The Golden Circle Tour: Iceland

The Golden Circle tour in Iceland involves seeing three main sites: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Geothermal Area, and the Gullfoss waterfall. After seeing these three sites, our bus continued onward to a skiing resort, Skíðaskálinn Restaurant, where we had dinner. Be the time we were back in Reykjavik, 8 hours had passed, and the time definitely flew by.

The Thingvellir National Park contains the original site Iceland’s parliament, which is the oldest existing parliament in the world. The site offers an amazing view of distant mountains, another view of more mountains opposite a lake swarming with fish (especially brown trout), the Icelandic Prime Minister’s summer house, and a rock wall, where Icelandic chieftains (or old-fashioned politicians) would shout so that the whole crowd could hear them from the echoing of the walls.

 

There is also a wishing well (wishing river) where people toss coins in and make their wishes.

 

The Thingvellir National Park lies on the American and European plates, which are slowly (a millimeter each year) drifting apart, and therefore expanding Iceland. The park is often referred to as an Icelandic forest.

The joke goes: Do you know what to do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?

Answer: You stand up.

This is because the trees grow more like shrubs because of the immense amount of wind that flows through Iceland; thus taller trees become uprooted.

 

 

As we left the Teutonic plates, we headed for the Geysir Geothermal Area. This area is filled with multiple geysers including the largest, called Geysir (and from which other geysers get their name), which shoots about 40-50 meters, and Strokkur which shoots water about 10-20 meters most of the time (although has been known to go higher). Geysir used to shoot up regularly but lately shoots up quite rarely, while Strokkur shoots every 5-10 minutes. However, capturing a great photo is not easy, but is intense to watch the geyser do its build up before erupting.

   

Then we drove off to the epitome of Icelandic greatness: Gullfoss. For waterfall lovers, Gullfoss puts Iceland and Europe on the map, as it’s more powerful than Niagara Falls!

One person, a German day tourist, is said to have died while visiting the falls, possibly by going off the paths and not following directions. Aside from him, no one has ever perished from these falls.

English businessmen tried to set up some energy businesses by utilizing the falls.  Tómas Tómasson, who owned the falls, was offered a huge sum of money by an Englishman for the falls, but turned it down saying “I do not sell my friends.” Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson continued the fight for the falls, having to battle powerful businessmen and politicians in order to preserve the falls, which eventually she did and  is seen as a modern day ecological hero.

We then headed off to enjoy a wonderful dinner at Skíðaskálinn Restaurant, after driven through several small towns, seeing many more mountains, volcanoes, greenhouse gardens, and the Icelandic scenery. One area of contest right now is that some Icelanders are planting tree farms with non-native trees–aka trees that grow tall. They are planted in rows near the roads, which helps limit how much snow falls on the roads, but some Icelanders started to feel claustrophobic because they couldn’t see for kilometers upon kilometer into the distance to see the amazing Icelandic sunrises and sunsets (Icelanders are just used to flatter terrain [minus their mountains]).

See my other posts on Iceland by checking out Reykjavik Iceland, The Blue Lagoon, The National Museum in Iceland, and Accommodations in Reykjavik (Boholt Apartments mainly).

I attended a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA). See the Keynote Speakers or my research on Preschool Teacher Retention.

The National Museum of Iceland

The National Museum of Iceland is worth checking out if you want to see a history of Iceland from the founding of the country through the modern day (seriously, they had video games and VCRs from the 1980s and laptops and cell phones from the 1990s).

Iceland was founded in the late 800s-early 900s and when the land was claimed, some people claimed huge chunks of the land, some of whom were women. So perhaps it is no surprise that today Iceland is one of the most gender equal countries in the world (as are the other Scandinavian countries).

The Viking Icelandic people were not born with a silver spoon. They had a taxing life and left mainly from Norway, seeking a freer life, often stopping in England and Ireland, picking up people (sometimes as slaves) as bringing them to Iceland. And a few of the native inhabitants were Swedish. Later, Englishmen would move to Iceland on their own, often because they would use the great fishing waters off the Icelandic coast, and sometimes create settlements within Iceland. 

 

 

Iceland has always been a peaceful country. In fact, today they don’t even have a standing military. Partly because they are only a country of 320,000 people, but also because they have made agreements with America and Europe for times of war. In fact, both the USA and England have built airports in Iceland, and because of wars, especially WWII, Iceland has a lot of its infrastructure (i.e. roads and bridges).

