Day 5 - Golden Waterfalls and Pearls of Architecture
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We approach Gullfoss just as the heavy rain is starting, and Siggy suggests that we wait for the weather to clear at the small visitor's centre and café above the falls. If the mist were not so thick, we might be able to see the falls from here. The inside of the café is Scandinavian style, with bright wood, modern chairs, and a shop selling some popular Icelandic winter-gear labels, such as 66 Degrees (Iceland is at 66 degrees north latitude).
Only ten minutes in the café, and Siggy's master plan to beat the crowds is interrupted, and as the rain keeps beating down, we're swamped with tourists shaking the rain off of anoraks and hats. They rush in and start shopping for Iceland sweatshirts and gloves, postcards and magnets. Siggy is not amused, but he watches the weather expectantly, waiting for the break that will let us sprint to the van and head down to view the falls. After all, packing tourists back into a coach is like herding a school of fish into a barrel. It's not an instant process.
We see an opportunity to make our escape, and Siggy signals us back to the van. In only a few minutes, we wind down to the lookout point for the falls. A path cuts into the mossy cliffs along the side, and as we walk closer, the full majesty of the site comes into view. The shape of the falls is almost a chevron carved into the rock – the first, smaller fall goes to the right, and then the water abruptly falls off to the left, plunging down into a ravine. Tongues of mist rise above the milky, gold water, and now we know why Gullfoss is called the "golden" waterfall. Standing above the side of the falls, their scale is hard to grasp – the falls cascade down 32 meters into the rocks below.
All of Iceland is hard to take in with only a short visit. Even the Golden Circle could become a several-day hike, a 4-wheel adventure that takes visitors up to the glaciers (some of the largest in the world), or a trek on horseback that ventures deep into the interior of the country. The Icelandic horses stand a few hands shorter than typical European horses, but they are strong and have unique gaits that make riding especially smooth.
Riding back towards Reykjavik and a stop at the Saga Museum, we see horses at pasture and herders in hunting orange shepherding flocks across an expanse where geothermal steam rises straight from the rocks. For the most part, Iceland is spacious and sparsely populated, but driving down into Reykjavik, the vibrant city stretches out along the water and hugs the North Atlantic with light coloured buildings and the spires of churches. As peaceful as the scene appears, the country has had a tumultuous past, changing hands among the Norwegians and Danes before the formal establishment of independence in 1944.
For those interested in the unique mix of history and story that makes up the Viking Sagas, the kitschy Saga Museum at the Perlan building above the capital city is a must-see. If the museum fails to excite, Perlan ("pearl") houses a rotating restaurant on the top floor with an award-winning chef, Iceland's "most elevated bar" that overlooks Reykjavik, a viewing platform, cafeteria, and an artificial geyser that spouts 15 meters of water into the atrium – not a natural wonder, but entertaining all the same. The building itself is an architectural marvel. Form and function meet in the shape of six aluminium water tanks linked by a steel structure that supports a glass dome overhead (hence the name "pearl.") One tank has been drained to house the Saga Museum, but the rest continue to hold 4 million litres of water apiece, all heated to a balmy 85 degrees Celsius.
View interactive map of the voyage
Back to Travel Diaries
Read the other articles:
Days 7-12 St Johns, Halifax and Journey's End
A Peak at the Inner Workings of the Norwegian Jewel
How to Pour Champagne in a Moving Vehicle
Day 5 - Icelandic Saga
Day 5 - Straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Day 5 - Steam and Snow in the Southwest
Day 5 - Golden Waterfalls and Pearls of Architecture
Day 5 - Iceland: Tour, Geology and Saga Museum
Days 0-4 Dover to the Shetlands
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Geysir Center - Gullfoss
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