ARRIVING IN REYKJAVIK

After a very, very long sleepless night flight, we landed in Reykjavik, Iceland, the world’s most northern Capital. Our limousine driver was waiting for us. Our luggage arrived intact, and we were driven to the beautiful Borg Hotel situated in the heart of the City. By now it was 8:00am, and our rooms would not be ready until 2:00pm, so, we opted for the hotel breakfast buffet, but first Barbara was astute enough to make a dinner reservation. After dawdling over breakfast, it was now 10:00 am, so we plopped down in the hotel lobby where Josh and Barbara, holding hands, promptly fell asleep on a sofa, and I dozed in a chair. Since the three of us really didn’t complement the decor, an available room miraculously opened up at 11:00am. Entering the room, the three of us collapsed on the king-sized bed and fell asleep.  One of us snored!  

As promised, the other room became available at 2:00pm. After cleaning ourselves up, Adrenaline kicked in, and we began our exploration of the nearby streets and shops of Reykjavik. Everything was in walking distance of our hotel.  It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day, and  we discovered that in Iceland daylight is a nighttime summer activity. At 6:00 pm we ate at the Fish Company Restaurant, recommended as the best restaurant in Reykjavik. Great  recommendation. Fantastic meal!

We returned to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.  At 4:30am I was awakened as my bed shook from side to side. I felt like a milkshake. Yes, it was an earthquake. In the morning the desk clerk told us that since the last volcanic eruption, that there had been around 5000 earthquakes. This one was 5.5 on the Richter scale, and Iceland was due another volcanic eruption. Two days later, a volcano did erupt near the airport, but I never saw it—except on the news.

The population of Iceland as of January 1, 2022 is 376,248 and 60% of the population live in Reykjavik, and they welcome about 2-million tourists every year— most of whom arrive by cruise ship from all over the world. The Icelandic Flag caught my attention, and I discovered that the blue is for the mountains, the red is for fire, and white represents snow. The flag reminded me of the historical link with Norway from where the Viking settlers arrived in 874ad.  The difficult Icelandic language is derived from Old Norse—such as “Talar!bu ensku? Luckily, Iceland is an extremely literate society, and “Yes, everyone speaks English”—better than some Americans.

The next morning a van picked us up and drove us to our ship, THE WINDSTAR PRIDE, a small ship that holds approximately 250-300 passengers. Our cabins were ready for us. Unpacking is always easier than packing.  I hung my clothes in the walk-in closet, and then noticed that there was a drape next to my king-sized bed. Then I noticed there was another drape in the living room area by the balcony?  Two drape areas?  It took that to blacken the rooms unless you enjoy sunlight at midnight.  We sailed away at 5pm.—on to our first shore excursion.

More to follow—Heimaey Island

Esther Blumenfeld