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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Goodbye Iceland, Hello Canada.

We took time to relax yesterday morning, something we haven't done for the last five days. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Iceland, but because we were only there for five days we kept going all the time to see as much as we could in that short period of time. So we had no firm plans yesterday, other than our flight to Canada which was scheduled to leave at 6:40pm last night.

We checked out of the CenterHotel Thingholt at noon. We'll tell you more about this hotel in another post, but lets just say it was a pretty cool hotel! We totally enjoyed our visit with them. They held our bags for us because our bus to the airport wasn't picking us up until 2:30pm, so we took the time for one last walk around Reykjavik and a stop for an Icelandic lunch.

Kevin and Ruth at the Sun Voyager sculpture.

At the sculpture, we met a nice young couple from Chicago who were on their honeymoon. We took each other's photos and had a nice chat about what to see in Iceland. They had only just arrived, and we were just leaving! Hope you enjoy your stay guys!

Looking back towards downtown Reykjavik.

And looking in the opposite direction. There is a nice walking and cycling path along the waterfront.

We walked some more, and then headed back to the central area for lunch. We wanted to have full stomachs because we wouldn't get food on the airplane although we had bought some snacks for the flight. We went back to Momma Steina Icelandic Food Station because we were so happy with our meal from there the first night we had arrived in Reykjavik. Great local food and at a reasonable price!

Great local food at Momma Steina's.

And then we went back to the hotel and waited for the FlyBus Plus shuttle to bring us to the airport. We knew we would arrive at the airport early, but by this point the weather was turning sour and it was raining. While we had had some showers during our five days in Iceland, it never really poured with rain until now. So we were really lucky with the weather! 

Made it to the airport and changed our last bit of Icelandic koronas into Canadian dollars. Spent the leftover pocketful of change on an expensive yogurt, and donated the balance to charity.

And then waited around people watching. Our flight was full, and I don't think they allowed sufficient time to board and take off on time. Either that, or the people on this flight were abnormally slow. It sure seemed that way because even when we were on the plane making our way to our seats, people seemed to take forever getting their carry on things into the overhead bins and actually sitting down. I watched one guy take about two minutes to get himself settled to the point where everyone else could make their way by him. And then there was this other woman who had gone too far for whatever reason and was trying to make her way back up to her assigned seat. Of course others couldn't get by her and I suggested she go all the way back to the end so that others could get through. I honestly don't know what people are thinking sometimes. Apparently they are not thinking!

Anyhow we were 15 or 20 minutes late leaving, and then we had a strong headwind and a very turbulent flight. The turbulence doesn't bother me, but I noticed from the monitor that our flight speed was down to 385 mph at one point where it is normally over 500 mph. All of this meant that we were over an hour late landing. Our daughter Lindsey was there waiting for us, and then we had an hour drive back to their place. By the time we got to bed it was 2:30am our time (11:30pm local time).

And so we are in Nova Scotia!

14 comments:

  1. Welcome back to Canada, enjoy your short stay here and family time before heading south!

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  2. Welcome (home) and happy thanksgiving!

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  3. I didn't realise there were flights from Iceland to Halifax, but I suppose I had never looked either.
    You certainly touched on a nerve with the whole airplane boarding thing. It's all I can do to keep from flippin my lid, I swear.
    We'll sometimes wait until almost all are on board, just to avoid standing in the aisle, waiting for some jack-ass to decide at the last minute that they need something out of the overhead bin...or whatever. Of course, if you wait too long, then there's a chance you won't find a space for your own cr*p, but sometimes I don't care.
    I just want to yell out, "SIT DOWN, WOULD YA!"

    Maybe there should be a "skill testing question" every time a flight is booked. You know, like when you enter a contest? But not just arithmetic, let's make it some algebra, just for fun, so as to keep the stupid ones on the ground. Gah!

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    1. You crack us up Bob, you and Kevin would get along just fine.

      Icelandair has flights that go from Toronto and Halifax as well as some US cities to England or Europe and they stop in Iceland and give you the opportunity to stop over for up to 8 days at no additional charge to your flight fee. We think this is a great time to take advantage of this service and spend the time exploring Reykjavík and some of the beautiful areas of Iceland.

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  4. Flying sucks. I try to avoid it.

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  5. I'm not very good at figuring out sculptures. Are those supposed to be people standing in the middle of the boat?

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    1. Well now, that's a good question. We're not very good at "modern art" ourselves, but I do think it's a kind of a neat statue.

      I'll have to refer you to the following article...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_Voyager

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  6. What a cute photo of you two in front of the "dreamboat!" We certainly enjoyed all the places you've taken us these last couple of weeks. Now it is time to relax and enjoy your family and especially "lil" Cameron - take care - and THANK YOU for letting us tag along - it certainly was awesome!!!

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    1. You're welcome, so glad you enjoyed our adventures there.

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  7. Welcome back to the valley. Email me if you want to stay at my place in Canning. I'm working in the city so te house is available. :-) Tracey in Canning

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    1. Thank you for your offer Tracey but we don't have a vehicle so it would be rather hard getting back and forth to visit with Lindsey and family. If you are in the area before Sunday let us know and maybe we can met up. Hope everything is going well for you.

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  8. Cool, crisp, modern, clean, peaceful and exceptionally beautiful. Like a little modern oasis in the middle of nowhere is the feeling I'm left with. Sure enjoyed this journey you guys. Love all your pictures and stories, such a great way to travel if you can't travel yourself.
    You must be cuddling that little grandson of yours right now and enjoying some family time. Have a great visit, and thanks so much for all your efforts in keeping us informed, educated, and fascinated with your pictures.

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