Reykjavik, Iceland

(Don’t forget to click on the title of the post so you can see the videos!)

And now we return to Iceland, the last destination on our around-the-world journey. We will not see Northern Lights this time either….. still a bit early in the season ….. but our Iceland Air jet is fortunately equipped with a substitute.

Having just been here a couple of months ago, the sights were familiar….. including geothermal springs and a geyser.

Also waterfalls (this one is the Gullfoss), with Henry and his new friend Louis looking on.

Between geothermal and hydro-electric power generation, Iceland has all the energy it needs, and then some.

Another obvious marker of geothermal activity is a volcano. Do not think that I have forgotten about Iain’s challenge… or my promise to attempt to pronounce the name of the famous volcano that erupted in 2010, whose ash output shut down air traffic across Europe for more than a week, disrupting the plans of millions of travelers.

Iain, hope you have your beverage in hand, because here it goes…….

In an environment hostile to traditional agriculture, Iceland is actively developing local food sources to reduce its dependency on imports. This greenhouse not far from Reykjavik produces just over a ton of tomatoes PER DAY year-round, using hot water from geothermal springs to keep things warm and bees from Holland for the most efficient pollination.

They have also developed a thriving tourist trade, serving lunch to hundreds of people alongside the vines….. and it was fabulous! But only if you like tomatoes.

And as Henry points out, the people eating lunch in the greenhouse provide the plants with something they need just by breathing out – carbon dioxide, an element that is crucial to the photosynthesis process!

Þingvellir National Park is significant for reasons both geological and historical. First of all, it is a place where the tectonic plates that define the edges of the North American and European continents are pulling apart, creating a gorge….

and a dramatic, rugged landscape of lava fields and a crystal-clear lake.

Considered the oldest national parliament in the world, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing) was founded here in 930 AD. Chieftains from all over Iceland traveled to this spot each year for two weeks to collectively make laws and settle disputes. The procedural official was called the Lawspeaker; he recited the laws from memory from a promontory called the Law Rock.

All free men could attend the assemblies, which were the commercial and social events of the year. Women came as well, but were tending children and cooking food, while daughters were evaluated on their suitability for matrimony and childbearing.

Today Iceland is still governed by a parliament called the Alþingi, and the early site is a gathering place of national importance.

An educational establishment of note in Reykjavik is the Phallological Museum, which we glanced into briefly ….

Hallgrimskirkja, a church that is an iconic part of Reykjavik’s skyline…..

We broke away from the group for a quick lunch at this very popular hot dog stand in downtown Reykjavik, which has been in place since 1937…

A mark of a truly advanced society is a tradition of communal bathing… the onsen in Japan, the scrub in Korea, the hamam in Turkey, the banya in Russia and the sauna or hot pot in Nordic countries. These practices are lacking in America and many Western European countries… which managed to thrive in spite of the stench of their citizens in earlier times.

There is bliss in a Finnish sauna….

Stunning beauty in the dry sauna at the Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik (with the largest single pane of glass in all Iceland)…..

and a shared sense of well-being in the thermal waters of the famous Blue Lagoon….. (as mineral masks take years off mature faces).

How very civilized!

Soon we return to our native land, flying to our nation’s capitol, then driving back to East Texas and home. Final post to follow!