Golden Circle >>> Þingvellir / Geysir / Gullfoss / Kerið volcanic crater - #icelandtravel
GOLDEN CIRCLE
Dear fellow Steemians,
thanks for the great feedback on the first #icelandtravel video and the generous upvots! Here comes number two!
On our first day we conquered the Golden Circle despite heavy snow fall. The Golden Circle is THE tourist attraction in Iceland near the capital Reykjavík and offers quite a few highlights and a beautiful landscape.
When we arrived at Keflavik Int. airport it was almost sunny and about 6 degrees Celsius, which is about 43 degrees Fahrenheit. No snow, just a few clouds. After picking up our rental car at Lotus Car Rental, we drove straight to our first AirBnB in Kópavogur, a suburb of Reykjavík. Still no snow. To see a little bit of the area before hitting off east, we visited one of the peninsulas and checked out the Heiðmörk area south of the city. Also we bought some groceries for the upcoming days. Food is REALLY expensive in Iceland. For some snacks during the day and breakfast we figured it might be the best option to make some sandwiches ourselves in the morning and just go out for dinner at night, if we don't have the chance to cook at our stay. Still no signs of snow!
Next morning: About 5-10 cm snow ... Streets covered with snow and is was still heavily snowing. All the travel blogs about Iceland recommended getting a 4x4 car while you are in Iceland during winter time. I guess that turned out to be a good choice right on the first day. Driving wasn't as bad as expected and the streets were well cleared.
First stop: Þingvellir
We decided to do the Circle in clockwise direction. Þingvellir first. We walked a short trail as you can see in the video. Quite some tourists but as said before, the Golden Circle is the place everybody visits while in Iceland. It's close to the airport, all three attractions are within a short driving distance and open all year long. I guess the Þingvellir National Park is way more attractive in summer time because of the many different trails and so on.
Second stop: Geysir
The word Geysir comes from the Icelandic verb geysa which means to gush. On Wikipedia it says:
Geysir (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈgeːisɪr̥] (About this sound listen)), sometimes known as The Great Geysir, is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. It was the first geyser described in a printed source and the first known to modern Europeans.
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Geysir lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall hill, which is also the home to Strokkur geyser about 50 metres south.
The geyser erupting in the video is the Strokkur geyser. The erupting happens about every 6-10 minutes and the heigh is about 15 - 20 meters. When we visited it erupted within the time period several times but the heights of the water tower differ quite a lot. It's hard to tell how high it acuatally was. The Great Geysir does spit out some water a couple times a year. It has been active for more than 10000 years and early reports say that they measured a heights of over 170 meters! Maybe you see the Great Geysir erupt when you visit!
Third stop: Gullfoss, the majestic waterfall
When you visit Iceland, you'll see quite a few waterfalls. I mean a lot of them. Later one it's hard to remember the names and the locations because of the huge number of falls and of course the difficult Icelandic pronunciation. But you will remember Gullfoss for sure. The water fall is massiv, it has its own saga or let's say a moving history, true or not doesn't really matter, and the name is fairly easy:) You can view the waterfall from two different platforms. During winter time it's quite cold on the upper one and the water drops flying around make it even more cold. Take care of your tech items so they don't get ruined. You should bear that in mind for the entire Iceland trip around the island. The visitor center is quite nice. I loved the art pieces, mainly photographs, they offer.
Last stop: Kerið volcanic crater
It's not one of the main stops but the Kerið volcanic crater, is close by the other attractions and was on our way to Hella, where we should stay the second night. Other stops in this area include: The town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants.
As you can see in the video it was still snowing heavily and I was really scared to fly the drone because of the high wind velocity. The display showed the warning the whole time but hey, do you want the footage or not?! The entrance fee is 400 ISK per person. Is it worth it? Well you have to decide for yourself. Walking on the edge is cool. You can walk down to the lake inside the crater as well but there are way more interesting places to visit in my opinion. If you go to Lake Myvatn, you can also visit the Viti crater for free.
Any questions regarding the Golden Circle?
We just did the touristy version because of the weather. We also didn't check out any cool trails and could not find any hidden jewels. Would we do it again? For sure. Maybe the Golden Circle is a better visit during summer time.
Sebastian
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