Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

 We took a day to go back to Thingvellir and I really loved the story behind this national park!

Grant looks thrilled to be alive.  Everyday, the other three of us had either Bonus (supermarket) sandwiches or we made some with bread, meats and cheeses - you know, Rick Steves style!  Grant though?  Bread and butter. On this day, we picnicked in the back of the car in the parking lot of Thingvellir National Park.

When you first arrive at Thingvellir National Park, there is a visitor's center you can check out with a video presentation (we skipped it- naturally it was indoors.) But outside has a nice relief map to help you get your bearings. This map nerd (ME) loves a good table sized relief map!  This really gave the kids a good idea of how flat Iceland is in some areas, and how mountainous it is in other areas!  

Nearby to the visitor's center, there's a beautiful lookout spot that overlooks Þingvallavatn, or Thingvellir Lake.

At about 1,300 square kilometers, Thingvellir Lake is the largest natural lake in all of Iceland.  Superlative, check!

Also, down in the floodplain, you can spot the Prime Minister's summer home along the Öxará River, along with a church from the mid 1800s.  Conveniently, this park is also the location where Iceland converted to Christianity back in 1000 AD.

Thingvellir National Park is also the home to the rift between the North American and Eurasian plates.  Although we saw an example of this in another part of Iceland a few days before this, it's all connected.  Interestingly, the gravel trail here used to be at ground level but in 2011, a hole formed in the trail.  The investigation found that there was a 10 meter deep fault beneath the trail, so the excavated it (it was full of large boulders) and built the bridge above it so they could stabilize the trail and connect it to the parking lot and visitor's center.  Rain, snowmelt and earthquakes all contributed to the subsidence here.

Almannagjá is the largest of the gorges in Thingvellir National Park and you can walk right through it!

Bailey family selfie in the Almannagjá rift, which separates North America from Eurasia.

I almost felt like it was like Disney World... where they can make the fakest scene look pretty real... but there's no glamorization here.  The land is all just as it is!  They often have earthquakes in this area, but we did not feel any.

Grant says, "Follow me through the rift and I will take you to the waterfalls!"

I apologize but I might mention a few hundred times how pretty the landscape is here. There's lots of little walkways and incredibly clear water. Although I'm not sure how that summer home of the Prime Minister is gonna fare with climate change!

Follow the paths and there's some really nice viewpoints as you head north to the Öxarárfoss waterfall.  Here, the kids are overlooking Snorri's Booth.  When people traveled from all over Iceland to attend the Althing, they stayed in these "booths" which were shelters people stayed in for their two week attendance each summer session at Parliament.  They have found remnants of over 50 booths here at Thingvellir National Park.  This particular one, although built on top of older ones, likely dates back to the 17th or 18th century.

The Drekkingarhylur, or Drowning Pool (which this little waterfall drains from) was where 18 executions (all women) took place between about 1618 to 1749.  They were tied up in a sack, pushed underwater and held there until they died.  Incest and infanticide were the most common reason for executions at Thingvellir.  The Great Edict in 1564 said that men should be beheaded and women should be drowned, so about 30 men were also beheaded between about 1600 and 1750.  

Thankfully there is a nice walkway that leads you down to Öxarárfoss, another beautiful waterfall.  Because waterfalls are infinitely better than executions.

Öxarárfoss is a 44 foot waterfall and believe it or not, it was actually artificially created hundreds of years ago to provide a clean source of water for Parliament when they met annually here in the summer.  The actual channel was a bit west of here, according to geologists.

Bailey family selfie at Öxarárfoss!

While we were here, a seagull came by and grabbed a fish RIGHT out of the water at the base of the first fall right there. Pretty cool!

Downstream of Öxarárfoss, the Öxará River flows down to Drekkingarhylur, and then down to Thingvellir Lake. Öxará translates to "Axe."

And it was back on the boardwalk to go visit the church and the Prime Minister's house!  The boardwalk is in great shape and it wasn't crowded at all.

One of the COOLEST things about Thingvellir National Park is that it is the original home of the Alþingi, or Althing.  The Althing is the national Parliament of Iceland and it occurred here (in various forms) from 930 to 1799 making it the OLDEST Parliament in the world!  The site was likely chosen because there was fresh drinking water, room for the livestock to feed, and firewood to stay warm (could have fooled me on that one... there's very few trees here!)

