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We can't check in at the airport until about 10 am, so we slept in a bit this morning. There happened to be a shuttle bus about to leave when we came out of the hotel, so we were quite quickly at the airport.
Despite having printed out the e-tickets last night, I had the terminal confused. We got off at terminal 3, only to discover it was terminal one that we needed. Fortunately, the terminals are not too far apart and there are moving sidewalks between them. At the terminal, we found Icelandair and checked in quite quickly, though we did have to wait in a second “Oversized” baggage line to check Benjamin's Packsack.
As boarding was not for another couple of hours, we went to one of the airport restaurants and had breakfast, using up most our remaining pounds.
At security, Joshua and Benjamin were chosen to be randomly searched. Despite everything that they say about not joking with airport security, the airport security was joking with us offering to keep Joshua in a cage downstairs if we liked. In all the confusion, I forgot that I had my Swiss Army knife in my knapsack, but
fortunately they didn't notice.
Having never flown Icelandair before, we weren't sure quite what to expect. It turns out to be more like a discount airline, making you pay for any food that you get (though drinks our free). Benjamin and Joshua were happy to discover that they had in seat tvs, but Evy and I ended up with ones that did not really work. With some coaxing I managed to hook up our computer mouse to mine and get the film Australia playing.
The three hour flight went quite quickly, though there was not much to see out the windows due to cloud cover. Our first view of Iceland was just shortly before we landed. I was surprised to see how flat it was. In my mind I had it as full of mountains, but perhaps this is just the airport. It reminded me a bit of the Canadian Arctic tundra, though a bit more rocky.
Customs was quick, and in the arrival hall I found an ATM. Having not heard back from our apartment people about whether I can use a credit card, I took out 60, 000 Icelandic Kronar (about $600).
We found
the “Flybus” quite quickly and on board managed to call the apartment people to clarify the instruction on how to get there. Even after speaking to them, I still wasn't sure how we would find the place.
The landscape out the bus window seemed like the surface of Mars with lichen on it. It was quite flat and rocky with moss. Patches of purplely white flowers lined the roadside. There was nothing on this airport road so it seemed earily empty. As we drove further, we could now see mountains in the distance. It seemed to me that everyone on the bus was oddly quiet, as if there were all also new to Iceland and were taking in the scene for the first time.
When you did see something human made in this landscape, like the thick pipeline that we passed at one point, it seemed almost surreal and out of place. There were not trees or even low bushes. Just emply space.
Getting closer to Reykjavik, we started to see more familiar sights, with lawns, grass and some trees replacing the moss . After so many months in Europe, all the buildings here seem relatively new.
Many are sided with metal and have metal roofs. As we moved in further, we started to see 6 story apartment buildings as well as Reykjavik's university.
At the bus depot, we got off the bus and picked up our bags. Our instructions were to take the shuttle bus from here, but it wasn't clear where this bus was so we went inside to ask. We were told it was outside, and asking around, it turned out that the bus we needed was the one that we had just got off ! We loaded our stuff back on and climbed back into our seats.
After stopping at a few hotels, our bus driver finally stopped on a smaller, residential street and indicated where our apartment building was, as short distance across a parking lot. Arriving at the building, we asked around and found out what floor we needed. Fortunately, the apartment manager was still there. He had put through the room on my credit card, so I didn't need to have taken out 60,000 kroner after all.
Our apartment looks like another Ikea show room, and is small but adaquate size. This place has wifi, so Benjamin
and Joshua are quickly watching tv shows over the net. Evy and I head out to the nearby 24 hour grocery store to buy food.
Despite the recent drop in the value of the Icelandic currency, prices here are still very high. A package of prepared salad, whick would cost about $2 at home is $6 here. Other things are oddly not that much more. It seems the more perishable and heavy the thing, the more expensive it is.
Back at the apartment, we get a pasta dinner cooking and Evy starts to post some of our blog, which it two months behind due to our lack ot internet. It is still bright out at 11 pm at night, and I suspect it will never get dark at this time of year.
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