Þingvellir

Þingvellir National Park is one of the most heavily touristed places in Iceland. Despite being a busy place, we couldn't not visit - especially considering that my dad and I are complete and total science nerds.

 

A lot in Iceland works on the honor system. You need to pay a few dollars to park at the national park, but the system is automated - no one is there to check and there is no printed receipt (though you do type in your license plate number.)

Þingvellir, pronounced think-vek-leer, is stunningly beautiful and full of important Icelandic history.  For us on Mackinac Island, 1780 is historic, but Iceland's first government started meeting on this site in 930. Just let that that sink in for a minute - 930!    

 

The park lies within a rift valley - where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart.

 The geography is stunning.

One of the most interesting parts in the park is Stekkjargjá. A place where you can actually walk down in the rift. (I know; the science geek in me could hardly contain my excitement!)

In addition to the first Parliament meeting in this area, historically witches were drown in the lake and a number of criminals were put to death here.

The teacher in me could not resist taking this picture. For all those times my students asked me if understanding the metric system was actually helpful: yes, it is. Thanks to my working knowledge, I understand that I really don't want to walk the 1340 meters or the 1470 meters (both about a kilometer a half, or almost a mile) to the nearest bathroom. I think I'll hop in the car instead...