Sep 12, 2011 - Golden Circle

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND It’s astounding to think that while the rest of the Europe was still feudalistic, the chief representatives of the settlers in Iceland gathered in 930 AD to form the world’s first parliament, the Althing. Thingvellir (parliament plains) as the meeting place came to be known, was the location where leaders were elected, disputes were resolved and justice was carried out for the next 300 years. The location they chose had plentiful water, there were relatively good forests for fuel and the weather was mild; a natural...

Aug 13, 2011 - Gullfoss Falls

Then we went to Gulfoss falls. I forgot to mention that while I was gone to Greenland some brutally cold winds had kicked up, so being at the waterfall in those conditions meant I wasn't willing to stand there very long. I snapped a few quick photos, and as I was putting my camera away, Carly turned the video camera on me and asked how I was enjoying Icelend. Without thinking (clearly!), I said that it was lovely apart from the cold winds, but that I was sure that the weather was better other times. Carly: "Such as in winter?" Um - yea, not...

Aug 6, 2010 - Gullfoss

It poured when we arrived at the Gullfoss water falls and so we had a tea break in the car. We had bought the tea and cold drink at Geysir. After the rain stopped, we walked out and were awed by the "double" falls. We followed a path up the rocks where we came face to face with the raging water. We were mentioning how close people are allowed to come to the falls. No fences for safety or security. This would never happen in Canada! We had a great time experiencing the power and noise of the water thundering down the rocks into a narrow...

Jan 2, 2009 - Closing the Flippin’ Circle

The day was full of adventure and occasional whiffs of sulfur. We retraced our steps on the Golden Circle. With better weather, a full tank of gas and an improved sense of direction, we managed to complete the loop successfully, seeing all the things we thought we saw (see Pix 1) or didn’t get to yesterday. The Gullfoss (waterfall) ranks amongst the most treacherous natural sights visited. Water rushing down double falls to a wide chasm, trimmed in an ice laced pathway pressed against its cliff edge protected by only a strung rope. Viewing...