Iceland - A Study In Contrasts!

A mountain made of volcanic material with one of Iceland's magnificent glaciers on top...and perfectly ordered civilization below! As I said....A study in contrasts! Awe, Fear.....Feelings of being disconnected with reality almost!

First real look at the glacier that runs along the ridge in the Southern part of the country!

Skogafoss Waterfall on the South Coast of Iceland.

The cows seem to have no clue about the magnificence in front of them. Oh well....I guess you have to eat a lot of salad to sustain such large bodies!

Gullfoss Waterfall in Iceland

Fear, Disbelief, Amazement....and the list could go on and on! What a magnificent sight! Made all the more stunning by the fact that the lower level of the falls is almost at a right angle to the upper...something rivers generally do not do!

Thingvallavatn Lake - Within the Golden Circle In Iceland!

Early morning driving by the lake on the way to the site of the first Icelandic Parliament....Thingvellir...the lake itself is achingly beautiful! Just sensational in almost any light! Unspoiled beauty, melted my heart! I could have wept!

The Glacier, Waterfalls, Hills and Lava and teeny houses and barns!

This gives the whole Iceland experience - or practically! A Study In Contrasts!

Thingvallavatyn Lake again....this time later in the day!

And how many of you have noticed the Troll Cave? :-)

A volcano crater

This one deemed a young one - because of the reddish earth! It is ''only' about 3000 years old!!

The run-off from the Gullfoss waterfall!

THe water goes through a narrower passage here....cutting its way through ...

The rock wall on one side of the river flowing away from the Gullfoss waterfall in Iceland.

I think that there is opal in those rocks. They are translucent and really beautiful...whatever is in those stones!

Southern Coast of Iceland

An impressionistic rendering of sea and sky blending into one another! Difficult to see where one starts and the other takes over. Calm, peaceful, space to get lost in the beauty of this magical place!

Black sand beach from the lava!

What a coastline!

The so-called tongue of the glacier!

It is crunching through the lava rock and moving forward at about 1 and 1/2 inches per year...

Farm land - and such neat, orderly little houses - not so little actually!

I love the striations in the land...topped off by that mammoth hunk of lava rock in the middle distance....

Such variety in the landscape!

This was taken in August - so still summer - more or less! The moss is still green and visible...

The glacier from across the valley.

A scary sight! It looks to me like a bird from the deep pushing its angry head up from underneath - the ice cave looking like an eye socket....and the beak going further to the right and crunching ice as it goes.....

A Country Stream

So different from all the drama of the waterfalls and glaciers....!

Late afternoon on the South Coast of Iceland - Long Shot of the Glacier from the Opposite Hill!

Again.... fear...but respect, and awe! Always awe!

An underwater eruption...??

Speaking of drama....and once again - Iceland - A Study In Contrasts....