One stop we didn’t want to rush on the Golden Circle was Þingvellir national park. We saw the clearest water under the bluest sky! Also we learned SO many fascinating things about Icelandic history. We actually got kicked out of the museum because we stayed until closing time… ‘American tourists, we are closing, please go home.’
There are only three national parks in Iceland. From Reykjavík, it was about a 45 minute drive. (You have to pay for parking.) There were warning signs for sheep crossing but we were not so lucky as to see any. There were several stunning outlooks as we hiked, and someone said it looked almost like the everglades. I have to agree — different vegetation but the layers of wetness gives the same impression. Watery inlets everywhere.
I struggled to not take pictures of every single puddle and rock. I’ve never seen the sky so blue! We could see lava striping on so many rock formations.
This was also the home of a more ‘modern’ booth/house from an Althingi in the 1300s/1500s. OYE. American history is so new. The landscape here changes so frequently.
There was a bridge over the tectonic plate break called Almannagja — so clear you could see coins people dropped deep in the water. Lots of execution points… the Althingi was a government conference, remember.
We ate in the gift shoppe and my cousin had the best barley salad she’s ever imagined.
The museum here in Þingvellir was TOP NOTCH. I cannot say enough. Wish we could have stayed longer. Icelandic history is just SO OLD compared to American. 873. Three digits for its founding year!!
Our day in March was cold and windy, but beautiful. This was a highlight of the entire week for me.
