(Tom) We arrived in Reykjavik around 6:30 a.m., safe and sound. The only glitch was a delay in our leg from Philadelphia to Boston, due to thunder storms. We barely made our flight to Reykjavik from Boston, and were worried that our bags wouldn’t make it, but they did.
(Mareike) Now we’re waking up thanks to some strong Icelandic coffee (Kattifár) and – finally – some food. Hanging out with the locals – it’s a happening place. The ride from the airport gave us a great impression of this island – lots of different rocks (help us Mark and Meagen!), moss, grassy uninhabited fields, fishing villages on the coastline. Have to find out what’s up with all the cairns – piled up stones, is there any more to them than just markers?
(Joan) Dashing through Logan Airport to make our flight to Reykjavik was not the ideal way to begin the trip; five more minutes of delay in Philadelphia and we would have lost the first day of our trip. But we made it. Flying into Keflavik looks like landing on the surface of the moon — bare brown rock, very rough and uneven. All along the ride from the airport to the city all I could think was how bleak it is. The places where trees and grass have been planted are an enormous contrast.
(Dale)–I love the bright colors on the roof tops, a must to cheer folks up on those winter days. It really does look like the moon in places, maybe like a cross between the moon and Alaska without trees. The air is clean and crips and I really want to get out and hike throught the country.
(Melissa) — The architecture is very interesting. It is as if Ikea designs houses:) So far the food has been very vegetarian friendly, and we have not encountered any trolls.
(Bill’s post later)
4 replies on “Reykjavik arrival”
Happy you all made it safely and with your luggage! Those rocks you’re seeing are basalt — lots and lots of basalt. You’re probably already visiting with Meagen and her students for the full story. Please say hello to the Wooster geologists for me!
Trolls hide under the bridges during the long days.
Good to hear you’re there. If each trip needs one moment of anxiety, hopefully yours is over! That landscape photo is certainly evocative.
I’m so glad to hear that you made it safely (if hectically)! It is wonderful to read your initial impressions and get a sense of your different voices.
Thanks for the interesting comments about cats, thermal pools and the economic problems in Iceland. To learn more about Iceland, I pulled out my very “academic” reference book…The Onion – Our Dumb World. The entry for Iceland is titled the “Ice” is very “cold” in “Ice”land. The take home point: It appears that the running weather is perfect year round (not as Icy as Ohio in the winter, but very cool in the summer)- this plus the pictures of water falls and thermal pools make Iceland look like paradise. Enjoy!