Every guidebook in paperback or electronic format will state the Golden Circle is a must-see in Iceland. While there is room for additional stops based on timing and desire, the three main locales are Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss. Having my own rental car (and time table), I was able to hit the first destination running just as the sun started cresting the faraway hills and peaks.
Thingvellir’s major claim to fame is being the oldest Parliament in recorded history with various crimes being defined initially in the early 900’s and then again in the 1500’s with much stricter punishments. A long canyon called Almannagja formed from tectonic shifts was used to march criminals to the gallows, the headsman’s block, or the lake depending on the severity and gender of the miscreant (women were drowned only). Centuries later, this ominous pathway became a national park and nature’s splendor is put on display instead.
Next up was the largest lake in Iceland: Thingvallavatn. A trick I learned in the Lava Tunnel is that Icelanders tend to name things by the description of its surroundings (or by whoever find it), which makes the translation “Lake of Althingi” appropriate as it surrounds the meeting place of parliament centuries ago. The third and final landmark in Thingvellir was the Oxarfoss, a runoff waterfall which fed into the lake.
On the way to a lunch detour, I passed a Danish family getting a close look at another Icelandic trademark: their horses. Standing somewhere between a pony and an adolescent horse, these inquisitive equines eagerly accepted bribes of hay and headpats in exchange for a photo op. This may seem reckless, but I feel like you have to break at least one minor law to understand a new culture (and let’s not pretend anyone follows speed limits in America). The stench of manure (and my crimes) followed me to my next stop – Faxafoss. While not as impressive as Gullfoss or Skogafoss, I still enjoyed the freshwater spray to mask the downwind trail of local farms.
Appropriately enough, I went full steam ahead to the next destination and origin of the word for all international thermal waterspouts: Geysir. The landmark was situated on a caldera of superheated flowing water which burst at semi-routine internals for the main attraction Strokkr and bubbled furiously at the others. Even on the surface, water temperatures could elevate to boiling – a fact that several signs pointed out on the way up the hill. Beyond Strokkr sat a vista under construction with one view overlooking the park and the backside surveying farmlands for miles in each direction.
Sulfur’s not the best thing to inhale for extended periods of time, so I made my way to the final official stop on the Golden Circle: the aptly-named Gullfoss or “golden falls”. It’s difficult to capture the immensity of this grand waterfall cascade, but like Skogafoss the day before I held no illusions of grandeur next to it. On a whim and a prayer, I drove through fading sunset to reach Secret Lagoon Resort in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights amid relaxing hot springs, but alas the conditions weren’t quite right (also my phone sucks at night vision so I don’t have good quality photos of the clear sky from the Secret Lagoon).
Ice's Travels 
I have enjoyed reading about each day’s adventure.
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