{"id":25882,"date":"2022-09-30T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T15:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=25882"},"modified":"2023-01-25T17:50:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T22:50:54","slug":"the-golden-circle-thingvellir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=25882","title":{"rendered":"The Golden Circle – Thingvellir"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linda Lou Burton posting from Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland <\/em>\u2013 Geysir, Gullfoss and Thingvellir. Are you up on your Icelandic? These are the names of sights you see on the Golden Circle bus tour. \u201cGolden Circle\u201d is the marketing term for a loop drive of 190 miles departing Reykjavik and circling back; it takes about six hours so is very popular for folks (like us) who only have a short time to stay. And it provides great exposure to the countryside with stops at three of Iceland\u2019s most unique areas – Geysir, Gullfoss and Thingvellir. There was an exhibit about Thingvellir in Perlan we saw yesterday, where its significance began to sink in.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chieftains from across Iceland gather in Thingvellir to form Althing – the oldest parliament in the world. The rock formations at Thingvellir form a natural amphitheater.<\/em><\/p>\n

The year was 930! From 930 AD until 1798, Thingvellir was the assembly site for the national parliament of Iceland, the Althing, from which Thingvellir (Assembly Plains) derives its name. The assembly was a forum to recite laws and make amendments, resolve conflicts and feuds, and make trade and marriage arrangements. The acoustics of the canyon walls helped speakers voices carry further. This spot is so important to Iceland\u2019s history it is a protected national shrine. Legislation passed in 1928 created Thingvellir National Park.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Park has been declared a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE not only for its historical significance but its geological uniqueness as well. The area lies directly on the mid-Atlantic ridge, where those North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly separating. Many enormous rifts and canyons are above water, but some of the fissures, such as Silfra, are now submerged. You can make arrangements (if you have proper diving credentials) to swim between these plates in the clearest water on earth — touch North America, then Europe! \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We weren\u2019t planning on that, though I have family members that I\u2019d like to encourage to \u201cswim at Silfra.\u201d Justin? Hal? Come with me when I make a trip back to Iceland. I have to come back because, rats again, I wasn\u2019t able to go on the tour with Rick today. Twenty-one non-stop travel days took their toll, so the photos below are courtesy of Rick, who bundled up in his brown fleece and braved the wind to add yet another world-famous national park to his repertoire. Thanks Rick! See the cliffs of Thingvellir, and note that tiny church in the valley.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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The first church was built here in 1015 following a gift of timber and a bell from King Olaf of Norway. The current church was built in 1859 and serves a small congregation today. The three bells in the tower are historic: one from that first church, one dating from 1697, and one added June 17, 1944, when the Icelandic republic was established at Thingvellir. The house beside the church serves as the summerhouse for the Prime Minister of Iceland.<\/p>\n

Golden Circle Tours https:\/\/www.re.is\/golden-circle-tours\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thingvellir National Park https:\/\/www.thingvellir.is\/en\/things-to-do\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Diving at Silfra https:\/\/www.dive.is\/dive-sites\/silfra<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland https:\/\/www.centerhotels.com\/en\/hotel-plaza-reykjavik<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Next Post: The Golden Circle – Geysir<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Linda Lou Burton posting from Center Hotels Plaza, Reykjavik, Iceland \u2013 Geysir, Gullfoss and Thingvellir. Are you up on your Icelandic? These are the names of sights you see on the Golden Circle bus tour. \u201cGolden Circle\u201d is the marketing term for a loop drive of 190 miles departing Reykjavik and circling back; it takes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4318,4319],"tags":[3891,3829,3465,4572],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25882"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25918,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25882\/revisions\/25918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}