June 25: Travel to Iceland

by Geoff Hart

Apart from leaving my camera at home*, travel to Iceland was almost completely painless. We had to pass through Toronto, since Icelandair doesn’t fly direct from Montreal and they’re the cheapest fare by far. Leave at least 2 hours for the transfer between flights in Toronto; you have to reclaim your bags, change terminals, and do the security jig a second time. We had enough time to grab a couple sandwiches for the flight, but not much more.

* I was charging the camera battery overnight, and left the camera and case right where I couldn’t possibly forget them. So of course I forgot them... Sigh. Fortunately, I realized this right before passing through security. Mom H had volunteered to give us a lift to the airport (thanks, Mom!), and because we live about 10 minutes from the airport, she was able to run back home and get the camera. (Thank Mom for the photos I’ll be posting! My iPhone is definitely a poor second when it comes to photography.) These “senior moments” are alarming when one isn’t a senior.

Our Sleipnir equivalent was a jet named Askja (“ask ya”); Icelandair names all its planes after volcanoes. The plane’s economy class is distinct from the “economy comfort” class in not being comfortable; for a 6-footer like me, no leg or shoulder room at all, and barely enough room to cram a daypack under the seat. Though Icleandair offers two free checked bags, they’re mingier about food, which must be purchased onboard, so we brought our own (sandwiches and salads) from the airport. The coffee was excellent, though. We also tried out “Gull” Icelandic beer. A pleasant if unremarkable lager. Looking forward to trying more creative brews, of which there are supposed to be many. A little pre-trip research suggests that there’s a local microbrewery called “Borg” that we’ll have to seek out: obviously, resistance is futile.

There was a bit of confusion linking up with our tour group at Keflavik airport; we were supposed to meet at the tour bus in the bus terminal, but that covers a couple acres, and our hired bus never showed. So we wandered from bus to bus looking for our group, with no luck. Fortunately, our expedition leader (Richard “Dick” Little, a retired geologist who’s been here half a dozen times before) had distributed a tour booklet with photos, and a few people recognized us from the photos and beckoned us over. Most of them had arrived on the same flight from Boston, only a few minutes before we arrived. Dick improvised well, and got all 25 of us on one of the airport shuttles instead.

Iceland really is "land of the midnight sun" at this time of year. It was nearly 2 AM, local time, by the time we reached the hotel, but still light enough outdoors to read a book! First impressions: the stretch between Keflavik and Reykjavic reminded me of Hawaii, what with flat fields and occasional tumbled heaps of lava stratching far as the eye can see from the bus windows during the 45-minute ride into town. Also, large of ground-hugging grass and expanses of purple flowers that (from the bus) appear to be arctic lupins. Sadly, American “culture” has arrived; we passed our first Taco Bell and KFC franchises, and a large billboard was advertising “American-style Kevin Bacon cheeseburgers”. Well, at least Icelanders seem to enjoy puns.

Chatted with a few of our co-tourists on the way, and they seem likely to be an interesting group. Mostly retired, so we’re the babies of the group, as we were in our China tour.

We’re staying at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik, which is very nice, but not very grand. Only 12 stories. It’s furnished simply in Scandinavian/Nordic modern, with lots of blond wood and simple design, but a lovely skylit (skylighted?) lobby. Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be any air-conditioning in the room, other than a motorized transom window about 8 feet up to let in the night air. Heating is by steam radiators (apparently 90% of Iceland’s homes are geothermally heated). Leaving the window up helped a lot, but the window closes automatically, so it may be an annoying effort trying to keep the room cool.

A couple photos just to get things started:

A "salmon egg" sculpture at Keflavik airport, backlit by the non-setting-sun sunset:

Midnight sun(set) over lava fields, looking north to Reykjavik (through bus window):

Next installment: June 26 in Reykjavic

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