Land of extremes: Temperate Iceland is an elemental netherworld of fire, flowers and yes, ice

PINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK, Iceland — On a damp and sullen day, in the drama of the rocky rift separating east and west tectonic plates, you can almost hear the horde of Vikings gathered at one of the world’s oldest parliaments.

Given the political contentiousness of its offspring American Congress, it seems little surprise that this original Icelandic legislature temporarily lost its law-making power after only 340 years. (For the next 500 years, its role was judicial, and for nearly 50 years, it was disbanded.)

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Jane Wooldridge / MCT

In Iceland, the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa attracts visitors who bathe in its 100-degree-plus waters and who soak in its mineral mud.

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The surprise is that it happened here at all. Shouldn’t the oldest continuous democratic assembly, as some have called it, hail from Rome or Britain or France? Yet many bestow that honor on the fierce Vikings who gathered in 930 near a confluence of crossroads, rocky fissures and a fish-filled lake (and meet still in more civilized quarters in Reykjavik.)

In Iceland, the unexpected is commonplace.

Start with the name — a misnomer if ever there was one. You often hear the quip that Iceland got the wrong end of the Viking marketing scheme: While this island-by-the-Gulfstream is temperate and grassy (even in winter, temperatures in the capital generally rise above freezing), more northerly Greenland is buried in ice (fast-melting though it is in these warming times).

In summer, Iceland becomes a field of flowers, and for three July days I will bask in the sun spilling over Reykjavik’s cafes, motor beneath grassy mountain ridges gushing with waterfalls, slip into natural thermal pools and canter across seaside farm fields on pint-size ponies with a gait smooth as a hobby horse.

The name isn’t ALL wrong, I soon discover, for Iceland is a land of fire and ice.

The country’s 200 volcanoes are the boils of irritation opening along the tectonic rub called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and more than a third of the earth’s lava flow in the past 500 years has happened here, according to experts at San Francisco’s Exploratorium.

For casual travelers, the easiest access to Iceland’s geological extremes is at Reykjavik’s “Volcano Show,” where two back-to-back films are shown in a tiny theater by host, filmmaker and ticket-seller Villi Knudsen. Glacial ice is split by volcanic explosions before your eyes as searing magma and meters-thick ice collide in violent clashes that reshape the island, forming lakes and floods often hidden beneath the ice. The most startling footage is of the 1960s eruptions off the coast that resulted in the creation of a new island, Surtsey — mirroring the ancient creation of Iceland itself.

Step outside the theater, and for the moment at least the geology lesson seems academic. Reykjavik is a chic urban village anchored by the concrete pyramid of Hallsgrimskirkja church and surrounded by commercial sprawl. The cozy streets are lined with boutiques, coffee houses and stylish bars burning with the sharp intensity of summer love. Skateboarders zip into the town’s central plaza. Cyclists and joggers pound the harborside path in the unending light of summer. The thin grass glows emerald in the fleeting warmth.

But once you’ve hit the local museums and nightclubs and experienced the whopping prices ($150 per day car rental, $100 for tandoori chicken and a couple of beers), you’ll be drawn back to the elements.

Nearly everyone who visits Iceland goes to the Blue Lagoon, the thermal pool complex near the airport. It’s part tourist trap, part transcendent voyage into an ethereal universe. Steam rises from the pool, carved from a lava landscape that looks like it should be on the moon.

Though there’s a serious clinic, cafe and massage facilities, what most people do here is soak and slather their skin in the mineral mud stationed in boxes around the pool.

Along with impurities, it seems, the mud draws out the chat. A Norwegian mom and her 15-year-old, Ingeborg, advise me about the mud. “Don’t get it too close to your eyes,” the mom warns. From there we move to fishing, whale hunting and, inevitably, America.

“Americans are egocentric, I think,” says the daughter. “The spotlight is always on them. And Americans, they are always afraid,” Ingeborg says.

