Pingvellir National Park was founded by law in 1930. The Act states that "Pingvellir shall be protected national shrine（圣地）for all Icelanders." In 2004 Pingvellir was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Facilities At Pingvellir National Park

The National Park Information Center at Leirar can provide advice on camping, fishing and hiking as well as other general information on the park. There is a small and comfortable cafeteria where drinks and light meals can be obtained.

At Hakio Visitor center is an interactive exhibition where the national park's history and nature comes alive. Guests can also find there souvenir shop and small cafeteria.

Pingvellir National Park Rules

• All nature in the National Park is protected. Don't disturb any natural or man-made feature.

• Do not damage vegetation. Fires are prohibited.

• Do not litter in the National Park.

•Do not drive off-road or park outside a designated（指定的）parking areas.

• Dogs must be kept on a leash（皮带）,and owners must clean up after their pets.

•Note that the Pingvellir area has many rock fissures and cracks. Stay careful.

• Camping is only permitted at designated campsites. Observe quiet between midnight and 8 am.

• Fishing permits are sold at the service center. Note that boats must not be launched from National Park land.

• Park rangers and service center staff will be pleased to provide further information.

• Pingvellir National Park is a haven of peace. Drunkenness is inappropriate here, and disturbs other visitors. The National Park reserves that right to expel drunken visitors.

Minimalism (极简主义) is hot, culturally, and for years, science has assured us that it was also the path to the greatest happiness. The popular wisdom is that people who want the most happiness for their money should buy experiences, not things. The idea is that joy of an experience begins before it even starts, and continues when you look back on the fancy dinner or vacation. Experiences provide, in other words, both more anticipatory (预期) happiness and afterglow (回味) happiness.

But a recent study suggests that sweaters and iPhones might make you just as happy, in a way, as concerts do. There is a third type of happiness — momentary happiness — and it tends to last longer with material goods because people use them for more time than they typically experience their experiences for.

For the study, researchers Aaron Weidman and Elizabeth Dunn from the University of British Columbia gave 67 participants $20 to spend on either an experiential or material purchase of their choice, and then to report one experiential or material gift they had recently received. Then they quizzed them about their happiness levels.

They found that the study subjects gained more frequent momentary happiness from material goods, but stronger momentary happiness from the experiences. In other words, they enjoyed their material goods on a greater number of occasions than they did their experiences even though the happiness felt from the experiences was slightly stronger.

So should you spend much money on the latest iThing or on Hamilton tickets? It depends on whether you are “seeking a strong but fleeting form of happiness,” Weidman and Dunn write, “or a more subtle (微弱的), frequent form of happiness that will last for weeks or months.”

The journey to discover myself, care for myself and love myself has been a long one. But, it's been a journey that has finally saved my life.

I remember throwing up for the first time when I was 8 years old. Somehow I had developed the belief that being thin was the only way to be accepted and loved. This way of thinking intensified（加剧） as I got older and bulimia（神经性贪食）became more and more deeply rooted in my life.

When I was 15 years old my family said goodbye to everything we had ever known and boarded the plane for New Zealand. I felt alone and scared in a world that was completely different to anything I had ever known. Eating helped numb（麻木）my pain and throwing up helped keep me thin.

By the time I went to university I was throwing up over 15 times a day. I was so ashamed of what I had become.

Although my bulimia had completely turned my life upside down, I knew one thing for sure that I loved my family more than anything in the world. This belief eventually made me pick up the phone and book my first appointment with a therapist（治疗专家）.

The first session I had with my therapist, Amanda, was amazing. I walked out of her office feeling like I had finally done something positive for myself. Amanda made me realize that I wasn't alone in my suffering and there were thousands upon thousands of girls just like me.

I met regularly with Amanda for the best part of a year, over which time I learnt how to treat myself kindly, respect myself and love myself. I said goodbye to bulimia after over a decade of suffering.

Just turn to face the direction of self-discovery, self-love and self-acceptance and keep walking until you get there. It will be the journey of a lifetime.

Mozart was a genius, but he struggled like an average person during early twenties. He had to work to make ends meet. Underpaid and unsatisfied by his average performances, he felt a burning desire to devote more time and energy to his art. So after a period of doubt and thinking, that's exactly what he did. He quit his job and began what turned out to be the most creative period of his life.

Even if you never hope to reach Mozart’s level of mastery, you may relate to his need to break free from convention (传统). Maybe you’ve done everything right — stood out at school, and got a high-paying job — but you’re tired of being just like everyone else. Maybe you long to achieve something that is unmistakably you.

What, then, is holding you back? Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine and author of Late Bloomers, argues that our culture’s obsession (痴迷) with early achievement discourages us from going after what we love. Instead of having varied interests, studying widely, and taking our time — essentials (要素) for self-discovery — we’re encouraged to pass tests, become specialists right away, and pursue safe and secure careers. As a result, most of us end up choosing professional excellence over personal achievement, and often we lose ourselves in the process.

As you move forward, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, it’s never too late to “become” yourself. Aristotle, for example, didn’t fully devote himself to writing and philosophy until he was nearly 50. There are also benefits to taking a long, winding path to achievement. Remember that age usually brings wisdom, self-knowledge, and creativity. This is one reason the average age of founders of high-growth start-ups is 45.

If you ever get stuck, think of Joanne, a talented and creative woman who bounced from job to job throughout her twenties. She felt like a total failure. But she took that feeling of hopelessness and chose to do what she’d always wanted to do: write fantasy novels for children. As she would later recount, “I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was.”

You’ve probably heard of her. Her pen name is J.K. Rowling.

Now get to work.