Although today was officially Day 2 of the Tauck Tours aboard L’Austral Iceland cruise ship, the ship wouldn’t sail until tonight. Tauck guests would spend today on the popular Golden Circle Tour that all visitors to Iceland take. Both restaurants on L’Austral begin buffet-style breakfast at 6:30a and offer eggs cooked to order.
Off the ship by 8:40a with audio devices handed out by Tauck and to be used for the entire week, it was on the “Lisa” bus to Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and our first stop. Tauck Tours divided their guests into four buses, each with its own tour guide, and each bus left at a different time so as not to inundate a spot with 160 people at one time. The ride to Thingvellir takes approximately one hour from Reykjavik.
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Thingvellir (referred to by visitors as just “Thing” thanks goodness) is one of the most frequently visited tourist sites in Iceland and has hiking trails and camping grounds. Rather than droning on forever about what there is to see and do there, I will shorten descriptions and suggest visiting the excellent Thingvellir National Park website and suggest visiting the excellent Thingvellir National Park website. Below are the three most important sights in Thingvellir to see as visitors walk down the trail.
walk between two tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
walking through the North American tectonic plate in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
Eurasian plate is across the lake at Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
– Tectonic Plate Boundary. Thingvellir is on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and part of a fissure zone running through Iceland. The continental drift which is gradually moving apart an average 3 mm per year between the Northern American and Eurasian Plates can clearly be seen as tourists walk down the canyon next to the North American plate; the Eurasian Plate can be seen across the lake. This zone is part of the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extend the length of the Atlantic from north to south. The only other place I have ever clearly seen the rift is the Great Rift Valley in Jordan.
– The Alping – World’s Oldest Legislative Parliament. The speaker’s rock is the ultimate symbol of Iceland’s independence and national unity. The world’s oldest legislative parliament first convened in here in 930 AD and was Iceland’s legislature and highest court during the Old Commonwealth (930-1262/1264) era. The Law speaker would memorize the law of the land and recite them from the Law Rock to the gathering below which convened every summer. Anyone attending the assembly was entitled to present his case on important issues from the Law Rock.
cracks where tectonic plates are drifting apart, Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
– The Drowning Pool. Women convicted of adultery in the 1200s were put in a sack, thrown into the clear waters below a small waterfall and the sack was held down with a stick until they drowned (nice). A man convicted of adultery was beheaded. There is even a list showing names of “drowned women”! Ah, the good old days…
small waterfall in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
drowning pool in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
“men shall be beheaded and women drowned” – Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
The Viking period began around the year 800AD and continued until the middle of the Eleventh Century. During this time period, the Nordic people migrated from the Volga to North America, and from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Ocean. Land shortage and internal disputes in Norway were factors that led to this extensive migration of people. A Visitor Center is located close to the view spot before walking down into the great Almannagja fault and has much interactive multimedia in four languages. It takes about 40 minutes to view the entire program. Few people on tours have enough time to view and/or walk the many trails around Thingvellir.