Michael S. LibermanIceland Day 8: Golden Circle
From Reykjavik …
Today we visit the Golden Circle, a popular tourist loop circling about 140 miles near Reykjavik. We’re going to Þingvellir National Park, Strokkur Geysir and the Great Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall, and a couple of other interesting stops.
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park is geologically significant as it lies at the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and politically significant as the site of the world’s first parliament in 930 AD … you can add your own joke about political rifts between the US and Europe. The Öxarárfoss waterfall is also here with a beautiful rainbow today.
Efstidalur is a family run dairy farm dating back to the 1750s! Now run by seventh-generation siblings Guðrún, Sölvi, Linda and Halla, the farm features a farm-to-table restaurant, horse rentals, and a hotel. We are visiting for lunch and to sample the homemade ice cream. Both are excellent!
Next we visit the Strokkur geothermal area. This is the location of the original Great Geysir, the namsake of all geysers. While the Great Geysir is less active now, every 5-10 minutes Strokkur erupts sending hot water 100 feet (30 meters) up in the air. I get a good sequence of Strokkur a few minutes after we get to the geyser. Then I spend an hour trying to get the full eruption sequence on video. It’s a fail. And the camera battery is dead. I go back to the bus for a fresh battery and we’re on to the next stop.
And our last waterfall of the trip! A visit to Gullfoss Waterfall, one of the most iconic in Iceland. This dramatic waterfall plunges down two-tiers into the canyon below. This rainbow is pretty spectacular!
Our next stop is Friðheimar (Fridheimar) a tomato farm run by Knútur and Helena, and their five children: Dóróthea, Karítas, Matthías Jens, Tómas Ingi, and Arnaldur. Despite a farming in an environment that seems too harsh, they farm tomatoes in greenhouses under artificial lighting, all year round. We learn about the greenhouse farming process the enjoy a cocktail in the greenhouse bar!
It’s an hour drive back to Reykjavik for our last sightseeing destination this trip … the Hallgrimskirkja Church observation tower. Earlier this week we missed seeing the city and surrounding mountains from Hallgrímsjirkja’s 73-meter height so it’s good that we made it back to Reykjavik to get in before the 5p closing time!
Dinner is catch of the day back at Brasserie Askur and tomorrow we head home!
Thanks for all the great photos and commentary, Michael.
I’ll have to think about serving cocktails near my tomato bushes this summer!
God bless!
We have lots of good recipes Dad…. I had a Happy Mary, that’s a combo of Healthy Mary and vodka! Michael had a Mary Poppins, sparkling wine with a dollop of tomato sorbet. The tomato sorbet was lovely all by itself too! With green tomatoes.
Thanks for reading along, Mike! I like your cocktails in the garden suggestion!!