Shrugs her mom, “She’s always had opinions.”

Iceland is slightly smaller than Kentucky. Though most of its interior is impenetrable without a rugged 4x4 and hearty guide, touring the island takes more time than I expect. For more than two hours I drive along the green flats edged by sea and ridge to Snaefellsjokull, a relatively accessible glacier rumored to have been a landing strip for aliens, a place of magic and Jules Vernes’ legendary entrance to the center of the earth.

Like many glaciers, this one is melting. For the past several summers, glacier tours have been impossible past mid-July, and I barely make the cutoff, bypassing the rigors of a 5-hour hike to the top in favor of the immediate gratification of a snowmobile tour.

In under 15 minutes, the group is whisked to the crater. It’s a stellar, crystalline day, and the views are spectacular, with snowcapped basalt peaks showing patches of black rock trickling to azure sea. Swaths of green are sheltered by rippled peaks and cliffs and strange, prehistoric-looking lava fields strewn with rocks — the spew and vomit of a raging earth.

Looking around, you realize the elves, trolls and gods said to live here must be unsettled; you don’t need to see the “Volcano Show” to realize something roils beneath.

Another day’s visit to the geyser fields confirms it. White steam rises against the green hills like a train chugging through the land, and it’s only when you realize that the location never changes that you understand that these kettles sit at a constant boil.

The most visited of the fields is at Geysir, the place from which the geological term was borrowed. If you’ve been to Yellowstone, you’ll be underwhelmed; it is neither so vast nor so colorful as those geysers of the American west. Still, it’s a sight few want to miss.

Some of the sprays here blow regularly; others are less predictable. The namesake Great Geysir — a once-regular vent spouting 180 feet high — now spurts less regularly and less tall. Its entrance is said to have been clogged by common sense-challenged visitors who threw rocks into it in the 1950s, but more recent earthquakes seem to have loosened the passageway. This change underscores the message of “Volcano Show:” that Iceland is a geological laboratory in flux, constantly reshaping the land.

A few miles away lies Gullfoss, a massive double waterfall of the river Hvita that plunges from a wide plain some 105 feet into a canyon. The flow seems almost to disappear, swallowed by Iceland’s mystical and ever-changing earth — the elements at play with eyes and mind.

A drive over ridges and boulder fields brings me to Pingvellir. There’s nothing whimsical or playful here; the planet’s plates have thrust and sparred without mercy, shearing to dramatic heights in a set ready for a sci-fi flick. It’s no wonder that the Vikings chose this as the site for their most momentous civic actions — and no surprise that, like important occasions throughout history, these took on a festive air. The pathway along the rift is lined with rock-hewn booths where vendors once sold nibbles and beer and whatever might have passed for souvenirs at an earlier time. If you close your eyes you can almost sense the hurly burly of power and influence, pride and prejudice.

Some things change. In this election year, it seems, some may not.

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VISITING ICELAND

Note: All prices are subject to availability and may change rapidly.

Getting there: Icelandair flies from Boston and New York in about five hours; it often offers discounts and packages that include hotel. Current offerings include a budget getaway with round-trip air from either city and two nights’ hotel with prices starting from $799 per person, double occupancy, for travel from Nov. 1 to April 26; some holiday dates are blacked out. Taxes and charges of $100-$270 are extra. www.icelandair.com; 800-223-5500.

Climate: With its northerly latitudes, expect long days and highs around 55 degrees in Reykavik summer, super-short days and highs of 27 degrees in winter.

Language: English is widely spoken.

LODGING

Staying outside Reykavik typically is cheaper than staying in town. Note that even a hostel room with a shared bath may cost $100.

A few options:

Radisson SAS Saga Hotel, Reykjavik: This comfortable modern hotel includes a hearty breakfast, but it’s far enough from the center that you’ll need to take a bus or taxi (surprisingly affordable) to the town center. From $89 per person, double occupancy, November-April, from $145 per person in summer months, when booked through Icelandair, www.icelandair.com.