 

However, because of tensions between the Icelandic people and English fisherman, the Icelandic people created their own weapon. It’s the only war-weapon Icelanders have ever created: a hook-anchor-like object that would cut through the English fishing nets,allowing their fish to swim free. So even their only weapon didn’t physically hurt people.

To see a basic history of Iceland, click here.

 

Leaders of Iceland:

After different chieftains of Iceland couldn’t agree on who would lead the country; constantly battling for power, they agreed, with some dissents, that the King of Norway would lead the country. In 1380, the Norwegian King died without a son and so the Kind of Denmark took control of Norway and therefore Iceland (and Sweden). However, Denmark didn’t need Iceland’s fishing or wool and basically didn’t use Iceland for much at all–which of course impacted Iceland.

Iceland eventually gained its independence on June 17, 1944.

 

A couple of decades before their independence (1897), Iceland created a blue and white flag, with the blue standing for the ocean and white for the glaciers and mountains.

When they gained independence, they added in the red cross within the white cross. The red indicated the volcanoes of Iceland. The cross is in the flag because around year 1000, Icelanders, who were heathens, were pressured by the rest of Europe to convert to Christianity and so they did in order to continue doing trading–religion comes down to money.

 

 

There are other meanings and adjectives associated with these colors. Click here to read more about it.

See my other posts on Iceland by checking out Reykjavik Iceland, The Blue Lagoon, The Golden Circle, The National Museum of Iceland, and Accommodations in Reykjavik (Boholt Apartments mainly).

I attended a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA). See the Keynote Speakers or my research on Preschool Teacher Retention.

Reykjavik Iceland: Bolholt Apartments

If you’re looking for a nice hotel to stay in while in Reykjavik, Iceland you may want to stay at another accommodation. But if your goal is to save some money, have a decent place to sleep and have a great view, then welcome to the Boholt Apartments.

Notice that the name “Hotel” is not in the title. That’s because this is an apartment building, and up on the fourth floor is an open door with all of the “hotel rooms”. It’s not a hostel by any means. But there are no workers here (well a cleaning person, but you never see them). This cuts down on costs, with the room costing 426 NOK per night ($74 per night….compared to the Hilton [$158] or Hotel Reykjavík [$121]). Honestly, the Hilton is amazingly nice, but it is double the cost. Hotel Reykjavik though–is not nearly as nice at Bolholt–from a room perspective.

 

That means that your key is sitting on a desk with your name written on it. The internet username and password are on the inside of the door to your room and should anything arise, there is a phone number that you should call posted in the “lobby.”

When I was first dropped off by the bus, I walked in and didn’t know where to go. I aimlessly started up the stairs, as it was the only direction to head. I started to panic, wondering where I’d sleep that night, because I didn’t notice that I had to go to the fourth floor. But I found it!

The room was more than accommodating, having four beds, a sofa, a kitchen, and bathroom. I immediately noticed a smell coming from the water, and later learned that Icelandic water (although boasted as amazing and pure) often as a rotten-egg-like smell to it. This isn’t true in the airport, but seemed to be true in several other places that I visited and was even commented on by a tour guide who said she doesn’t even notice the smell anymore.

The Boholt has amazing views, much like the other hotels in the area–so why pay more for similar views?

 

Overall, the stay was quite pleasant, and everything worked (keys, internet, cleanliness). The only negative was that I heard people coming in later at night who talked in the hallway. Thankfully people are pretty respectful and go to their respective rooms so it wasn’t so noisy.

See my other posts on Iceland by checking out Reykjavik Iceland, The Blue Lagoon, The Golden Circle, The National Museum of Iceland, and Accommodations in Reykjavik (Boholt Apartments mainly).

I attended a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA). See the Keynote Speakers or my research on Preschool Teacher Retention.

Blue Lagoon: Iceland

The Blue Lagoon is a very short trip from the airport and not far from Reykjavik. Flybus takes you to and from there, and you can typically get an open ticket (stay as long as you like and catch another bus).

The lagoon is seemingly in the middle of no where, and they have created a spa-like atmosphere to highlight the tranquility of the hot spring (while maximizing their profits).

