Iceland, a summary

Despite the airport issue, IcelandAir is a great airline. The flight was quiet, exactly what I want. I even got to see Greenland from the air - indescribably beautiful. As we got closer to Edmonton we passed a massive storm, and there was an enormous rainbow in the sky. Amazing.

Once we landed we realized we could use our Nexus cards to get through customs quickly. Woot for Nexus! That was great. Then we headed to the shuttle to get the car and drive home. The drive was a little dodgy given how tired we both were. One of us would drive for about 100km while the other slept, and then we would switch. We made it.

It was fun to be reunited with Paisley. It was the longest we had ever left her and we missed her terribly. Fortunately she had a vacation while we did! She hiked in Waterton, got some swimming in, and hung out with Achilles. She was so relaxed when she got home, despite all the storms she had to suffer through.

As for the trip, it was better than we could have imagined. If you have the opportunity to go, take it. You really won't regret it. We are already hoping to go back.

Just remember:
1. You need lots of money. Iceland is expensive.
2. You don't need shorts. Don't pack them.
3. You will be speechless a good portion of the time. Or you will say "Wow!" a lot.
4. You will take a lot of pictures.
5. You will be so happy you went.

We certainly are. It was the perfect way to celebrate 25 years of marriage, and 28 years together.

Reykjavik to Keflavik

From downtown Reykjavik we drove out to the airport to catch our flight home.

The airport

We were told by numerous sources to get to the airport early, so we did. As it turns out, we didn't need to be there early. We got our bags checked and got through security in no time. We even got through Duty Free in record time. However, the issues started once we tried to get to our gate. The airport is much too small for the number of people it handles. Added to that, several flights were late, meaning all the North American flights left at 5:30pm. So hundreds and hundreds of people were jammed into a very small space, all trying to get on their flights. The airport doesn't announce when flights are boarding either, so you kind of have to guess. Because of my leg and using a cane I wanted to board early, but the only way to do it was to push our way through the throng of angry travellers. We were happy when we were safely on board. 

Reykjavik - Randomness

After leaving Hallgrimskirkja, we had some time to kill before having lunch. We wandered (slowly) through the downtown, just looking around & taking photos. Reykjavik is such an interesting place. It's worth taking some time to explore, that's for sure.

Local houses

Not sure what this is

 Random door

Fish, Inc., with the bags of water hanging from the ceiling. And more coffee for John. 

 Just cool

Graffiti

John got a kick out of this guy. 

Art exhibition down the main street. Fun!

Beautiful sculptures by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. 

The Harpa in beautiful sunlight. 

The public gardens are gorgeous. 

No, we did not go to the Penis Museum! 

Even the fire escapes are attractive. 

Sculpture of Fridrik Fridriksson by Sigurjon Olafsson. 

My Mom wanted to know if you can get your "snarl" to go! 

Metal origami boat

And from there we went back to Glo for what we thought would be our last meal there. As it turns out, IcelandAir serves a meal from Glo on the plane, so I was able to have a GF dinner.