“There’s No Bad Weather in Iceland….Just Bad Clothing and Bad Attitudes”

We made it! Arrived at 6:30am, and it took over an hour and 15min to get thru the Customs booth. If anyone is ever catching a connecting flight from Keflavik airport, make sure you have at least 3hrs between flights! All the international flights arrive at the same time, and they corral you like cattle in an atrium, and then it’s like the Hunger Games to get up the single staircase to get to the 4 booths of waiting Customs officers!

Got to our adorable hotel by 9am, completely exhausted, but couldn’t check in till 2pm, so we went exploring! Saw the famous Hallgrímskirkja church, with good ol’Leif Erikson standing guard:

We walked along the harbour, which was really pretty:

 

Navigating has been a bit of a challenge…not only is every road/street 18 syllables long, and virtually impossible to pronounce, but the maps use shorthand, and seem to just leave out some streets altogether! Luckily people are pretty nice, and there seems to be a tourist info booth every 2nd block.

After a $32 breakfast of 1 coffee, 1 tea, 1 croissant, and 1 museli, we joined a walking tour with the most hilarious guide, who gave us all the insight into Iceland’s socially progressive ways. There’s no homelessness, free education (even university), & free medical. There’s virtually no violent street crime, and the only thing the police have to do is track white collar criminals, and update their cutesy Instagram account (which apparently includes sharing cooking recipes, and pictures of officers holding puppies). We saw the parliament buildings, and the Prime Minister’s office, and there’s absolutely zero security. The only building in Iceland that has security is the American embassy….go figure.

We were somewhat amused that Icelanders are so pleased with themselves that they don’t have a Starbucks or McDonalds….yet they have Dunkin’ Donuts, and even a patriotic donut:

We didn’t try the donuts, but we did try the oldest and most famous hot dogs, which were delicious! 80% lamb and 12% beef….we didn’t ask  what the remaining 8% consisted of:

(No…we didn’t eat all 4 hot dogs….the people next to us had theirs on the same holder thingy….don’t judge!). Apparently this hot dog establishment has been in the same spot since the 30’s, and is 4th generation-run. Everyone from Bill Clinton to the Kartrashians have eaten here, and it didn’t disappoint!

We made friends with some “locals”:

…and took in some panoramic views:

…and now we’re just taking a brief siesta, since we’ve been up so long! Tomorrow we pick up the rental car, and head out to start our journey! Pretty excited for the snorkelling! (I know this post was lame….but I’m tired! I promise they will get better! lol).

Advertisement