June 21st, 2022
Hello Readers,
I hope you are having a great summer, wherever you may be. Starting off my summer tour of countries, I went to Iceland. The first day I explored the Golden Circle, and it was stunning.
Before talking about the landmarks that I saw and the tour that I took, let me talk a little about the history of the country. The country was first discovered by the viking Naddodd in the year 861. But, before Naddodd discovered Iceland, Irish monks named “The Paper” inhabited the island. After Naddodd discovered Iceland, a Norse and Celtic population inhabited Iceland and made it their home. From 1918-1944 Iceland was a kingdom and then on June 17th, 1944, Iceland became a Republic.
Now, that we know a little bit of history I will talk about the tour that I did and the landmarks that I visited that day in the Golden Circle.
The first stop was Thingvellir National Park. Something notable about this national park is that the Icelandic parliament was founded here in 930 and it was moved to the city of Reykjavik until 1798. This national park is very famous because of the history and the landmarks. In Thingvellir National Park I was able to see where the North American Tectonic Plate separated (and still separates to this day) from the Eurasian Tectonic Plate. Every year the tectonic plates move 2 cm (0.78 in.) more away from each other creating a valley in between. In the following photos, the black wall in the far distance in the Eurasian plate.
After, in the same national park I saw a waterfall called Okararfoss. This waterfall is 13 meters (44 ft.) high. It is a popular photo spot for many tourists and it is a location that appears in the Game of Thrones television show.
After, again in the same national park, I saw Drekkingarhylur pool (Drowing pool) that has an interesting, but gruesome history. This pool was used to drown people for crimes committed. So, although it is a popular tourist destination for pictures it has a very disturbing history behind it.
After visiting this landmark, I hopped back in the car to continue on the tour. The next place I visited was a restaurant called Fridheimar. Right now, you might be asking yourself “Why are we being told about a restaurant if we want to find out about landmarks?’. Well, this restaurant is very famous because it grows all of its own tomatoes in 3,478.40 m2 ( 37436 ft.2)of greenhouses. The restaurant even has enough tomatoes to export some locally to supermarkets. Also, they have stables with Icelandic show horses that visitors can see. They are famous for their homemade tomato soup with homemade bread. I recommend making reservations because they are fully booked every day and it is well worth a visit for lunch.
Famous Tomato Soup 
Tomato Plants
After eating an amazing lunch, I went to go visit Faxi waterfall. Although I got soaked just walking close to the waterfall it was absolutely breathtaking. It is seven meters high (22.96 feet) and 80 meters (262.47 feet) wide. Also, if you own a drone, it is a prime spot to take videos. It is usually not busy so you can take some amazing photos and take in the soothing sounds as the crystal-clear waters from glaciers rush to crash down this waterfall.
Afterwards, I went to go visit the Haukadalur Geothermal Field. The most famous geyser there is Geysir, but since it only erupts occasionally, a geyser nearby named Strokkur takes over and erupts every 5-8 minutes putting on a show for all its visitors. Nearby there are very small streams of geyser water where you can observe the natural habitat of these geysers. But, fair warning, if you visit, be ready for an interesting smell ( like rotten eggs) that comes from the gases and acids that geysers contain.
Next, I visited a waterfall called Gullfoss or Golden Waterfall in English. The waterfall has two stages with the first being 11 meters (36 feet) and the second being 21 meters (69 feet). At the bottom of the waterfall there is a 2.5 km pool (1.6 miles) which grows by 25 cm (9.8 inches) each year due to erosion.
The next activity is not really touristic, but it is a very fun activity for the whole family to take a break from seeing waterfalls. Icelandic horses are very different to normal ones that you’ve seen back home probably. They are smaller in size, and they are seen all over Iceland in the wild. But there are farms that offer you the opportunity to ride or feed them. We came across a farm that lets you feed the horses, so of course I had to stop to feed and pet them. They are very gentle creatures and are used to humans so do not hesitate to do this activity because it is definitely worth it!
Last but definitely not least was Kerid crater. Geologists believe that it was created 6,000 years ago. It is 55 meters (180 feet) deep and filled with water. Something that was really interesting is that the rocks around and in the crater were a red color due to a high level of iron that they contain. The contrast in colors of the aqua water to the red rocks created a very cool transition in the colors in the crater.
This was my first day in Iceland. I hope you learned something new about what there is to do and see in Iceland. Keep an eye out for more articles coming your way!
Have a great summer!
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler