Cool Phot-o' the Day: Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland

And what better place to go for cool times in cool places than the land of ice and fire: Iceland.

This is Gullfoss, a large waterfall on Iceland's "Golden Circle" of tourist meccas, which, in addition to Gullfoss, includes the geysers of Haukadalur, including the large geyser named Geysir (our word "geyser" is probably the only English language word derived from Icelandic, as we borrowed the Icelandic word and changed one vowel -- prior to the discovery of Yellowstone, the English language really didn't need its own word for "geyser"), Thingvallir (rock formations along the tectonic plates, spelled in Icelandic with that weird letter that looks like a bullet, and one of the major stops on the global "Game of Thrones" tourism tour), and the Bobby Fischer Museum in Selfoss. OK, I added that last one to the "Golden Circle," but it really is part of a circle with the other three and is, in my opinion, well worth a visit if you find yourself in Iceland.

You may recognize Gullfoss as the place where they shot the cover photo for the Echo & The Bunnymen LP "Porcupine." No? Understandable. No one should ever buy an Echo & The Bunnymen album. They have some incredible awesome fantastic singles, such as "Bring On The Dancing Horses," or "The Cutter," or, especially, the amazing "The Killing Moon," but a whole album? No. Stick with one single per LP and you will have all the Echo and all the Bunnymen that one person would ever need.

Getting back to Gullfoss, this is from my visit in June 2016. While the heatwave here will dissipate tomorrow, high temperatures will remain in the upper 100-oh's through all of next week. So more escapist "cool photo" fun is in the future.

Finishing up the Golden Circle Drive at Thingvellir

Another waterfall in Iceland

The drive around the isosceles triangular Golden Circle finished up with a visit to Thingvellir.

Thingvellir (spelled in Icelandic with a bullet-shaped consonant that is pronounced like a "th") is a national park known for two things.  First, it was the site of the "Althing," possibly the world's oldest parliamentary institution, with the first meeting being held here in Thingvellir around 930 A.D.

The other thing that Thingvellir is known for is its dramatic rift valley, where there again is visible evidence of tectonic plate movement as the North American plate and the Eurasian amicably separate and distance themselves from each other.  (NOTE: the separation is deemed "amicably" as it has occurred largely without earthquakes, unlike, for example, the tension between the Pacific and North American plates in the American West).

Sheer cliffs plus running water equal waterfalls.

Selfie at the falls:

I didn't go hunting for the Althing location within Thingvellir because, well, it had been a long day of driving and sometimes when you're on vacation that "one more sight-to-see" just doesn't get seen.

And, with that, we conclude the Icelandic part of the vacation holiday extravaganza.

Good-bye Iceland.  You were a great place to spend some time.  Iceland has amazing scenery unlike anywhere else.  The people are amazingly friendly and helpful.  The police will stop their car on the main street to let you cross.  I am very glad I decided to stop here finally.  Next stop: Paris, France.

Driving the Golden Circle to Geysir

Geysir

This is Geysir.  THE Geysir.  The geyser from which all other geysers have been named.  And he can be found on Golden Circle.

In recent years, Geysir's star has been eclipse by the new star of the Golden Circle:

Strokkur.  The crowds that once went to Geysir now crowd around Strokkur:

Geysir can't get an audience anymore.

You know what this reminds me of?  It's just like "A Star Is Born."  Geysir once was the star, but his protege geyser is now, by far, the bigger star.  Geysir is like Kris Kristofferson.

And Strokkur is most definitely Barbra Streisand.  Not only does Strokkur pack in the crowds, now having totally eclipsed her prior main star compatriot, but Strokkur erupts in violent fury every few minutes.

Just like you know Babs would.

There is a lot of steam when Strokkur blows.

While the other geysers get scant attention.

There is also a nice walking trail up the side of a small hill just behind the geyser area of Geysir.  Note there is this purple flower growing everywhere.  Must be hardy.  Research tells me this flower is the lupine, as in that Monty Python sketch with the line "hand over your lupines."  That flower.

At the top of the hill is a view of this nice green river valley.  I expected the interior of Iceland to be a moonscape, with lava rocks.  There are places like that, like the area around the Bridge Between Two Continents, for example.  But there is a lot of greenery, too.  I never would have guessed that a picture from Iceland would look idyllic like that.

Driving the Golden Circle: Gulfloss

Gulfoss

The Golden Circle is a driving loop in the southwestern quadrant of Iceland, taking in three prominent tourist attractions in this part of the Island:  Gulfoss, Geysir, and Thingvellir (and, if you were so inclined, you could add the Bobby Fischer Center in Selfoss).  Well, I'm a tourist and I'm attracted to these sites, so let's drive to Gulfoss.

Gulfoss is the most well-known Icelandic waterfall.  It's on the Hvita River at the northeast corner of the Golden Circle, which, as I said in another post, is more of an isosceles triangle than "circle" per se.

You know you're at someplace special -- tourist attraction department -- when you pull into a giant parking lot, filled with tour buses, and there's a nice big souvenir shop for all your Gulfoss souvenir shopping needs.

You catch your first glimpse of this spectacular two-tiered waterfall soon after you walk past the souvenir shop.

The most notable feature at this moment, notwithstanding the beauty, power, and majesty of the waterfalls, was the fact that this area was very buggy.  As in VERY.  I was pleasantly surprised how bug-free Iceland had been.  I was expecting Minnesota/Wisconsin levels of mosquito infestation.  Gulfoss was much worse.  The bugs were mosquito-like, but they didn't seem to suck your blood as much as nibble on your scalp.  Curses that I left my Deep Woods Off back at the Skuggi.

This is a monument to Sigríður Tómasdóttir, the daughter of Tómas Tómasson, the former owner of this property.  Ms. Tómasdóttir -- Iceland uses patronymic naming so note that her name is, literally, daughter of Tómas -- is credited with saving the waterfalls from the horrors of hydropower.

And impressive they are.

You can see the mist rising up from the falls.  Do I have time for a selfie at the falls?

The good news is that when you're in the mist from the falls, the bugs aren't biting.  One last look on the way to the exits:

Gulfoss is located at 64 degrees, 19 minutes north latitude, which is just slightly north of Reykjavik latitudinally, presuming that's a word.  Which means:  Gulfoss is the new "farthest north" I've ever been.

Searching for Bobby Fischer

The Bobby Fischer Museum in Selfoss, Iceland

Chess champion Bobby Fischer spent the final years of his life an exile in Iceland.  This is where he died.  This is where he is buried.

Fischer single-handedly caused the 1970s chess boom (which hit big probably when I was in seventh grade) with his famous championship match with Russian Boris Spassky.  It was a Cold War death match more exciting than Rocky IV because it was real.  USA vs. USSR.  Capitalism vs. Communism.  Fischer vs. Spassky.

There is a museum dedicated to Bobby Fisacher in Selfoss, Iceland, on the southern coast of Iceland.  Fischer is buried here, too, in front of this small church.

Fresh flowers on the grave.  It's nice that someone still cares despite Fischer's obvious demons.

The cemetery and the grave are guarded by a single cat.

Contrary to the information I found on the internet, Fischer is not buried on the property of his museum.  His museum is located on a main street in Selfoss.  It was closed when we arrived Saturday morning.

NOTE:  Not sure why the sign for the Bobby Fischer center is in the shape of the State of Nevada.  I approve nevertheless.

The museum was closed when we got there in the morning.  It's open for a very limited number of hours per day and, again, I was given bad intelligence about this museum from he internet, which told me it was open from 10:00AM to 1:00PM.  It's open from 1:00PM to 4:00PM, summer hours, so plan accordingly on your next Iceland trip.

When we got back to Selfoss after traveling part of the Golden Circle, the museum was open.  The Golden Circle is a mini-loop road -- more of an isosceles triangle than circle, to the south and east of Reykjavik.  Each leg of the triangle is about a 45-minute drive.

The museum is small and uncrowded and fascinating.  Fischer ended up exiled in Iceland when he had his U.S. passport revoked during the George H.W. Bush administration.  Fischer ignored an embargo on Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia to play a rematch against Spassky in 1992.  Fischer was ordered not to go.  He went.  And he never returned to the U.S.  Add in some nasty comments about America after 9-11 and, basically, Fischer was the proverbial Man Without a Country, until Iceland took him in for humanitarian reasons.  And, perhaps, out of fond remembrances of the 1972 Fischer/Spassky match in Reykjavik.

That is an exact reproduction of the table on which the Reykjavik matches were played.

The museum visit would be interesting for anyone wanting some insight into the tortured soul who was Bobby Fischer.