Hallgrímskirkja

One evening in Reykjavik we visited Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran parish church and a gorgeous example of modern Scandinavian architecture. 

The evening light coming through the tall windows... 

...and the stunning organ were highlights.

I also liked the modular pews (the organ was at the back of the sanctuary and I'm sure they have great concerts there). 

Out front is a statue of Leif Ericsson (I somehow always think of him as a mainland Scandinavian, rather than an Icelander). 

Icelandic Countryside

There are very few things I like better in photography than framing up a good landscape. Iceland's vast plains and skies lent themselves well to this treatment. We've told everyone who asked about our trip that Iceland was like visiting the moon and Rohan all at the same time. 

Moon.

Moon. 

Mossy moon. 

Rohan.

Rohan.

The population of Reykjavik agrees with me about the landscape--all along the Golden Circle there were areas full of adorable and efficiently Scandinavian-looking summer homes.

Icelandic Ponies

Another perk of taking a Golden Circle tour with Iceland Horizon is that your guide will do his best to find a spot to pull over and lure some ponies to be petted and fed with moldy bread. 

These horses are fully grown (which is why all horses in Iceland are sometimes called ponies, even though these aren't ponies). They were very sweet and loved the bread our guide gave us to feed them. 

Þingvellir -- Golden Circle, Iceland

The third of the three main Golden Circle sites that we visited, Þingvellir is maybe the most significant site in Icelandic history. The first Icelandic Parliament was formed here in 930 AD, and it has been a symbolic site for Icelandic political gatherings ever since. It's also set at the junction of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

We saw two major geologic consequences of those plates' meeting (and parting)--a water-filled fissure and a jagged cliff.

In front of the cliff sits what our guide called the Law Rock, where the Parliament was formed.

The view from the Law Rock is absolutely stunning and spreads from plains to the left down to the lake of Þingvallavatn.

Geysir -- Golden Circle, Iceland

The Haukadalur Valley hosts several geysers, including Geysir and Strokkur. The former was the first of the species named in print in Europe, spawning the geyser name. Geysir erupts much less frequently than Strokkur, but we caught one of its spouts, as you can see above and below. 

While people rushed over when Geysir bubbled up, the crowds linger all day just a few meters away at the much more regular and frequent Strokkur. 

The Litli-Geysir on the way out was positively darling. 

Gullfoss -- Golden Circle, Iceland

The first of the major Golden Circle stops that we hit with our Iceland Horizons tour was Gullfoss, the Golden Falls. You can hike along the ridge above the falls and descend to a rocky outcrop at the edge of the intermediate level of the falls. 

This visitor was a little more... foolhardy than most. He was just a couple of feet from the edge!

We loved seeing such a geological and hydrological marvel up close.

The Little Foss -- Golden Circle, Iceland

Foss = Falls. Little because... well, you'll see in a post or two.

On our full day in Iceland we took a Golden Circle tour with Iceland Horizon, a fantastic small tour company. When you start researching day tours near Reykjavik, you quickly discover that a tour of the Golden Circle will give you the most bang for your krona, and that the most common economical way to see the Golden Circle is on a tour on a large coach bus (the big tour companies charge a premium for smaller group tours). The three main stops on the Golden Circle are Gullfoss, Þingvellir, and Haukadalur. Icelandic Horizon offer the perfect compromise: for the same price (a little under $70 per person) as the big tours, you get a full tour in a 16-passenger bus with an amazing guide and the ability to do even more than the coach buses. We made several stops that the big buses would never have reached, and were able to get in and out of the popular locations quickly.

The first of the special stops was a little waterfall whose name I can't recall or find anywhere. It was gorgeous and so special to be able to walk right up to the falls.

Iceland Travel Tips

• Take a Golden Circle Tour with Iceland Horizon. You'll have to email them to reserve a place but they almost always have capacity and you don't have to pay until the day of the tour (instead of pre-paying online as many of the big companies require). The tour bus itself picks you up from  and returns you to your hotel. 
• Visit a grocery store the night before and pack lunch (except for bread). I brought my Built lunch bag on the trip specifically so that I could pack lunches to save money. We packed delicious local carrots, pepperoni, cream cheese, caramel (!) skyr and assorted snacks in my Built tote and picked up some amazing cheese rolls when our tour took a pit stop at a bakery in Hveragerði. This allowed us to sit on a bench with a beautiful view and enjoy our packed lunch while the rest of the group had to pay exaggerated prices for typical tourist cafeteria fare.