This blog is brought to you by Ellie.
Breakfast today was at 9am and we had all slept like logs after the late night yesterday. It had been an amazing day filled with beautiful firsts and today would be no different. We fed ourselves up and grabbed a few snacks to take on the road. Barry… did not sample the pickled herring today. If you read yesterday’s blog, you know what this means for me.
When we piled into the car, the temperature was -1 but we knew we were in for a cold one today. We were embarking on a self-driving tour of the famous Golden Circle, which consists of three tourist spots that are a must-see when you are here. The roads as we climbed into the hills outside Reykjavik were very icy at times. Karl was doing an excellent job driving and was being very careful. The locals, however, were tearing past us and flashing their lights, even the tour bus drivers! Our sweet natured tour guide last night must be a rare commodity as we didn’t encounter many today, sadly. It seemed like they were desperate to get the tourists from A to B as quick as possible so they could either go home or fit another group into the day.
We came upon a little roadside photo point where people had parked up and we pulled in, partly to let cars pass us but also because we could see how wonderful the view really was. We got out of the car and took it in for a while. My weakness is a beautiful landscape and a really good one does strange things to me. I have to admit I shed a tear or two behind my sunglasses and announced to Barry that it was the prettiest place I’ve ever been. The sun was beaming through the clouds and shining on the frozen lake, which was surrounded by snow covered hills and mountains on all sides.
Back on the road, we came across a small visitor centre and popped in to use the facilities. It was part café, part gift shop and I came across some books about trolls that were in French (sadly). We used this time to make sure we were going the right way and it didn’t take too much longer to find our first destination.
Þingvellir (literally meaning Assembly Plains) National Park is a point where two tectonic plates meet and is notable for its vast history, waterfall on the river Öxará and stunning views. The first government, which we learned about on day 1, was actually established in this national park in 930 and continued to meet here until 1798. This means that an awful lot of Iceland’s major historical events have taken place here and it is held in very high regard by Iceland residents. The spot is marked by a flag, of course, but it was very still today so my photo isn’t as good as Barry’s the other day!
There were two different directions to walk in and we chose to walk to the right first. Karen and Karl didn’t quite make it to the top of the path because it was so slippy. I was worried about falling and took it slow but… I made it in one piece to the top! We were treated to a lovely waterfall that was carving its way through the ice and snow. Henning loves a waterfall of course, so he was loving life. I also bonded with a kindred spirit, happily posing Lego Star Wars figures on the river bank for a photo shoot.
We made our way gingerly back down the path (including a little detour past the ice-slide that was the path) to meet back up with Karen and Karl. At this point I was quite jealous of the crampons worn by more experienced hikers and told myself that if we do another icy holiday, I would invest.
We walked the other way which was a gentle incline over the river which at this point had started to snake it’s way away from the mountains and through the flat landscape toward the frozen lake I had cried at earlier. It really was beautiful in every direction. The path ended in a final viewpoint over the landscape and we were pleasantly surprised when we saw an expertly placed café! We stopped for a while and warmed up with hot drinks and a muffin. I bought an Icelandic lip balm and Barry bought himself a smoked lamb and egg sandwich, which I wasn’t sure about but he told me it was good. On our way back down to the car park, I told Barry that I do believe this is my favourite country we’ve ever been to.
Next stop were the famous geysirs. Barry was slightly worried about time as it was half one at this point. We had spent so much time marvelling at the views! It was a 25 minute drive through the snow dusted landscape to reach Geysir. It was a short walk from the car, over the road, to see the Strokkur Geysir, which erupts every 6-10 minutes. The Great Geysir is nearby it but is now dormant and activity from it is rare. The path was, once again, very icy to get to the right place to see Strokkur erupt. Whilst walking up the hill, it did indeed spout hot water from below the Earth’s surface! Seemingly in response to this, I fell over. I’m not sure if it was the surprise of it or if I was just trying to get through the stinky cloud of sulphuric steam that was drifting our way. It was quite hilarious in any case.
Once vertical and situated in a good spot, we finally saw it erupt and it was amazing. It’s such an odd and interesting natural phenomenon that doesn’t seem real. Barry said it was the most impressive thing he’d ever seen. Henning agreed. We also wandered to see the nearby dormant Great Geysir, whose size was perhaps triple its more active neighbour.
We were soon back in the car and on our way to the last stop of the grand tour of the Golden Circle; Gullfoss! Once again we were plagued by excursion bus drivers whose reign of terror never seems to end. One of them would have crashed headfirst into an oncoming coach if Karl hadn’t braked to let him in.
The Gullfoss car park was slightly treacherous but we muddled our way across and down the hill to the viewpoint. The approach was the chilliest of the trip so far and I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so cold. The falls were breathtaking in both view and wind speed. Henning was concerned he was going to blow away! It was difficult to comprehend the scale of it, the water barrelling its way over the edge with amazing force, making huge icicles as it went.
There were some steps down to a lower platform where we got some more pictures. I offered to take a picture for a sweet northern couple and they returned the favour.
We trudged our way back up the steps and up the hill (I stayed on my feet this time) and explored another gift shop where I found some handmade ceramics and finally bought some. It was slightly more affordable than what I had seen in the city, so I thought it best to take my chance!
The Golden Circle tour was finally complete and we were all amazed by it. I was again struck by how lucky we are to be here. It was almost a two hour drive home and Karl received many congratulations on returning us all safely back to the hotel. He did fantastically well, considering the icy roads and maniacal coach drivers.
After a hot shower and a break, it was time for a Barry and Ellie date night! We chose the imaginatively named Reykjavik Kitchen. When we arrived they were very busy and we hadn’t booked due to the fact we didn’t know what time we would be eating, but the waitress kindly found a spot for us and we were quickly served bread and butter along with our drinks of choice. I went for a classic Ellie choice of a raspberry mojito and Barry chose a glass of chianti. For dinner Barry ordered lamb rib-eye and I ordered beef with beetroot and mint sauce. They both looked and tasted delicious. We tried not to think about how much it cost but it was pretty eye watering! We both agreed it was worth it though.
It has been another jam-packed day of things we are so lucky to be seeing; all of it amazing. We will see you tomorrow for the final full day of exploring!
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