Northern Europe 2019, day 1: Reykjavík

Ack! I meant “clothes” instead of “close”! I am unable to edit once I post so I apologize for any future misspellings.

Elsine: Many wonderful adventures await for the DeGroot’s…

Anne: What a lovely picture!

Cheryl: We got to PDX with enough time to get dinner at The Country Cat. We had heard that the food on Icelandair was mediocre at best (as well as expensive), and we didn’t want to take a chance. We had “comfort plus” seats, which gave A LOT of legroom…it even looked to be enough room for Casey. However, the seats were quite narrow, even more so than economy on a US airline. (And, no, it’s not merely a case of the dryer shrinking my close, either! The seats are noticeably more narrow.)

Driving, not dying! I’m sure the Golden Circle is a lovely color already!🙄

Cheryl: Icelanders drive on the correct side of the street, meaning the right side! I’m not sure how much gas is yet. We are dying the Golden Circle today so we will probably need to fill up then. I think the biggest challenge as far as driving was getting used to the roundabout system. In Iceland there can be two lanes—we are familiar with a single-lane type—so it’s a bit more complicated as to who has the right-of-way.

Elsine: what is it … looks sporty… manual transmission…what fun!.is it about the size of a Corolla? What side of the street are you driving on…How much is gas per “gallon” (?)

Cheryl: After much mishap, we finally got to the car rental place and committed to this little beauty. I am surprised that we were able to fit all our luggage inside…even more surprised—and impressed—that Casey was able to fold himself into the driver’s seat. So far, the Icelandic landscape reminds me of the Kona area of Hawaii, which has stretches of lava fields. Casey got us to our AirBnB safely despite zero sleep and a manual transmission!

I found out on Tuesday that it is close to a shopping area. We took a foot path and a couple of side streets and we emerged onto the waterfront in about 5 minutes. (Hafnarfjordur is a harbor town.) It’s a cute but city-like area of the town.

allison: Cheryl is it cold? Casey is wearing a fleece in most pics. What ‘s the temperature there?

Cheryl: It’s not a very walkable neighborhood but stores are only a few minutes away by car. There’s a small soccer field across the street and a simple play structure. I will post pictures later today.

Elsine: Can you walk to stores from your place…What does the kitchen look like, is it well equipped…coffee tasty?

Cheryl: It was such a relief to get to our AirBnB. It’s located in a residential neighborhood in Hafnarfjordur, which is a suburb of Reykjavik. Our place is cute and modern; it’s very IKEA with a tiny bit of English countryside thrown in. This is a picture of Anna reading the sticky-note comments from previous guests, which had been framed and hung near the entrance.

It’s Icelandic yogurt, similar to Greek yogurt and very low in sugar.

Anne: Your place looks nice. What is Skyr?

Elsine: Casey, you look very comfortable…did you enjoy driving…

Cheryl: Here is Casey taking a well-deserved break when we first got to our flat. We soon headed back out again to get some groceries; apparently, tomorrow is a holiday and many of the stores will be closed (at least in our area, but I doubt that will be true for downtown Reykjavik). We found a grocery store called Bonus, which has a cartoon-like pink pig for its emblem, and we bought provisions for grilled cheese and—of course!—Skyr.

We had to pick up an only-in-Iceland treat! Anna said it was a bit salty. I don’t think she impressed but she has a high tolerance for desserts of questionable quality…if it’s sweet, she’ll eat it!