On Monday, took my Apple iWatch into the repair shop and paid $290 for them to repair or replace. Today I got a call that I could pick up the watch. They replaced it. Now I have a new watch and a new phone. I never did recover the silver money clip that I left in the hotel in Wichita Falls. Not concerned about the money in the clip, but the clip was a gift from Terri.
My next journey is on a Tauck river cruise which begins in Amsterdam and ends in Budapest. David, my older brother is joining me.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Day 8: July 31, 2018: Flight to HOU
Got up at 6:00 am this morning, had breakfast at the Hotel and checked out. The bus arrived a little after 8:00 am and shuttled me over to the main bus depot where I got on a larger bus for the trip to the airport. The flight leaves Reykjavik at 11:55 am on a Boeing 757. I have an isle seat.
Stephen had warned me yesterday about a snag at the Reykjavik airport regarding the return United flight. Maxine told me that she had contacted United and everything was taken care of. However, when I checked in at the airport, the agent said there was a problem. Fortunate for me, the agent was the same one who handled Stephen the day before. She asked me if I had a relative flying out yesterday...she remembered the issue. As with Stephen, the computer system was not allowing the return flight. The agent explained that since we did not use the originally booked United flight to Iceland (we ended up on an Iceland Air flight), the computer was confused as to how I could fly out when I never flew in. Anyway, it took a phone call and explanation to get it sorted out. It did not take long as the agent "knew the drill". The agent told me she would check my bag through to HOU, but I would have to collect it and go through Customs and recheck in EWR.
The uneventful flight was supposed to arrive in Newark at 2:05 pm local time (a six hour flight). It actually arrived about 30 minutes early. The next leg of the trip from EWR to HOU did not leave until 4:05 pm, giving me 2.5 hours. Plenty of time, right?
Upon getting off the plane, I was greeted with an extremely long line to pass through Immigration. My guess is that it would have taken at least an hour to work through the line. Fortunately, with my Global Entry, I breezed through in a matter of minutes.
The next hurdle was to get my checked bag. It took an hour before I finally got my bag. With bag in hand, I got into another line to go through Customs. It took about 20 minutes to work my way to the front of the line. At the front, no one was undergoing any inspection of their luggage and I just handed the agent my Global receipt and got into another line to recheck the bag to HOU. It took about 15 minutes to recheck the bag and I was down to about 30 minutes before the next flight was to depart. I scurried to the gate, which included taking the Air Tram from Terminal B to Terminal C. I got to the gate as they were loading my group. Whew! If I had not had my Global Entry to bypass that first line at Immigration, I doubt I would have made the flight. Two hours was NOT enough time between flights!
I boarded the Boeing 767 and found my seat (18B). This plane has two seats on each side and four in the middle. They announced that the flight would be completely full and, if fact, they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight. Shortly, my seat mate showed up and asked me if I would like to fly first class. I said I would love to fly first class. He said that his mother was in a first class seat but decided she would rather sit with her family in coach. He asked if I would trade my coach seat for her first class. I was a little dubious, but he said he would (and did) clear it with the Crew. I therefore got to sit in seat 4D and had a great final leg of the trip. The service was great.
Stephen had warned me yesterday about a snag at the Reykjavik airport regarding the return United flight. Maxine told me that she had contacted United and everything was taken care of. However, when I checked in at the airport, the agent said there was a problem. Fortunate for me, the agent was the same one who handled Stephen the day before. She asked me if I had a relative flying out yesterday...she remembered the issue. As with Stephen, the computer system was not allowing the return flight. The agent explained that since we did not use the originally booked United flight to Iceland (we ended up on an Iceland Air flight), the computer was confused as to how I could fly out when I never flew in. Anyway, it took a phone call and explanation to get it sorted out. It did not take long as the agent "knew the drill". The agent told me she would check my bag through to HOU, but I would have to collect it and go through Customs and recheck in EWR.
The uneventful flight was supposed to arrive in Newark at 2:05 pm local time (a six hour flight). It actually arrived about 30 minutes early. The next leg of the trip from EWR to HOU did not leave until 4:05 pm, giving me 2.5 hours. Plenty of time, right?
Upon getting off the plane, I was greeted with an extremely long line to pass through Immigration. My guess is that it would have taken at least an hour to work through the line. Fortunately, with my Global Entry, I breezed through in a matter of minutes.
The next hurdle was to get my checked bag. It took an hour before I finally got my bag. With bag in hand, I got into another line to go through Customs. It took about 20 minutes to work my way to the front of the line. At the front, no one was undergoing any inspection of their luggage and I just handed the agent my Global receipt and got into another line to recheck the bag to HOU. It took about 15 minutes to recheck the bag and I was down to about 30 minutes before the next flight was to depart. I scurried to the gate, which included taking the Air Tram from Terminal B to Terminal C. I got to the gate as they were loading my group. Whew! If I had not had my Global Entry to bypass that first line at Immigration, I doubt I would have made the flight. Two hours was NOT enough time between flights!
