note is to try and go shoulder season if you can.  Even then, at the tourist spots, the crowds filled the shops.  I can imagine what it is like in July-August. 

The major problem with shoulder season – but you can say the same for anytime in Iceland – is weather.  Going to Europe in mid-September, everything was grey and wet.  Coming back in mid-October, a lot of early snow already on the ground already gleamed white, as well.  Luck was on our side, however, as we landed for a quick 3 day – 4-night stay in bright sunshine.  Now, in mid-October, the sun is never going to make it high into the sky and it did not in these three days.  But it did make an appearance such that one day was cloudless, the next was only grey and on the day we left, it started to rain, probably about as good as one could hope for at that point of the year in Iceland. 

The one day we had brilliant sunshine was the day we took the ubiquitously present “Golden Circle Tour”.  If you are going to do a tour in Iceland, I would probably opt for this one.  You can get away with this one in all sorts of weather, though sunshine improved matters 100%.

Golden Circle

The Golden Circle runs out east and south from Reykjavík to Þingvellir to Geysir to Gulfoss and back again.  You get to see where the Icelanders held the oldest parliament – or their equivalent, anyway – in the world; an Icelandic version of Yellowstone and one of the largest waterfalls on the island, Gullfoss – Golden Waterfall, hence the name of the tour.  The tour takes a day with the hardest part being the actual picking up of tourists at their various sites and then the dropping off in the late afternoon.

car versus bus tour

In Iceland, you either take tours or you rent a car.  For only three days, a car did not seem the thing to do.  Most of the time, we were going to be in central Reykjavík where a car is about as useful as in the center of most European cities where you spend most of your time worrying about where to find parking.  One couple we met on the return flight to the US rented a car.  They promptly got in an accident on one of the many roundabouts you encounter. 

A few more days, and a car might make sense, but with only two full days …  We opted for the bus in and back from Keflavik – Reykjavík is an hour away, by bus anyway.  One day for the Golden Circle and one day for hanging about in town.  Again, just a taste of the country.

The Golden Circle turned out to exceed my expectations.  So many ads for tours and the somewhat cheesy name, did not have me expecting too much.  Weather helped out, as I noted.  Not only sunshine, but with the sun low in the sky, by the time we reached Þingvellir at 0900, the sun gave a surreal light onto the scene making me forget the fact – somewhat – that I was coming from three weeks of 27C temperatures to 3C.

Þingvellir

Iceland’s parliament is today in central Reykjavík, but until 1844, the Alþingi met here in the lava fields just north of Þingvallavatn, Iceland’s largest lake.  Alþingi means “general assembly” and Þingvellir translates to “assembly fields”.  The first session of the annual assembly began in 930 with the last session coming in 1798.  The Alþingi became discontinued for some years until re-established by royal decree in Reykjavík in 1844.

While claimed to be the oldest parliament in the world, its powers over the political world of Iceland have waxed and waned over the years.  The first settlement of the island took place in 874.  Ingóflr Arnarson was the chieftain of the group of Norwegian settlers of the first group.  The population slowly grew, and other clans decided the need was present to curb the strength of the family of Ingóflr.  The Alþingi met annually to decide upon laws and legislation for the island.  The land here at Þingvellir was adopted for the meetings after the original owner was found guilty of murder and his land declared public.  Þingvellir was relatively accessible to most of the country with wood present and grass for the horses.

Laws handed down from the Löberg

Laws were oral for many years with the Lawspeaker reciting the laws at the beginning of sessions over which he presided over a three-year term.  He spoke from atop the Löberg – Law Rock – at the bottom of the cliffs on the east bank of the Öxará River.  The Law Council then enacted legislation as well as made rulings on points of law. 

While all could attend the Alþingi only certain people could serve on the Law Council.  A certain balance of power kept the whole thing going for almost three centuries until clashes between families led to the executive power transferring first – 1262 – to the Norwegian and later Danish crowns.  Legislative power in Iceland was not regained until Home Rule was granted by Denmark in 1903.  The site became Iceland’s first national park in 1930 in time for the 1000^th anniversary of the Alþingi.  Here on 17th June 1944, Iceland declared itself a republic ending its association with the Danish crown.

The main parking – especially if you are on one of the many tour buses – is on the north side of the site at the Gestastofa Hak.  From here you can overlook the site and descend on trails dropping down a elongated lava fissure which is actually a 7-kilometer long rift marking the eastern border of the North American tectonic plate – Almannagjá.  Below you can wander past foundations used during past Alþingi sessions reaching the site of the Löberg where an Icelandic flag flies.

