{"id":2143,"date":"2016-02-29T18:14:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T18:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=2143"},"modified":"2016-02-29T18:14:52","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T18:14:52","slug":"iceland-the-golden-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2016\/02\/29\/iceland-the-golden-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland – The Golden Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most popular tours to take from Reykjavik is the Golden Circle. There are plenty of reasons why the Golden Circle is so popular and we were amazed by the impressive sights at each of the stops. Actual driving time is about four hours, but it takes at least\u00a0six to eight hours with stops and hiking around to see everything that each destination has to offer.\u00a0 Assuming that you take the circle in the traditional direction, the first stop is \u00deingvellir National Park (pronounced Thingvellir in English), the second stop is Geysir, and the third stop\u00a0is the Gullfoss waterfall.\u00a0 There are definitely some other stops that are worthwhile, but these three are “can’t miss” locations, each for their own reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View of the National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Geysir<\/a>
Geysir Erupting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gullfoss<\/a>
Gullfoss Waterfall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00deingvellir<\/span> National Park is interesting for a variety of reasons.\u00a0 First and foremost is its natural beauty, which we’re sure is spectacular in any season, but since we were there during the tail end of the winter season, we enjoyed the snow-covered scenery.\u00a0 It is also home to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is where the tectonic plates of North America and Europe slowly separate away from each other.\u00a0 Iceland offers several opportunities to stand in both the North American Continent and the European Continent, but obviously Iceland is a European country.\u00a0 From a historical perspective, it is also the site of the first Icelandic Parliament, called Al\u00feingi\u00a0(Althing in English),\u00a0in 930 AD, which we learned even more about during our visit to Borganese (more about that later).\u00a0 It is just north of the largest lake in Iceland, \u00deingvallavatn, which was mostly frozen while we were there, but still quite spectacular.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View of the Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Road<\/a>
Road Leading to the Head of the Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Church<\/a>
Church in the Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having rented a car, we were doing a self-guided tour as opposed to riding one of the busses filled with other tourists.\u00a0 We’re not a big fan of crowds, so we preferred to do it ourselves and do our best to avoid the throngs of tourists that were there at the same time as us.\u00a0 Despite the fact that we were in Iceland in what is considered to be their off-season, we found that there were plenty of tours running everyday, so we can only imagine how busy the summer season must be.\u00a0 The good thing for us was that we could wait a few minutes and the tour guides would cattle call their group back to the bus and at least for a few minutes, we would have relatively quiet access to each of the sites.\u00a0 But if you do rent your own car and do the tour yourself, be careful because the environment can be very harsh and one mistake could lead to disaster.\u00a0 This didn’t lead to disaster, but a tourist plowed their car into a snowdrift and we tried to help them get the car out of the drift, but were unsuccessful.\u00a0 Fortunately they were able to call for help, but in these conditions it could have been disastrous.<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a>
Car Stuck in Snowdrift<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stream<\/a>
Stream in the Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View<\/a>
View of the Stream in the Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Geysir, also known as The Great Geysir, is a spectacular geyser and is what all other geysers are named after.\u00a0 Obviously, Iceland is known as the “Island of Fire and Ice” due to all of the volcanos and thermal activity that occur throughout the island.\u00a0 Hot springs and geysers can be found throughout the island, but The Great Geysir is the most famous, having been active for 10,000 years, although it can go dormant due to earthquake activity for long periods\u00a0at a time.\u00a0\u00a0While we were there, it was quite active, erupting several times in a\u00a0twenty to thirty minute stretch.\u00a0\u00a0Having been to Yellowstone National Park and seeing Old Faithful as often as we have, it was\u00a0interesting to see as the water in the mouth of the geyser ebbs\u00a0up and down until it reaches its crescendo.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the Smaller Geysers Near Geysir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Geysir<\/a>
Geysir Bubbling Up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Starting<\/a>
Starting to Erupt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had missed the\u00a0hotel where we were hoping to have lunch, so we grabbed some fries from the cafeteria.\u00a0\u00a0Since\u00a0Geysir was obviously the lunch stop for the tour busses, we had no desire to sit in the cafeteria surrounded by the large crowds, so we figured we would just save our appetite for a delicious Icelandic dinner that evening.\u00a0 One thing that we did learn is that finding restaurants outside of Reykjavik is not as easy as it has been in other places we’ve visited.\u00a0 The countryside is dotted with wonderful little farms and small villages, but very few cafes and diners where you can grab a bite to eat, so planning ahead as to where you want to stop is a definite must.<\/p>\n

\"Little<\/a>
Little Geyser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Driving<\/a>
Driving the Golden Circle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another View of Geysir Starting to Erupt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The final stop was the waterfall at Gullfoss.\u00a0 This was truly the most spectacular site that we saw during the day and one that will last with us for years to come.\u00a0 Despite being cold from being sprayed with the mist from the falls, it was as beautiful as anything that we’ve ever seen.\u00a0 The combination of ice and rushing water made for a fascinating contrast that was mesmerizing to watch.\u00a0 If we weren’t so cold, we could have hiked around the falls and captured them from every angle possible for hours.\u00a0 Even if you don’t have time to do the full circle, a trip to Gullfoss is an absolute must.<\/p>\n

\"Impressive<\/a>
Impressive Waterfall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
More of the Waterfall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Frozen<\/a>
Frozen Elegance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We continued around the circle, surrounded by incredible beauty, with only one other site that we wanted to see along the way.\u00a0 Despite the crowds that were at each of the stops, the roads were mostly empty and most of the time that we spent driving, there wasn’t another soul around, which felt a little ominous at times.\u00a0 It gave us a sense of how harsh it must be to live there during the winter and how hard it must have been for the earliest settlers of the island.\u00a0 Another stop worth seeing is a volcano caldera called Keri\u00f0 (pronounced Kerith in English) that is along the circle, which isn’t nearly as busy as other stops.\u00a0 Also, no matter where you go in Iceland you will find plenty of Icelandic horses, which are furrier than those that we find here in North America.<\/p>\n

\"Windy,<\/a>
Windy, Harsh, and Desolate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Some<\/a>
Some of the Many Horses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Volcano<\/a>
Volcano Caldera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stream<\/a>
Stream in the National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All in all, the Golden Circle was amazing, but it was only our second day in Iceland (we’ll talk about our first day a little later), so there were plenty more amazing sights to see before our trip would be over.\u00a0 We know that we’ve said that we don’t get pictures of sunrises because we’re just not up that early, but Iceland changed that for us since the sun rises so late.\u00a0 We couldn’t have been happier with our decision to visit Iceland, it was one of those experiences that will stay with you forever.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the Sunrises that We Captured<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another Stream in the Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
More Horses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another View of the Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beautiful<\/a>
Beautiful Iceland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most popular tours to take from Reykjavik is the Golden Circle. There are plenty of reasons why the Golden Circle is so popular and we were amazed by the impressive sights at each of the stops. Actual driving time is about four hours, but it takes at least\u00a0six to eight hours with … <\/p>\n

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