Day 1 - Reykjavik

Our flight over was pretty uneventful.  That said, I think that was the smallest plane we have ever flown internationally.  The flight was pretty full so we were quite scrunched up for the seven hours over.  They fly over Canada and Greenland to get to Iceland.

We landed at 6:00 a.m. and it was dark and snowing.  Note, the weather forecast was cloudy.  It took about 10 minutes to get through immigration and then about another 15 minutes to pick up out baggage.  There was no real customs, we just went right through.  Our rental car shuttle took a while  but at last we are on our way.  We rented a 4X4 with studded tires and this is the car we got: a Dacia Duster ( I never heard of it before).

Our first stop is the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is actually a man-made lagoon; with water temperature around 37-40°C or 98-104°F.  The geothermal water features three active ingredients: silica, algae and minerals.  While it looks blue, the water is actually white.  It's the sun that makes it look blue.  The silica wrecks hair so that is why you see all the women with their hair up.  They also give you conditioner to put in your hair before you go in.  For $90/per person, you get to use the lagoon for as long as you want, get one free drink and one silica mask.  There were snow flurries when we were there so it was interesting to have the water be really warm but above water temp was quite cold.  Tip for anyone looking to book tickets, they will let you in within the hour that you are scheduled for but not before so you will want to time it so you are late rather than early.  Our ticket was for 8:00 a.m. and we arrived around 8:10.  Another tip is to plan to visit just when you are coming or leaving for the airport, as it's about 20 minutes from the airport.  

Note that we are already in our artic gear.  It was windy and COLD.  Thank you Mom for my nice North Face coat!  It was awesome.

We have on the silica mask. Scary looking but it did make my skin feel oh so soft.

We stayed in the water for about an hour and that was enough for us.  I am sure others stay much longer but heck, how long can you sit in a hot tub?

Our next stop is to go to the market and get some snacks.  We went to a place called Bonus.  It's a chain supermarket and has a big pink pig for it's sign so it's hard to miss.  After loading up on snacks, we headed toward Reykjavik.  Time to eat.  Oh yeah, one thing to mention, Iceland Air did not serve any complimentary food during our flight.  They had 2 drink services but no snack and you can buy food if you want.  I didn't know this so it's a good thing I brought snacks.  We had gold fish and chocolate chip cookies.  So as you can imagine, we are ready to eat real food.  

On our way to Reykjavik, we stopped by Costco.  We didn't buy anything but how can you not check it out?  Our US card got us in.  Amazingly, it was pretty similar to the layout in the US and similar merchandize.  I wonder how popuplar Costco is in Iceland?

So, our first meal is a fish and chips place called Reykjavik Fish.  Nothing fancy but it was very good.  It costs about $20 per person.  Rick and I had the same thing.

Bellies full, it's time for a nap.  We have not slept for over 24 hours so we are definitely due for some shut eye.  Luckily, our hotel allowed us to early check in.  Today we are staying in the Lotus Hotel.  It's a pretty basic hotel but it's modern and well kept so good enough.  One thing though, if you don't have a car, you would not stay here as it's a little bit away from the central part of Reykjavik.

Once refreshed from our naps, we headed out again.  I am still adjusting to the cold weather here so let's just say that it's COLD!.  Everyone is bundled up in their puffer jackets  and walking around.  It's impressive how much English is spoken here.  It does seem like most of the tourists are Americans.  

We drove to the Hallgrimskirkja Church to do the tourist thing.  Most of the shops were closed so we mostly just window shopped.  The church was also closed so we only were able to see it from the outside.  

We walked around and did the tourist thing, checking out here and there.  We ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant for some pho and bun bo hue (because it was so cold) for dinner.  Nothing oh so fabulous but good enough...  It started snowing pretty hard after dinner so we just headed back to the hotel.  I also need to make time to blog.

Some more photos from our out and about.

So that's pretty much it for day 1.  It was a very full day and we didn't even do much.  

Rick's notes for the day:  Our plane from SFO to SEA was a new 737 MAX, it was a very nice modern plane with decent legroom and both USB and 110 power outlets.  The 757 from SEA to KEF was just an old, small plane.  Very little legroom and only USB power.  Our carry-on that was allowed on the 737 needed to be checked for the 757.  It was somewhat interesting that neither plane really had much air running through the ventilation system.  Both planes were very hot and stuffy, in my estimation.  Luckily, I brought by battery operated fan that I could charge in the USB charger.  I also spent some of the time watching one of my favorite movies...JoJo Rabbit.  It is an off-beat comedy about a kid growing up in Germany during WWII.  I am not sure why there aren't more comedies about WWII...😕

My other notes for the day are on our transportation.  The Duster is fine.  It has lived some life in its 200,000 kilometers (120,000 for you imperial people).  Quick trivia question: name the three countries that still use the imperial system of measurements...sheesh, come on America!  The lady at the rental car company spent about 10 minutes telling me all the things I could not/should not do with the car.  I think people have done a lot of stupid stuff with their rental 4x4s in Iceland.  One thing she did tell me that I completely failed was about something, something doors, hinges and wind.  As soon as we got to Bonus and I open my door (down-wind) the wind caught the door and violently blew it open.  Luckily it was still attached when I used all my stength and size to close the door.  It was windy!  Speed limits in Iceland are low.  Max speed is about 90 kmh (54 mph).  I was a bit suprised to see that the Duster was a manual.  Last time I drove a manual was in 2019 in Scotland but generally driving a manual is not a big deal for me.  I will note, the Duster lugs pretty good when I shift it from 2nd to 5th...but it is easy to get it in reverse unlike our manual in Scotland.

Well, that is about it for me.  I am dusted, like our Duster.