Þingvallakirkja and the National Cemetery

Across the Öxará River sits the þingvallakirkja, a 19^th century church built on the site of one of Iceland’s first churches – 1017.  Iceland officially became a Christian nation here in 1000.  Next door to the church is the Þingvallabær, the site of the park warden’s office and the prime minister’s summer home.  Two cemeteries sit next to the church, one large circular site originally intended for a national cemetery for people whom the nation wished to honor, though that idea seems to have faded over time.  Another cemetery located in front of the church and the Þingvallabær.

Back on the paths past the Löberg, if you turn right – east – you come to the Drekkingarhylur or the drowning pool.  Here people convicted at the Alþingi of witchcraft were drowned.  The river flows out from the slot in the fissure here.  A few hundred yards further, the river enters the fissure at the little waterfall – 13-meter-high – Öxarárfoss.  Even further is the Langistígur – 1.5 kilometers from the Visitor Center.  This slot canyon – a continuation of the Almannagjá fissure – was where men guilty of sufficiently gruesome crimes either lost their heads or were hanged in the Stekkjargjá.

Continental Drift

The Almannagjá denotes the eastern edge of the North American tectonic plate.  About a mile to the east and the western edge of the Eurasian plate – Hrafnagjá – is crossed into.  That leaves a bit of ground in between.  Just to the east of þingvallakirkja you find a couple of more fissures filled with water.  The largest fissure, Flosagjá, extends some 730 meters with a depth of 25 meters containing crystal clear waters originating from the Langjökull Glacier some 45 kilometers away.  Another fissure nearby has the name Peningagjá or money vault.  The thought here, if you throw a coin into the water, your luck and fortune will come back to you in spades.  To preserve nature, the park decided to not allow further luck to transpire, not allowing monies to be tossed in.

The main fissure getting most of the tourist action is known as Silfra. This is the largest and deepest of the fissures lying at the rim of the Þingvallavatn serving as the entrance into the lake for the waters from the other fissures.  Waters from the Langjökull Glacier used to run into the lake directly by way of a river.  That river was blocked several thousand years ago by lava spills from the Skjaldbreiður volcano.  The meltwater seeped underground to form an aquifer coming out in the fissures near the þingvallakirkja.

diving between the continents

Scuba diving and snorkeling tours are popular here allowing diving between the tectonic plates to take place in waters between 2 and 4 °C to take place.  That cold, diving requires a dry suit.  While there are not that many places in the world you can dive between tectonic plates and the waters are very clear, don’t expect much beyond the lava fields you see all around above ground.

Þingvellir at Night

The chances are good, also, if you book a “Northern Lights” tour, your bus will make its way back out here to Þingvellir to give you a dark sky chance at seeing the Aurora Borealis.  Our bus went to the Upplýsingamiðstöðin Þingvöllum which is the service center for the national park today. Previously serving as the visitor center.  This spot is located almost directly in between the tectonic plates which are slowly spreading apart.  Tours usually guarantee a viewing of the Northern Lights with non-occurrences giving the viewer a “free” opportunity to come back within the next year or two.

We saw the lights, but only after a two-hour wait just as the bus was ready to admit defeat.  The result was a curry-green mix above lasting about 20 minutes.  I was not expecting much and the wait in -3 °C temperatures was not worth the cost.  If you really want to see the Northern Lights, I would sit in a window seat on a winter flight from North America to Europe.  Several times, I have watched the Lights glimmer and shimmer ad infimum.   The colors and motions of the lights were amazingly complex.  When you are flying at 35,000+, cloud cover is not going to affect you much unlike on the ground in Iceland.

Þingvellir and its role on the Golden Circle

Þingvellir is seen by many tourists as the weak point on the triad of stops on the Golden Circle.  This should not be the case.  The site is one of both historic and natural beauty.  Include it on your tour of the Golden Circle of Iceland.  It features strongly in the cultural history of the island commemorated in the old sagas as well as newer material from the likes of novelists such as Iceland’s own Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness. 

You pass the home of the controversial author on the way out of Reykjavik.  Laxness, the home, is about 1.5 miles east just off Highway 36 – the road to Þingvellir – from the intersection with Highway 1, the Ring Road.  There is a museum at the old house devoted to the writer.  I read his magnificent works Independent People and Salka Valka long ago from books I picked up used.  Amazingly, for as good as the books were, they were not reprinted in the US until recently – political innuendos being implied. 

Those two books and Reclaimed Paradise seem a good starting point for the 2022 movie Godland which also – in keeping with the old sagas – demonstrates a man at odds with his life in the face of a forbidding and unforgiving Iceland.