It’s a must. You cannot pass through Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, without traveling the famous Golden Circle, a circuit of around 300 kilometers which connects three sites of great natural and historical wealth.
You can stay there for two or three days to explore these places in depth and add stops here and there to enrich your experience. But, pressed for time, you can do the tour in seven or eight hours. It’s a bit quick, but with a talkative guide for example, you can learn a surprising amount of facts about Iceland, its history and its people.
To be voluble, Matthias is. By the time we arrived at the first stop, Thingvellir, the Gray Line guide had already explained to us how Iceland was placed directly on the fault that separates the tectonic plates of North America and Europe. This fault widens by about two centimeters per year.
Thingvellir is one of the fissures that this rift has created over the years.
A little over 1000 years ago, the Vikings established, between these impressive stone walls, a sort of parliament, the Althing, which came alive once a year.
For a few days, families from all over the country gathered to obtain information, pass judgment on a certain number of crimes, trade and find a spouse for their child.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
To descend between the cliffs of Thingvellir is to descend between the tectonic plates of Europe and America.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
The Vikings held their annual meeting, the Althing, at the site of Thingvellir.
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Until recently, a thousand-year-old path gently descended between these walls. But then, in 2011, we noticed a small hole of around thirty square centimeters in the middle of the trail. Only to realize, oops, that the earth had seriously cracked underneath. A series of earthquakes may have accelerated the slow work of geological tugging.
The authorities have built a wooden walkway over the chasm and visitors can once again descend to the site of the Althing to try to relive in their imagination the golden days of the Viking parliament, when the ancients condemned the wicked to death. exile and that young women made eyes at well-built men.
Back on the bus, Matthias talks to us about geothermal energy, an omnipresent source of electricity and heating in Iceland. That’s good, we have just arrived at Geysir, a geothermal site which gave its name to the geysers, these jets of boiling water and steam which shoot sporadically into the sky.
The original Geysir projected its plume up to 120 meters into the sky, but it has not erupted for more than 20 years. Fortunately, its neighbor, the Strokkur, took over by launching every four to five minutes.
It is much smaller than the original Geysir, but much more valiant. Just wait a bit, get the camera ready, and then pchoum, the jet rises. Be careful not to get downwind: you risk ending up soaked and smelling of sulfur.
The site is interesting because there are several other springs nearby that gurgle and bubble, with small clouds of steam that create an early world atmosphere.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
The Strokkur is a very valiant geyser, with an eruption every four or five minutes.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
Things are boiling at the Geysir site.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
Gullfoss Falls is the third major attraction in the Golden Circle.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
Gullfoss Falls is in two sections. The waterfall rushes into a canyon in the second section.
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The next site, Gullfoss, is equally impressive. It is a gigantic waterfall which tumbles into a narrow canyon, projecting spray onto visitors. You have to take advantage of the clearings to quickly photograph the rainbow silhouetted above the water.
Capital visit
Reykjavik, with its small colorful houses, its narrow streets lined with shops and cafes, its iconic church, Hallgrímskirkja, which recalls the large basalt columns of volcanic origin, is also worth discovering. CityWalk Reykjavik offers guided walking tours. You need to understand English, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
The weather is often gray in Iceland. The Icelanders counter this grayness with very colorful buildings.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
Hallgrímskirkja Church is one of the emblems of the city of Reykjavik.
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PHOTO MARIE TISON, THE PRESS
The monument to the unknown official. An example of the Icelandic sense of humor.
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That morning, a comedian from the Dominican Republic, Mauricio Rodriguez, met us at the foot of the statue of Jón Sigurðsson, leader of a 19th century Icelandic independence movement.e century, in front of the seat of parliament (Atlhing moved here in 1881).
Mauricio is a keen observer of Icelandic society and he depicts it with affection and humor. In particular, it tells how parents choose the name of their children and how, in this tiny, tightly knit society (there are 370,000 inhabitants in Iceland), you have to be careful not to accidentally find yourself in a relationship with your third cousin. Applications exist to surreptitiously check the family tree of that charming young man at the bar!
Our guide also gives some good advice to avoid tourist traps. “If you are offered fermented shark, don’t touch it,” he says. Icelanders haven’t eaten this horror for decades. »
The costs of this trip were paid in part by the cruise company Hurtigruten, which had no say in the content of the report.