At the entrance to the Blue Lagoon.
Everything I tell you is true. This is the way it happened. So began one of many sagas we would hear in Iceland, this one coming from Christian, the owner of a small café called Café Bryggjan. Bryggjan means “pier” in Icelandic, and this fisherman’s café is in a small seaside town called Grindavik at the water’s edge of a harbor. After landing at the main Iceland airport in Keflavik at around 4:45 AM, we got through customs very quickly, picked up our bags, and got our rental car. I rented from Budget, yes, the same as in the USA. Our car was a Skoda, made in the Czech Republic, very comfortable, well-built, full-time four-wheel drive (important in Iceland), and large enough for four with our suitcases. It happened to be a diesel automatic. We then drove off to find our way to Grindavik and the Bryggjan Café.
You may wonder, as I did, why many place names in Iceland end in “vik”. As it happens, “vik” means “bay, inlet or cove” in Old Norse. So, Reykjavik is Reykja Bay, and so on.
When we arrived in Grindavik and found our way to the restaurant, we were impressed by the plainness of the buildings, and the location of the restaurant, practically at the edge of a large harbor. We, the four in my group, and the rest of our group, another five traveling with us in another car, met up at the café. They had rented the very same Skoda we had. Popular car, that Skoda, in Iceland. The café was still closed, as it was only 6:30, and it opened at 7:00. There was another couple waiting for the place to open, a mother and daughter traveling together. We chatted a bit outside, checked the hours on-line to be sure we were not mistaken about it opening on Sunday, and milled about for a while. It was cold, slightly raining and windy, so before long, our group made their way back to the cars to sit out of the weather. Then, a slightly portly looking gentleman dressed in clothes more appropriate for a warm spring day, headed to the back door and opened up the restaurant. He was very friendly and welcomed us all in. He explained there were two breakfast options, the light plate, and the full fisherman’s breakfast, which included smoked fish in addition to Icelandic bread, butter, tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced ham and sliced cheese. Coffee was in the works, and we were also offered Skyr, the Icelandic version of Greek style yogurt. After all the breakfasts were served, Christian, the owner, came to the center of the room, and started to tell us of the history of the building, the fisherman and the fishing boats, showed us photos on the walls of many boats which had sailed from Grindavik, some of which had not returned, and of course, explained a lot of accidents and incidents as the work of trolls who play a large part in the folklore of Iceland.
In the Bryggjan Café
In the Bryggjan Café
Christian and Gary at the Bryggjan Café, Grindavik
Iceland is a hard place to live. It is a volcano, or multiple volcanoes. By one Icelandic blogger’s account, Jón Frímann, volcanic eruptions have occurred over 160 times from 870 to 2014. Some have been little puffs and some major eruptions. Iceland was created by a “hot spot”, where lava flowed from out of a crack in the floor of the ocean, at the junction of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. This is the same manner in which the islands of Hawaii were created. In Iceland, when the volcanic activity has calmed, glaciers form over the calderas of the volcanoes. When they blow, heavy volcanic ash rains down destroying living things, and the glacier becomes a massive flood flowing down to the sea. So one might wonder, what attracted the Vikings to this little island? The story of the Icelanders, how Iceland was discovered, who first settled, and the history of the country is documented from early on in sagas from early settlers, and from stories from the middle ages to the present day in vivid detail. My intent is not to relate the history of Iceland, but to give a sense of our visit, what we saw, and the adventure of exploring this place.
After breakfast, we drove to the Blue Lagoon, one of the famous tourist stops in Iceland. It’s played up as an ultimate spa experience. In fact, it is the silica-rich water run off from a geothermal energy plant, collected in ponds created in lava fields. The water is said to be helpful for skin conditions, and just generally a nice experience. It is a very popular place, and one needs reservations to go. At check in, a wrist band is provided which is used to open and lock a locker, and also to pay for food or drink. The water is hot, but not too hot, and there are multiple connected pools to explore, as well as a bar in one of the pools from which to order a drink.
Some of our group, with their silica face paint on.
The Blue Lagoon
It is a very high-style place, with a fancy restaurant, a café, and, of course, a gift shop, selling skin products and Icelandic clothing, all at extraordinarily high prices. But go, you will not regret it.
Skin tightened, it was time to move on to our next challenge. We needed to find our way to our AirBnB rental. The four in our group drove off in search of our cabin which we rented for the next two days. It was located about 15 minutes drive north of a medium-sized town called Selfoss along the southern part of Iceland. The owners live in Reykjavik, and use it as a getaway for themselves. It was a very charming, small, but well-equipped cabin in the woods. Not that there are a lot of trees in Iceland. Apparently, there were birch forests when the Vikings first came. Those are long gone from changes in temperature, volcanic activity, and harvesting of the trees for buildings and firewood. We managed to find our way to the cabin and settle in. We shopped in a large, well-stocked supermarket called Kronus in Selfoss for our meals.
