Our trip to Iceland

TravelPhotography
Written By Michael Gorman
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Photos: Gullfoss
Photos: Gullfoss

There are several different locations and angles to view the falls. Perhaps the most iconic is the first view that greets visitors: the main, partially-obscured 100-foot drop into the gorge in the foreground, and the three smaller, upriver steps farther back.

Photos: Þingvellir
Photos: Þingvellir

As someone who loves both geography and history, Þingvellir was one of the places I knew I had to visit.

Photos: Seljalandsfoss and Hjálparfoss
Photos: Seljalandsfoss and Hjálparfoss

Thanks to relatively flat land to the west and its 60-meter (179′) height, the falls can be seen from more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) away when approaching from the west on Route 1.

Photos: Reykjavík
Photos: Reykjavík

More than 360,000 people live in Iceland, according to this year’s estimate. A little more than one third of all Icelanders live in the city, and nearly two-thirds live in the Capital Region.

Photos: Hallgrímskirkja
Photos: Hallgrímskirkja

It took 41 years to finish the iconic Hallgrímskirkja. The Lutheran church stood as Iceland’s tallest building from its completion and consecration in 1986 until it was surpassed in 2008 by Smáratorg Tower in Kópavogur.

Photos: Gjáin
Photos: Gjáin

Not far from Stöng, the Rauðá river runs through an area in the upper Þjórsárdalur valley, an area full of particularly green vegetation and striking rock-and-waterfall formations.

Photos: Driving in Vesturland
Photos: Driving in Vesturland

Our trip to Stykkishólmur was spur of the moment. We had done the Circle. We headed east to see Stöngs old and new, waterfalls, and more. We headed south to do… well, nothing. The road upon which we traveled required a 4×4 as soon as it departed the Capital Region. So, north it was.

Photos: Driving in Suðurland
Photos: Driving in Suðurland

After spending a Friday evening visiting Geysir and Gullfoss, we took Skeiða-og Hrunamannavegur, a rural road north of Flúðir, back to a friend’s cabin. It was around 9:00 p.m., but as it was a week before the solstice, the sun was still three hours from setting.

Photos: The remnants (and restoration) of Viking life
Photos: The remnants (and restoration) of Viking life

Around 1104, the volcano Hekla erupted for the first time since the Norse settled Iceland. The surrounding southern Icelandic countryside—including approximately 20 farms in the Þjórsárdalur valley—was buried in ash.

Photos: Stykkishólmur and Súgandisey
Photos: Stykkishólmur and Súgandisey

Two hours north of Reykjavík lies Stykkishólmur. The town of 1200 is the commercial center of Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and likely has been since the mid-16th century.

Photos: Geysir
Photos: Geysir

As striking Strokkur’s eruptions were, I was just as drawn to the springs and pools, such as Blesi and Konungshver.

Photos: Reykjavík’s Old Harbor and Faxaflói bay
Photos: Reykjavík’s Old Harbor and Faxaflói bay

In 874, according to the Icelandic “Book of Settlements,” Norseman Ingólfur Arnarson threw the pillars to his chieftain’s seat into the waters off the west coast of Iceland and promised to settle where they washed ashore. It reportedly took his slaves three years to find them.

Michael Gorman
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Photos: Gullfoss