A glimpse at the city of Reykjavik and some of the snow covered mountains surrounding it. The steeple on the right belongs to Hallgrimskirkja.
After much anticipation and waiting we are finally here! We are in gorgeous Iceland.
The Flight and a brush with the Aurora
Ready for our flight!
We left the Boston airport around 10pm Eastern time and arrived in Reykjavik at about 6am local time. The flight itself was between 4 and a half and five hours. Christina and I tried to spend as much time sleeping as possible, with mixed results. The most exciting part of the ride was when were flying near the coast of Greenland… I looked out the window and caught my first glimpse of the Northern Lights. Unapologetic, I woke Christina up to see as well. The angle of the plane, as well as the lights made it difficult to really appreciate it, but we at least got our first taste.
Icelandair flights are full of interesting touches to educate and excite their customers about Iceland – such as this pillow printed with an Icelandic lullaby
We finally landed, made our way through customs and got our car rental. One thing you always read about when researching a trip to Iceland is that the weather is chaotic at best. A common phrase is “If you don’t like the weather in Iceland, just wait five minutes.” We didn’t understand they meant this quite literally. In the 30 minute drive from the Keflavik Airport to our hotel in Reykjavik, we went from rain, to bright sunshine, to snow, to fog, back to sunshine. At one point, I’m pretty sure it was all of those at once. This extended throughout the day… multiple snows, punctuated by a sunny day so bright our sunglasses weren’t enough. We honestly lost count of the weather changes in the single day.
Hallgrímskirkja – Our first stop
Hallgrímskirkja – Literally the Church (kirkja) of Hallgrímur (an Icelandic poet/Reverend from the 1600s).