Adios Mon Ami: Iceland - Preparing for my Trip and Discovering Reykjavik

This week, I’m excited to escape the barrage of doom and gloom for the serenity of the Iceland landscape and hopefully 🙏🏼 to a better state of mind.

This trip is not a traditional “tour” but I have arranged for day trips and excursions. Mostly everything has been set up in advance.

I don’t expect any volcanic activity, although there were some geothermal rumblings discovered on my Google search. People say that the sight of flowing lava is uplifting, but I prefer to be a safe distance away. I trust that Icelanders keep a watchful eye on this stuff.

The flight on Icelandair is direct and only 5 - 6 hours from JFK to Reykjavik. I arrive at 6 am Iceland time. I will meet the shuttle at the airport and get dropped off at the hotel ~45 minutes later. Easy breezy.

Did I mention I’m wearing my hiking boots on the plane?

My motivation for going to Iceland this month is the limited window for viewing the Northern Lights due to increasing daylight. While there are no guarantees, I think the odds are in my favor. Fingers crossed. 🤞🏻

I want to get some nice photos, so checked out YouTube for instructions on shooting the night sky. Using a tripod is the way to go, did a click on Amazon, and a tripod is arriving today for $20.

It remains to be seen whether the transformer explosion at Heathrow yesterday will impact my travels. As of this morning, the flight is on time. I’ve heard that some flights were diverted to Reykjavik yesterday so I'm expecting that airport to be in a state of chaos when I arrive but I’ll hope for the best.

Yet, there was another surprise today with the JFK Airtrain. It was out of service so a shuttle bus drove us to a station where it was working. Nothing was explained so I just followed everyone else. It would have been nice to get a heads-up about the construction and connections. At least the LIRR worked.

Need I mention the very long lines at Icelandair check-in?

People, please don’t chat with the TSA agents. Just take off your shoes and be done with it!

Patience is a Virtue

Pablo Picasso Painting

LANDED

It seemed like forever getting from the airport to the hotel. Once I found the correct bus after several failed attempts (jet lag?), you have to transfer to a van specific to your hotel’s location at the bus terminal. It is organized by color codes and you are dropped off at a designated bus stop within a 2- minute walk to your hotel. The strategy makes sense so that the streets don’t get clogged with tourist buses, but just adds another layer of complexity. It’s a lot to deal with, with no sleep.

Puffins are a big draw in Iceland. Breeding season is April through August. In March, the only Puffins to be seen are the thousands of stuffed toys, mugs, and magnets in souvenir shops on Laugavegur Street or at the Perlan Museum. Hey, Icelanders need to make a living too.

Actual Puffins (at the Central Park Zoo, NYC😁)

The first impression is that Reykjavik is pristine and safe. You can drink the tap water which comes from the glaciers. The hot water has a sulfur smell from the geothermal activity.

None of the stresses that usually accompany city dwellers seem to be present here as far as I can tell. Our tour guide, “BG”, who is a local, described a very wholesome upbringing for his 3 kids.

Interesting fact: all kids have to learn to swim by high school graduation. Icelanders have access to numerous natural geothermal pools throughout the country which is a big part of their ecosystem.

BG has seen the aurora borealis thousands of times and runs a side business taking tourists out for sightings. He took us to the Aurora Reykjavik museum which was very cool and entertaining.

Aurora Reykjavik Museum