Rounding the turn and heading for home!

One thing about staying in a hotel, you can pretty much count on the breakfast buffet and Iceland Air hotel didn’t disappoint. There was a fine selection of cold cuts, all of which taste pretty much the same regardless of color; cold cereal, cheeses, oatmeal, hard-boiled eggs and my favorite, scrambled egg soup! I know this isn’t just a European dish, but they seem to take it the next level with scrambled eggs almost floating in water, yum! OK, so breakfast is warmed bread, toasters never work; cereal, hard-boiled eggs and cold cuts. Works for now, besides Collette snagged some bread so we can make sandwiches for the drive so lunch is a known quantity.

The scenery is pretty much the same as the last hundred kilometers, rounded mountains, moss / grass covered, hay fields galore, etc. Not until we get within 50Km of Reykjavik does the ocean come into view. Here the road parallels the shore for some pretty nice scenery, if you like the ocean. We were surprised to find that as we approached the city, we were on the opposite side of the bay and no bridge. Not to worry, Iceland has their own version of the chunnel and it only costs 1,000 krona.

This “chunnel” goes for almost 4 miles and drops quite some distance under the bay. Nice that there are signs every kilometer telling you the shortest way out in case there is a need to run. And just like all the other roads here, the speed limit is really just a suggestion, you chose your level of comfort.

Entering Reykjavik, the country’s capital, there isn’t much traffic and the roads are clearly posted, too bad we don’t read Icelandic. Most street signs here are close to 2ft long to accommodate the 14+ letter names. We counted one early on in our adventure that actually had 20 letters, including some pretty unique symbols! Again, not to worry, good old GPS will get us there. Hasn’t failed us once so far, why worry now?

We got lost immediately! Not sure how but we ended up driving down a few alleys, pedestrian areas (such nice people to just get out of the way), driveways, occasionally on a street, back onto alleys and wouldn’t you know it, popped out at the wharf. Either by design or the fact that we ran out of land, we’re right where we wanted to be. Reykjavik’s harbor is “THE” place for restaurants and action and after that drive, food and wine sounds really good.

Damn, fleets in. Won’t find a decent seat in any restaurant

Reykjavik (pronounced, “Rake-ya-vick) meaning, “smoke cove” is the country’s capital with approximately 123K people. Established by Norsemen in 870AD, the city itself was not founded until 1786. Because Reykjavik was nothing more than farm land, there was no local ruling government, except for the parliament that met each year in Thingvellir.

Thingvellir National Park, remember the first entry in this Iceland blog, served as the home to their parliament until the 18^th century. Interesting story, this area was known then as “Blaskogar, the owner was a man named Grimur Geitskor. He was found guilty of murder by the “council” and as such all his land was taken and designated to be used for assembly meetings and other public interests. Sounds a bit fishy to me, kind of like condemning property the government wants, who knows. Anyway, this site served as the site of the “Law Council” until 1798. In 2004, Thingvellir National Park was designated a UNESCO National Heritage site.

Now back to Reykjavik. We managed to find a parking spot at the wharf and started our quest for food and wine. Lots of restaurants to chose from, half-a-dozen at least, but the one that caught our eye was the “Reykjavik Fish & Chips” restaurant. I went with, you guessed it, fish & chips, while Collette had a traditional Icelandic dish called, “Plokkari” or potato – fish pie. Washed it all down with a Ul Fur (Old Fur – my translation) beer and a glass of chard.

Nothing like a potato-fish cake with a chunk of smjor! Just like mom use to make.

Fish & chips……boring!

After lunch, time to head back and return the rental car but first, we need a car wash! As the navigator, Collette’s job is to coordinate the driving directions, watch for road hazards, adjust and maintain the internal environment, fetch food and drink for the driver, clean glasses, watch for roadside animals (2 or 4 legged) and take the wheel when necessary or when asked. Easy,our grandchildren, Jaidynn or London, could do it. So, looking for a car wash should be easy, right? She came through like a trooper! Spotted a car wash just 4 lanes over and within 20ft, plenty of time to negotiate traffic, just signal.

Made it with room to spare and the God’s were shining on us, the car wash is free! In Iceland some gas stations provide a hose and brush to clean your car absolutely free, what could be better. Turned on the water and Aygo was back to somewhat clean. Damn, it even ran better!

Now, drop off our things at the airport hotel and return the car. The Icelandic adventure is coming to a close. Its been a good and fast 5 days. Normally we don’t do the hotel scene but by staying only 1 night at a location, couldn’t be helped. Still, good trip, no real issues and saw some wonderful scenery. What a beautiful island, it’s like going through Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Oregon coast combined. Great adventure and checking another one off the bucket list.  Early flight tomorrow on our way to Italy. Quick stopover in Brussels, change planes and on to Milan where we spend the night. The next morning, we pick up our car and drive to Lake Como, Italy.

Cheers.