In the town center, check its sister hotel, Radisson SAS 1919. Prices from $149-$175 per person, double occupancy, in winter, holidays excluded; from $225 per person, double in summer when booked through Icelandair. Also, reykjavik.radissonsas.com

Salvation Army Guesthouse, Reykjavik: Smack in the center of town, this clean but simple guesthouse offers single rooms from around $67 in summer, doubles from around $94, with shared baths and toilets. www.guesthouse.is.

Hotel Budir is a boutique-style hotel on the peninsula to the north of Reykjavik, a couple of hours outside the capital, in a picture-perfect setting near the Snaefellsjokull glacier. Doubles from about $140 in winter, $180 in summer. www.budir.is.

Hotel Eldhestar, a simple eco-hotel, is located about 30 minutes east of Reykjavik. Doubles about $75 in winter, $150 in summer; cheaper ‘sleeping bag’ rooms available. The riding stable next door offers short rides and multi-day treks; www.hoteleldhestar.is.

DINING

It’s New York expensive; even a 12-inch pizza will set you back $30. Seafood and lamb are the local specialties. Three options we especially enjoyed:

• Vid Tjornina specializes in seafood with smart preparations; the place itself is like dining in a private 1950s home. Worth the high price. Entrees $28-$65. www.vidtjornina.is.

• Laekjarbrekka: Local specialties in a historic house. Three-course meals around $65. www.laekjarbrekka.is.

• Tapas Barinn: Our foray into international dining was superb — and less expensive than other meals. Tapas from around $6; multi-plate menus about $38. www.tapas.is.

THINGS TO DO

Note that car rental is expensive — about $150 per day for the smallest vehicle. It’s worth considering whether you want your own car or are content with day tours out of Reykjavik, which may be cheaper.

Reykjavik is a pleasant strolling town with good museums and a lively night scene. Beyond the city are endless opportunities for sightseeing, whalewatching, snorkeling and diving, horse-riding, hiking, snowmobiling, dog-sledding and four-wheeling.

Among the highlights:

• Blue Lagoon, near the airport: Don’t miss this iconic (if touristy) attraction, with thermal pools misting above the land and visitors slathered in mineral mud. Massages available. The complex includes dressing rooms and dining. If you don’t have a car, check the shuttle schedule from the center of town. Don’t worry if you’re missing towels or bathing suits; you can rent them. $22 age 16 and older, free under 11. www.bluelagoon.com.

• Volcano Show: Filmmaker Villi Knudsen shows his pair of one-hour films at the Red Rock Cinema not far from the Hallgrimskirkja church. English-language shows are offered daily April-September. (011-354) 845-9548. Admission, $11 per person.

• Geysers, Gullfoss and Pingvellir: The so-called Golden Circuit takes in the geyser field (not as impressive as Yellowstone but worth it if you’re in the neighborhood), the remarkable Gullfoss waterfall and the national park at Pingvellir, site of Iceland’s first legislature and a spectacular example of what happens when tectonic plates meet. Drive it yourself or snag a day-trip tour from the capital. Pingvellir info, www.thingvellir.is. Geyser field, vwww.geysircenter.com

• Snaeffelsjokull: This ice-capped volcano and national park a couple of hours from Reykjavik offers snow-hikes and snowmobiling until mid-July. Like most glaciers worldwide, this one is melting — but the views are spectacular. The drive to the snow-mobiling (www.snjofell.is) office is rugged; you’ll think you’ve reached the end of the road long before you have.

• Horse-riding: Iceland’s fat little ponies boast a surprisingly smooth ride. Trips last from a few hours to several days. Two sources: www.ishestar.is and www.hoteleldhestar.is.

INFO

Iceland Tourism Board: www.goiceland.org.

“Iceland,” $22.99, from Lonely Planet guides, available at bookstores and on online.