Billy Extols trip to Iceland while making fond fund of its culture

The National Park Where Icelandic “Parliament” Met starting 930 AD

This is an aerial view of Bingvellir Park. The early Icelanders did not have much lumber or money or construction skills. But they did have democracy. People came from all over the island once a year to enact laws, and presumably camped out in this park. It was confusing at first when our tour guide kept referring to “the Parliament” (Althing.) I envisioned a big building with seats and grandeur. But it was just a centrally located flat area, plenty of room to pitch your igloo.

But the park IS beatiful, and the old edge of the American continental shelf is visible. You can snorkel in the lake that is there. We jsut walked around enjoying the natural beauty. You can leave an authentic bribe in a collection basket in the parking lot, although the actual Parliament meets in a building downtown now. Pity, I enjoy the thought of legislators having to sleep in the cold and use privies while yammering and pettifogging and horsetrading.

We had a trip to the Blue Lagoon, a huge modern swimming pool which is fed by natural hot springs. The water temperature is a toasty 85-110 degrees, and has lockers, showers, a sauna, and a wade up bar. Presumably the minerals in the water can heal what ails you, although the scientific evidence for that is dubious at best. But its great fun, and just a short bus ride from Reykjavic. Towels are provided. You also get a mineral or lava based facial, which I can testify did little to approve my appearance but felt nice.

Blue Lagoon Thermal Bath Iceland

Hot Spring Blue Lagoon. Facial Included in entry price. Drinks Extra.

Of course it may be unsettling to contemplate as you lounge in the pool sipping your libation, Iceland is sitting on top of tectonic fault line. So you could be blown up like a former resident of Pompeii at any moment. A drink or three takes the edge off these alarming thoughts. All kidding aside, its fun. There are two restaurants there, you can make an entire day of it. Bus service from Reykjavic runs every two hours. This is Iceland’s most popular attraction. Bring your suit or they will rent you one. Some people come directly from the airport, as the Lagoon is on the road to Reykjavic. Saves half the minor bus fare and is relaxing as you wait for your hotel room to be available at 3:00.

We also visited a tourist attraction in Reykjavic called the Viking Saga. This uses life sized replicas of early Viking settlers, and gives you information on the history of ancient Iceland. Definitely worth a visit. Warning, its kinda grim. Life was hard back in the 11th century. Don’t recommend for little kids.

You can put on actual chain mail and a helmet and pretend you are off to savage Cornwall.

Interesting note on law enforcement in ancient Iceland. They did not have jails. You got convicted of a crime, they just hanged you. I imagine that this reduced crime below that of current day South Side of Chicago levels a tad. An visual example of this fact “hangs” in the museum.

Viking Saga Museum. Guilty of Identity Theft?

Unrelated Notes:

You should be ready to hear your tour guide or bus driver drone on about the virtues of thermal energy use. Thermal energy plants and pipelines will be pointed out on the way to the waterfalls, or parks, etc. I am assured that Icelanders save tons of money thereby and are also saving the planet. Although what impact 400,000 people (.000037% of the world’s population) could possibly on Earth have is hard to envision. Pretend to be interested.

Lots of people camp in Iceland. I am thrilled with this, as it lowers the demand for heated hotels that come with a well stocked bar. Although Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream, average temperatures IN THE SUMMER are in the 50’s. And its cold and rainy 100-150 days a year. So should you be the outdoorsy type, and are into lying on the dirt in thermal underwear in August, Iceland is heaven on earth to you. Not for the faint of heart though.