ÍR

Ground: Hertz Völlurinn (ÍR-Völlur)

Visits: 1

Date: 21st June 2013

Match: ÍR - Njarðvík 1-0 (2. Delid)

Attendance: 150

On Friday evening there was only one match in Reykjavík. ÍR (Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur) vs Njarðvik in 2. Delid (level 3 in Iceland). Kick-off was at 8pm meaning plenty of time for touristing. I decided to go on the "Golden Circle tour" and at 9am the packed tourist bus left Reykjavík. The Golden Circle tour is Iceland´s most popular tour and it was not difficult to understand why. The weather this Friday was very good and along our way I had some great views of the fascinating landscape. Lava fields, glaciers and volcanos wherever you looked. First stop was a greenhouse where the owner grows tomatoes and cucumbers. Tomatoes in Iceland? Yes, because of the nearby hot springs the greenhouse has all the energy it needs to grow tomatoes even during the dark winters.. After a while we arrived at Gullfoss, the Golden waterfall. Breathtaking and amazing to say the least.From the waterfall we also had a view of Iceland's second biggest glacier, Langjökull. The third stop was Geysir. Every 7th minute the hot spring spout water 15-20 metres up in the air. There are plenty of other smaller Geysirs as well but also warning signs, the water is 80-95 C. I managed to get some great pictures of the Geysir which actually wasn´t too easy. The bus then continued to þingvellir. The place worked as Iceland's supreme legislative and judicial authority from its establishment in 930 until 1271. This was also the place where the first settlers in Iceland had their annual meetings "summer parliament" and this tradition continues until 1798. When Iceland got independent from Denmark in 1944 the treaty was actually signed in þingsvellir. The views from the top of the rocks were amazing. During this tour it felt like you wanted to stop the bus and take pictures all the time. This tour is a must for every tourist coming to Iceland!

Hertz Völlurinn (formerly ÍR-völlur) is situated next to Mjodd bus station. With Mjodd being one of the hubs for buses in Reykjavík I had plenty of buses to choose from. I was outside the ground by 19.30, no need to be too early in Iceland. ÍR-Völlur has an open stand (3 rows) on the south side. Behind the goal to the east there is a grass bank. The other sides are fence only. During the match I spotted two people taking photos. I asked them if they were groundhoppers and it turned out they were German groundhoppers (not much of a surprise!) and I spoke to them during most of the match. The match itself was quite interesting with plenty of incidents. The visitors from Njarðvik had a player sent off in the first half but it wasn't until the 75th minute ÍR manged to score. The match finished 1-0 to ÍR who, with one match more played, now are top of the 2. Delid table.

Pictures from the Golden Circle Tour:

guldfoss