Our Cabin in the Woods
Michael, in repose, in the cabin.
Kathleen in the kitchen.
The view from the cabin.
Our cabin was located within short striking distance of three of our goals for sightseeing. The first is a fascinating place, both geologically and historically. It is called Þingvellir (or Thingvellir, in our alphabet). It is the place where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. These two land masses separate from each other at 2 cm per year. They roll like conveyor belts, and as they slowly move apart, they create fissures and cracks, and steam, lava and water move upward. The split can be seen as a massive wall with waterfalls flowing over it, with gaps in the earth, and south of this area, the largest lake in Iceland.
At Thingvellir, the break between Eurasia and North America tectonic plates.
Another view of the split between continents.
It was cold but not frigid. Author Frank and wife Kathleen.
Looking off to the Eurasian plain.
The early Viking settlers found this area special, too. They established a general assembly in the year 930 called Alþing (Althing), a meeting place for the chieftains of the various settlements, and the overall leader known as the “law speaker”. Early on it was pretty crude justice, but the concept held, and this location was used until 1798.
Where the council met. Kathleen, Lynne and Michael holding court.
After thoroughly exploring the Thingvellir National Park, we drove off to our next sight, Gullfoss. Gullfoss is a waterfall, part of what is called the Golden Circle, which is a group of sightseeing destinations popular with tourists and in striking distance of Reykjavik, where many tourists to Iceland stay. Why do we enjoy seeing waterfalls so much? A river, flowing along the countryside, may have bends and rapids, but the abrupt falling of water over a cliff can demonstrate the enormous volume of water moving through, and the power of that movement. Waterfalls are dangerous, and cannot be navigated by boats. And, they tend to be quite stunning to simply watch.
Gullfoss in March.
Gullfoss, looking downstream
Another saga, this one very recent, tells the story of Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas, whose family owned the waterfall. Sigríður was said to have walked barefoot to Reykjavik in order to prevent the waterfall being sold to investors who wished to dam it and use it to produce electricity. Or, perhaps not. Apparently the legend is much greater than the real story, in which she was helpful in convincing Icelanders to keep the waterfall as a public park. The investors actually never could put the money together to get the project going. And Sigríður? She got a sculpture of her visage placed at the waterfall.
Sigríður Tómasdóttir
After marveling at the dynamic waterfall, and getting cold from the now-falling snow and wind as we stood at the upper part of the falls, we walked over to the Gullfoss cafeteria and gift shop. Of course, there’s a gift shop at every tourist stop! The cafeteria is noted for its lamb soup, and is a nice respite when it is raw outside. The gift shop is very well stocked, and fun to browse through.
After our meal, there was one more stop on the Golden Circle route we wished to see. It is a tiny town called Geysir, and happens to be the source of the word geyser in English. Unlike the well-known “Old Faithful” in Yellowstone National Park in the USA, the Great Geysir in Iceland is very unfaithful. It has been gushing forth (geysir comes from the old Norse “geysa”, “to gush”), for about 10,000 years. Sometimes it blows about every thirty minutes. Sometimes a few years go by without any eruptions. Engineers have learned to trick it into erupting, and can use their engineering magic to make it erupt on cue.
The Geysir erupts.
In Iceland, safety is a suggestion. A mere rope and little sign tell one to not step in the boiling cauldron.
In a superheated pool, the water and steam flow out, and sinter, the gray silica depost, forms around the edges.
The distant volcano lies waiting, while the ground bubbles up with the heat from inside the earth.
We returned to our cabin near Selfoss, having fully explored the Golden Circle area. We sent a couple out to the supermarket, bought some lamb and vegetables, some salad makings, and some snacks. We made a delicious dinner and chatted about our adventures. The next morning, we made use of the shower in the cabin. It was located in the entryway, a space heated by a plug-in free standing oil heater which was definitely up to the task. The shower was a rustic design, a pipe going up to the shower head, and a corrugated side panel as the wall. We packed up after breakfast, cleaned up the cabin so we would be looked upon as worthy renters by the AirBnB owners, and headed out for our next stop. Coming up, riding Icelandic horses, an watching icebergs flow out to sea, all in Part 2.
Frank, Michael, Lynne and Kathleen saying so long to the cabin near Selfoss.
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