This site was the actual site of the "Thing" or Parliament from 930 to 1262, after which Iceland entered into a union with Norway and thus the two countries were joined.  Iceland gained peace and free trade in exchange for the taxes they paid to the Norwegian king.  Norway united with Denmark in 1326, but when the Kalmar Union between Norway, Sweden and Denmark was dissolved in 1523, Icelandic rule shifted to Denmark.  However, the agreement lasted in various forms until 1944 when Iceland became a Republic.  This location was still extremely important from 1262 to 1798 as it was still the site of legislative (Lögrétta) decision making and the judicial (Jónsbók) court of law - although the king's magistrates had all of the power to actually make those judicial rules.

Such an idyllic view of the church that was consecrated in 1859 and a cute little wooden bridge over the floodplain.

I'm not sure if you can see it, but this water was SO insanely clear!

As I mentioned, Christianity was adopted in Iceland around 1000 AD, and shortly thereafter, the first church was built nearby to here- although they believe a church only has existed on this precise site since about 1500.

There is a small graveyard at the Thingvellir church, as well as a few other graves up on a nearby hill where two poets are buried.

The doors to the church were locked, but we could peak inside the windows of the small, cozy church. The pulpit is from 1683 and the painting on the wall behind it, which you can't see very well because I'm so short and I just threw my camera up to the window and hoped for the best, was painted by local farmer Ófeigur Jónsson in 1834.

Todd isn't as old as any of the bells in that bell tower, but one is so old, that no one really knows how old it is - although some say it's from the Middle Ages.  The sign in front of the church says it's "simply old."   Another dates back to 1697 as a gift from bishop Jón Vídalín and another dates back to 1944 - the year of Icelandic Independence.

It's so pretty!

Right next to the church is the summer residence of the Prime Minister of Iceland (although she wasn't currently in residence as it's mostly used for receptions held by the Ministry.)  It was built in 1930 and originally only had 3 gables.  In 1974, two more were added on - one for the local park ranger, and one for the local priest. 

There is also a small cemetery in front of the church (and the Prime Minister's summer home) where former priests of the church or members of abandoned local farms are buried.

On the way back to the parking lot, we enjoyed the beautiful floodplain and clear waters along the way.

But meanwhile, this was going on....  These two were playing a game where one closed their eyes and the other one led them.  Grant was thirsty, so Natalie was giving him some water.

I still can't get over how beautiful this park was.

Seems safe. One at a time, please!

Looking back from the bridge toward the church and Prime Minister's summer residence.

Bailey family selfie at Thingvellir National Park.

Quiet, clear floodplains.  Don't throw your money in here though, because it messes with the ecosystem of the river. 

Grant and I followed Natalie and Todd back up the stairs to Almannagjá rift.

Grant, turn around so I can take your picture!

Just a few Bailey's walking between continents. No big deal.

The kids spotted this caterpillar, so we gently picked him up (with a stick) and moved him to the other side of the gravel walkway.

Sometimes they are friends.  Sometimes.

The kids were not allowed to play the closed-eye game here because I was certain one of them would lead the other off that cliff to the left.

Todd taking one last look down into the crevasse between continents.

The continental drift in 1000 years will be in the souvenir shop HA.

We headed back to Reykjavik for dinner, but stopped by the apartment for a little happy hour first.  Todd reminded us all that Paprika Lays were the first snack we ever had when we moved to Germany in 2015.  Then we all got sad!  They were still as yummy as ever!

We headed into the city to grab some dinner and treats, stopping along the busy Skólavörðustígur.

The ice cream shop was randomly closed, so we ran into a convenience store to get some Kit Kat's (the European Kit Kat's are the only ones Grant can have!) and of course... Kinder Surprises!

Todd and I were really craving some fish and chips, so we put in an order at Reykjavik Street Food and waited inside while the kids waited outside.  I mean, you can't go to Iceland without having some fish, right?!?!

The fish and chips did NOT disappoint!  An excellent choice for a quick, easy and delicious meal!  It wasn't even soggy after we took it back to the apartment to eat it!

Until next time, Thingvellir National Park!