After an early night and rejuvenating 13 hours of sleep, we hit the Golden Circle early in the morning. At 8AM, the sun had already been up for 4 hours, even though it doesn’t set until about 11PM. Convenient and wonderful, but somewhat disorienting when eating dinner at 9PM in what seems to be noon sunlight.

 

The Golden Circle consists of some of the main attractions near Rekyjavik, and you can take the main roads to visit each one in, you guessed it, a circle. First up is Thingvellir National Park. On the way there, we couldn’t resist stopping to check out some of the amazing views. One of my favorite things about Iceland so far is that no matter how long the drive, the scenery and landscape are so interesting, and the highways so empty, that it’s easy to pull over and get out of the car for a photo opp whenever the mood strikes.

 

I’m still not sure why all these rocks are here. But it’s still awesome. 

Did I mention Lola has a friend on this trip?

Reba is Rachel’s elephant. Reba and Lola are BFFs. 

Thingvellir National Park is first on the Golden Circle. This is where the parliament of Iceland met for about a thousand years, with members climbing down into the canyon for meetings. The landscape is breathtaking, and includes a gorgeous waterfall!

 Yes, the water is actually that blue. 

Second on the Golden Circle is Geysir, the city for which we named the geysers that burst from the ground. It’s a tiny town, and the geyser area is immediately to the left as soon as you roll into the town’s main street. The sulphur smell is strong, but the geysers are awesome! Steam is flooding the area as it billows up from the ground, until all of a sudden a burst of boiling water is going off right next to you.

Steam rising from the ground pre-geyser

 

 After the geyser, the steam stays

 

 

Third is Gullfoss, an incredible, breathtaking waterfall cascading into a canyon. The only word that can begin to describe Gullfoss is majestic. The waters are blue, real blue, and accented by thick patches of ice around the falls. This was a sight definitely worth taking in, not just snapping a photo of quickly.

 

Finally, we ended our day with Kerio, not considered a part of the Golden Circle, but nonetheless on the way back to Reykjavik, so why not? Bonus beauty! At Kerio, I essentially climbed a volcano. It was AWESOME!! The water inside the volcano is a gorgeous blue-green, accented by the red, yellow, and brown rock and shrubbery on the volcano.

Overall, an incredible kick-off to the nature in my Icelandic adventure.

xox,

Lauren