Mister and Lady: Iceland - Travel and Day 1

I am still basking in the glow of Iceland. I am serious -- the entire island in winter is an incredible glow. Absolutely breathtaking.

We had been tossing around the idea of spending a week in Iceland for quite some time. It was number one on Mister's bucket list and seeing the Aurora Borealis was on my list as well. So, after getting an unexpected Christmas bonus at work, we decided to make it our gift to each other and just go. Such a wise decision -- and a trip that will never be forgotten. Come along with me down memory lane and I'll share the highlights with you.

As I posted earlier, we were at Amanda's and had both taken a fall down the stairs. Great start to a trip. As we departed Cheyenne to drive to Denver and the airport, we had only gotten a few miles out of town and the decision was made for me to drive and Mister to try and rest his back a little. We talked about just flying straight home, but decided that between Ibuprofen, Aleve, and rest we might make it work. We arrived at the airport early, were given our seats at check-in, and found a quiet hideaway on the second floor above our gate where Mister crashed on the floor for awhile before we went and had a quick meal and boarded the plane to Reykjavik.

It is a 7 1/2 hour flight and the plane is relatively empty so we each have 3 seats to ourselves. We start out by watching a movie and then I pretty much crash for the rest of the flight. When we land, it is 6:00 in the morning and we have a 6 hour difference from home. Even though I have slept off and on on the flight, I am beat, but we are off and going. We have perhaps the easiest entry into a country that I have ever experienced, get our passports stamped, and suddenly we are heading outside.

We are met just inside the door by a gentleman holding a sign with our name on it --- ah yes, the car rental. We are taken to nearby Keflavik to pick up our Suzuki Jimny 4-wheel Drive with studded snow tires. All right - now we're talkin'.

After the most thorough explanation on a rental car we have ever experienced, we are on the road heading towards Reykjavik. It is dark and will be for several hours still. We drive through Reyjavik and decide to look for a place to grab some breakfast as I am starting to get hungry. We do a few loops of the harbour area and settle on a little place down by the boats which looks to be the coffee spot for the local men. We grab a couple of drinks and pastries and settle in to watch the interactions among the men. Other than the gal behind the counter, I am the only girl in the place. The men are animated in their discussions and we cannot understand a single word they are saying which makes it even more interesting.

Revived a little, we drive around the city a little more and then decide to see if it is possible to check into our room at the Sunna Guesthouse early. Yay -- it is possible and we go to our room and I just want a little nap please. Mister goes out and walks around getting familiar with the neighborhood and I get an hour of blissful sleep.

Okay - now lets get going. First stop is Hallgrimskirkja Church. It is so lovely in it's clean lines and beautiful architecture. As we enter into the nave, I am struck with the beauty of this building and at the same time the organist is practicing and filling the area with beautiful music. It is spell-binding and as we are walking around, a group of young school boys enters and the organist starts talking with them and playing songs for them to sing. I get swept up in the magic and so I take a seat on one of the pews and just take it all in.

We purchase tickets to ride up to the observation tower and as we exit the elevator, climb a set of stairs, and enter the observation room. We are now outside and the wind is dang brisk. I have to remind myself that I am in Iceland in the winter and change my mindset. It is great to see the city below starting to come alive. (It is now light out but the sun is not yet up. The sun rises around 11 and will set around 3 although it is relatively light for a couple hours before and after that.) I love all the colors of the city --- and the view is incredible.

Before we left Dallas, we had spent some time doing some research on Iceland. One of the things Mister spotted was a movie called 101 Reykjavik and so he ordered it on Netflix. Well, (said with giggles) it was not quite what he had in mind, but we watched it anyway. One scene showed the streets downtown and we spotted a Stella sign and told ourselves to look for it when we got here. Well, we found it as we were wandering the streets.

We stopped in at several little shops including The Handcrafts Association of Iceland's store. The sweaters, dresses, etc. were amazing to look at and Mister really loved the patterns which were such a part of their heritage. Around another corner we found a little crepe shop called Elder and Is and stopped in to have a little treat. So delicious and just what was needed to keep going. It is starting to become lighter out and so we go back to the hotel and get the car (I may have fallen asleep again for a little while - oh my) and go to the Perlan building which houses the Saga Museum. Here is where we are given the history of Iceland by use of the some of the best depictions I have ever seen. They were so incredibly realistic and definitely gave rise to a better understanding of this country. This is a must see in Reykjavik. The museum is on the main level of the Perlan building, which is on an old geothermal plant site. It has an incredible observation deck on the top along with a beautiful restaurant. We went out onto the deck and were amazed with the views of the city and the mountains beyond.

Deciding to explore Reykjavik a little more, we drove towards the bay and wandered down by the docks watching the ships being loaded with containers. We would have loved to get closer but everything was blocked off. From there, we followed the shoreline out onto the point and stopped along the way to walk to the shore and take pictures of the skyline after dark (yep, daylight is short here).

It is definitely time for dinner and so we hunt down Icelandic Fish and Chips. It gets quite comical trying to get close enough to it to park and we make several loops around downtown which is replete with one-way streets. Finally, we locate a parking lot and put in our kroner and walk to the restaurant. We are the only people in there at first and I ask if we are early for dinner --- yes, Icelanders eat around 7:30-8:00. We laugh and tell her that we will not be awake at that time for we are fading fast. Our fish and chips (which are not chips at all, but roasted potatoes) are wonderful and hit the spot perfectly. As we are walking back to the car, we pass one of the many projections of the Yule Lads on the side of a building. Too fun.