Walking down a corridor of rocks, you can feel the anticipation of the Blue Lagoon. Then you get a brief view of the hot spring before entering the modern looking building, complete with a souvenir shop (of course).

Easily one of the best sites to see in Iceland, the lagoon boasts state of the art lockers, where you use a bracelet to lock and unlock your locker.

Like many places in Europe, you have to remove your shoes prior to entering the actual lockers, but then a sign states that “they” arenot responsible if your shoes are stolen. So I just took mine off and put them in the locker instead of on the shoe wrack.

The Blue Lagoon has a fancier restaurant, a casual dining area, and a snack bar. The snack bar is very conveniently located right next to the hot spring, and you can charge your order to your bracelet, and then pay at the front desk when you leave–very convenient to not have to carry around a wallet. There also was a bar out in the water, but this was not open in March.

The Blue Lagoon is about 4 – 4.5 feet deep in most places, going slightly higher or lower depending on where you are. Along the edges are seats made out of rock, while within the center of the spring there are various platforms that most people cozy up to and have a chat.

Many people like the spring beyond the niceness of being in a large hot tub. They say it has healing powers and makes your skin look younger. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to see people with various gels on their face, although not everyone does this.

There is a cave, a man-made waterfall, and three sauna’s at the Blue Lagoon. The waterfall feels great to stand under, allowing the water to massage your shoulders and it sits in between the saunas (which many people didn’t realize existed, so keep your eyes peeled).

There is a regular sauna, heated by throwing water on boiling stones, a steam sauna, and an Icelandic sauna. This Icelandic sauna is a cave that has a wooden floor and through the slits in the wood, steam rises from the heated water below, and creates a sauna. Mind your feet–if you’re not used to sauna’s, your feet can definitely feel the steam.

Here is a youtube video of the Blue Lagoon and some things it has to offer.

See my other posts on Iceland by checking out Reykjavik Iceland, The Blue Lagoon, The Golden Circle, The National Museum of Iceland, and Accommodations in Reykjavik (Boholt Apartments mainly).

I attended a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA). See the Keynote Speakers or my research on Preschool Teacher Retention.

Reykjavik Iceland

I recently visited Iceland to attend a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (which I blogged about here). Iceland is home to 320,000 people, but their population over doubles because of tourism, which reaches around 500,000 people per year. Historically, Iceland was a fishing country (and is still so today at around 70% of Iceland’s income), but today it has developed good cattle ranches, as well as has pigs, goats, sheep, and of course, the famous Icelandic horse. The only native mammal to the island is the fox, which allegedly crossed over during the last ice age.

It’s not hard to see why, with Iceland’s famous geysers, waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, and volcanoes. In fact, the whole island is made up of volcanoes, many of which are still active today. One of the most famous volcanoes, Eyjafjallajökull, exploded in 2010, leaving many planes around Europe and America grounded because of all the debris. The ash still lingers in the air and is evident as the snow (in 2013) still falls to the Earth partly black.

I spent most of my time in Reykjavik, which is the capital of Iceland and home to 120,000Icelanders. Most people drive cars, as oppose to bikes (because of the enormous amounts of wind) or buses (because Icelanders need vehicles to get around the remote countryside).

Taking a bus from the airport to your hotel is easy (on Flybus). You buy a ticket in the airport (round trip tickets are cheaper than buying one way [each way]) and then tell the bus driver which hotel you’re getting off at. I was quite nervous at first, since the bus didn’t have permanent stops, but it landed right in front of my hotel, per my request!

Naturally, one of the first restaurants I see says American Style. I travel all the way to Iceland, only to have the same cuisine–not on my watch! Having said that, I never saw a McDonalds or Burger King while in Iceland, although I did see Subway–so the Americanization hasn’t completely taken over Iceland…yet.

But then Reykjavik opened up and showed me some of her true majesty. It’s not hard to see why people would live in this picturesque city.

This mountain is called Esja and is a central mountain of Reykjavik. Picnic anyone?

See my other posts on Iceland by checking out Reykjavik Iceland, The Blue Lagoon, The Golden Circle, The National Museum of Iceland, and Accommodations in Reykjavik (Boholt Apartments mainly).

I attended a conference called the Nordic Educational Research Association (NERA). See the Keynote Speakers or my research on Preschool Teacher Retention.