02 | June | 2024 | Tales from the Hutt

Fossarrett the Older (a waterfall on the side of the road)

Tuesday, 14-May-2024

My original plan for Tuesday the 14th was to soak in the hot springs at Hvammsvik… but, because of reasons, they decided that Tuesday the 14th was the best day to clean the hot springs all at once, and close the whole resort.

Which I learned, of course, after I’d arrived and found a large locked gate.

Whatever. I’m on a road trip, during an adventure across Europe. Large locked gates aren’t an obstacle, they’re merely a redirection! To a different hot spring! And a waterfall!

So I drove to Fossarrett the Older. It was pretty. Wandered a bit, flew the drone a bit, looked at the ancient ruins, tried (and failed) to find a history of said ancient ruins… Or find out if they even technically are ancient… and didn’t succeed.

But I did relax, I did stretch my legs, and I did have a good time. Which, after all, is very much the goal.

Monday, 13-May-2024, a bit of Tuesday, 14-May-2024, and a little bit more on Friday, 17-May-2024

Silfra Fissure isn’t the only thing to see in Þingvellir park.

I know, shocker right?

After my friends had headed out to get checked into their hotel, I took a bit of time to wander around and take in the scenery of Þingvellir. I walked the nature trails, looked at signs, and appreciated the views and the lovely (absolutely staggeringly lovely) weather. It was cool (but not cold) and sunny (but not overly bright), and thankfully there weren’t too many tourists clogging the trails.

I’ll let the placards speak for themselves, but the summary is this: Þingvellir means “Assembly area” in Icelandic. Which makes sense, since it’s where the Icelandic chieftains would assembly for their annual parlament, the Alþingi. Pronounced, vaguely, “Allthingy”.

I’ll include a wikipedia link at the bottom, but the short summary that I learned is that the Chieftains would convene for as long as it took to discuss laws, review cases where laws had been broken, and pass judgement. They’d trade during that time, or their followers would, and they’d reside in smallish houses that they’d build each year for that express purpose.

Not even considering the history, it’s an absolutely beautiful park. Adding that history in, and… well, that’s really cool.

(Yes, I was able to fly the drone around a bit! Drone flights are limited to before 9am and after 6pm, though, so… thanks to Iceland for forcing me to fly at golden hour!)