New Thing #87 - Iceland - Day 6 (Back Home)

October 31, 2016

Last days of vacation are always the worst. All you have to look forward to is a long flight home and the realization that you can not continue to live like a nomad. This is probably why I start planning my next trip before I even finish the one I'm on.

After two full days of nothing but dreary skies and rain, the sun finally came out giving us a completely different view of the city. We chose to do some more sightseeing, since we only had the morning left.

Our favorite souvenir shop.

Fantastic dinner from Saturday night.

Another ridiculously long store name that is impossible to pronounce.

This sign looks like it says RAM IT.

Totally looks like the Fisher Price logo.

We stopped in here to grab a bite to eat and some coffee before heading back out.

Since today was much nicer than Saturday, we headed back down to the water and Sun Voyager to get some more photos. The sky was spectacular this morning as the sun was rising. Apparently everyone thought the same thing, because the amount of people taking photos of the Sun Voyager was comical. Everyone wanted to get the iconic sculpture in a photo without anyone in it, and it was nearly impossible. Every time you'd try to take the photo, someone would walk in the shot from the other side. Then, a group of 4 people started taking photos for a solid 10 minutes, and eventually we all thought they were lingering on purpose. There is no way they needed as many pics as they took, and most of the time, they were just standing around, blocking the horizon.

The natives started getting restless and more than one person started yelling at them. Who knew getting a photo of the sun voyager was this crucial?

Feeling very Icelandic in my patterned leggings.

Took 20 minutes, but I was able to photograph it without anyone in the frame!

Hard to see us, but we managed to get in the photo quickly.

Ingólfur Arnarson statue - The first person to permanently settle Iceland.

The lake in front of City Hall.

City Hall and people feeding the birds.

Storm was brewing in the distance.

A beautiful morning to sightsee.

Art.

I loved all of the colorful buildings!

I read that Icelandic hot dogs were incredibly popular, but we never managed to stop and get one. There were hot dog stands all over the city.

Lots of Christmas shops were open, and it was fun seeing their traditional decorations.

HA!

Stopped in this little unassuming shop for a quick bite to eat.

Mozzarella and pesto panini. Mmmmm

Chain souvenir shop. You could find the same things in all the shops, and they were everywhere.

They take their troll love very seriously.

More hot dogs!

We split up briefly, as we each needed to purchase one more souvenir for friends, and they were in opposite directions. I took a quick detour back to the water to get a few more shots in full daylight. Have to say that while still breathtaking, our morning photos were much better.

I had read numerous blogs that said cash was not necessary here, as everywhere took cards, even the smaller remote areas. It was a gamble, but I chose not to exchange any money before we got here. I did bring some U.S. dollars that I thought I might exchange at the airport, but with our delay in arriving, I was never able to do so. Luckily, we had no problems anywhere we went, as our Visa cards worked great. The only issue we had was at one unique gift shop filled with hand made postcards, paintings and photographs. We both fell in love with some pieces that we wanted to frame, and the machine rejected both of our cards. After a full 5 minutes of going back and forth with the cashier, Angela tried her debit card, and we were able to make the sale. Apparently that one store didn't like our Capital One credit cards. Other than that, we had no problems.

After we finished up, we headed back to the hostel for our 1:30 bus pick up time. I had already coordinated with the hostel before our arrival to determine the best pick up time to make our flight later in the afternoon. Knowing that Iceland buses were always on time, we had no worries. Until it was closer to 2:00pm before our shuttle even picked us up.

I was more than a little freaked out, because we still had 20 minutes worth of pickups to make before we would even arrive at the bus station. And our bus was supposed to leave for the airport at 2. About a billion scenarios went through my head on what we would do if we were late to the bus. I wasn't convinced anything would be done, even though the delay wasn't our fault. Miraculously, our airport bus was waiting on us when we arrived at the bus station about 15-20 minutes later. We were still late leaving Reykjavik, but at least we were on the damn bus.

The airport is about 45-50 minutes from Reykjavik, so I again had time to worry about missing our flight. IcelandAir didn't allow us to check in prior to arrival at the airport, so I knew we not only had to drop off our luggage and go through security, but also pick up our boarding passes. I was really beginning to rethink the hostel's suggestion of pick up time. The airport was packed, and we were directed to a kiosk to check in. But, the kiosk told us we had to go to the counter, delaying us even further.

Again, miraculously, we made it quickly through depositing our luggage and getting our tickets, and scrambled up to go through security. I was also rethinking wearing the tall winter boots I had on because they were a bear to take on and off. Unfortunately, they no longer fit in my suitcase, so I was forced to wear them on the plane. The security line wasn't terrible, though it was nowhere near as good as Chicago was.

But, we still weren't in the clear. We still had a 20 minute walk to the other end of the terminal to find our gate. (No joke, the signs told us it was a 20 minute walk, and indeed it was.) Damn, the terminal didn't look THAT big from the outside. We had minutes to spare before boarding was to begin, so we took a quick bathroom break, and I stopped in a little shop to pick out some food. We had intended to eat dinner in the airport before we boarded, but our hurried trek across the terminal put an end to that. Looking back, I wish I had purchased two sandwiches, because it wasn't nearly enough food.

We arrived at our gate at 4:00, which was when boarding was to begin. We found our flight buddy, Jess, and we exchanged stories of our trip. She said snorkeling at Þingvellir was incredibly cool, and we told her about our Northern Lights experience. She hadn't gotten to see them. We continued to wait in line to board with no explanation, but was finally allowed to get on the plane after a 30-45 minute delay. Our flight was late leaving, again, but at least this time we weren't on a tight schedule. We let our aunt and uncle know we were leaving a bit late so they could track the flight, and sat back and relaxed.

I still can't believe I went to Iceland. I know I say that after every trip and every thing I see, but come on, it's Iceland!! I'm so thankful for this somewhat last minute trip and for my cousin agreeing to go on this crazy adventure with me. (As well as my aunt and uncle who helped us get to and from the airport.) Minus a few close calls in transportation, this was a fantastic trip, and I can't wait to go back to that beautiful island. Perhaps next time it'll be in the summer! Love you Ang!