I boarded the Boeing 767 and found my seat (18B). This plane has two seats on each side and four in the middle. They announced that the flight would be completely full and, if fact, they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight. Shortly, my seat mate showed up and asked me if I would like to fly first class. I said I would love to fly first class. He said that his mother was in a first class seat but decided she would rather sit with her family in coach. He asked if I would trade my coach seat for her first class. I was a little dubious, but he said he would (and did) clear it with the Crew. I therefore got to sit in seat 4D and had a great final leg of the trip. The service was great.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Day 7: July 30, 2018: Reykjavik
Got up this morning at the Natura Hotel Reykjavik and had breakfast. Stephen got on the bus to the airport at 8:00 am. He later wrote a note saying he arrived OK at the airport, but since we had to change our incoming airline from United to Iceland Air, he ran into some difficulties in getting the United return flight. He got it sorted out and is on his way home. He should arrive in HOU at 7:00 pm local time. I wrote Maxine about the difficulties Stephen had and she called United and said, while I will need to check in at the airport instead of on-line, there should be no problem.
After Stephen departed, I got my maps and walked off toward Reykjavik. I visited the National Museum, the Perlan and the Settlement Exhibition and had fish and chips at the Reykjavik Fish Restaurant. I don't know how far I walked today since my watch and my iphone both got busted on the trip. I figure about 4 to 5 miles overall.
The Perlan is a mirrored dome that covers huge geothermal water tanks. They have very nice exhibits of Iceland's glaciers, a cafe and a great 360-degree view of the city and surrounding mountains. They even have a man-made glacier that you can walk through. It had the actual temperature and sounds to be found inside a glacier...it was cold.
After leaving the Perlan, I walked back down the hill toward the hotel. I ran across some surviving WWII American military structures.
I then walked over to the center of the city, about a mile. First I visited the National Museum. This museum covers the history of Iceland from the arrival of the first Viking settlers to the present situation. No photos were allowed inside but it was very interesting.
After leaving the museum, I passed a cemetery. We loved visiting cemeteries, so I strolled through it. Not like any US cemetery I've seem. Very random, very small plots with multiple occupants, very "natural" vegetation...not "well kept" like US cemeteries, but not untidy.
Then I got to the Settlement Exhibit. This building sits atop one of the several archaeological excavations of a Viking house. Again, no photos and very dark. Very interesting.
Then to lunch. Stephen and I spotted this "hole in the wall" yesterday as we walked along the pier. I decided to try it today. It was very good.
I spent the next couple of hours looking for a suitable souvenir to take home. Yesterday, I had decided to take home a stuffed Puffin. Last night I checked on-line and found there is a 1918 US law prohibiting the importation of a stuffed Puffin. I found nothing else that I felt worthy of bringing home. I have my pebbles from the Black Sand Beach and my two samples of lava from the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the peak of which notoriously erupted in 2010 and caused widespread disruption to air traffic in Europe.
Prices are high in Iceland overall. A burger at the Hard Rock was $30.00. The fish and chips I had for lunch was $20.00 (small portion and without the beer).
Tomorrow I take the same flight home that Stephen took today. Tonight I'm having dinner at the hotel and turning in early.
It has been a great trip. I enjoyed Iceland and really enjoyed having Stephen traveling with me. I hope we get to travel together again soon. The Backroads guides were again excellent. The biking part was extremely exhausting. I will need to get in better condition before doing another journey involving biking.
After Stephen departed, I got my maps and walked off toward Reykjavik. I visited the National Museum, the Perlan and the Settlement Exhibition and had fish and chips at the Reykjavik Fish Restaurant. I don't know how far I walked today since my watch and my iphone both got busted on the trip. I figure about 4 to 5 miles overall.
The Perlan is a mirrored dome that covers huge geothermal water tanks. They have very nice exhibits of Iceland's glaciers, a cafe and a great 360-degree view of the city and surrounding mountains. They even have a man-made glacier that you can walk through. It had the actual temperature and sounds to be found inside a glacier...it was cold.
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| Perlan |
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| View of the City from the Perlan grounds |
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| Stuff Puffin exhibit in the Perlan |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| Looking down a fissure in the Perlan glacier |
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| Walking through the Perlan glacier |
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| View of hotel and domestic airport from the Perlan observation deck |
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| City view from the Perlan observation deck |
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| Panoramic view from the Perlan observation deck |
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| Panoramic view from the Perlan observation deck |
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| Entrances to pill boxes on the side of the hill. |
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| Pill box |
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| Nice house |
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| View from the National Museum toward the City, across the lake |
Then I got to the Settlement Exhibit. This building sits atop one of the several archaeological excavations of a Viking house. Again, no photos and very dark. Very interesting.
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| Settlement Exhibit |
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| Order counter at the restaurant |
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| Table top at the restaurant |
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| Fish and Chips |
Prices are high in Iceland overall. A burger at the Hard Rock was $30.00. The fish and chips I had for lunch was $20.00 (small portion and without the beer).
Tomorrow I take the same flight home that Stephen took today. Tonight I'm having dinner at the hotel and turning in early.
It has been a great trip. I enjoyed Iceland and really enjoyed having Stephen traveling with me. I hope we get to travel together again soon. The Backroads guides were again excellent. The biking part was extremely exhausting. I will need to get in better condition before doing another journey involving biking.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Day 6: July 29, 2018: Hot Water, end of the trip, Reykjavík
This morning was the end of our Backroads tour. We had breakfast and went for a 5.4 mile hike (1,049 foot elevation gain) around the Svartsengi geothermal plant in the Hengill valley.
We ate lunch and then ferried to the airport, or our hotel. Stephen and I then went hiking through Reykjavik.
We found the Reykjavik Hard Rock Cafe. Stephen bought some souvenirs.
Stephen flies out tomorrow around noon. I am staying one more night and flying out Tuesday around noon.
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| Mud Pits |
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| Ion Hotel |
We found the Reykjavik Hard Rock Cafe. Stephen bought some souvenirs.
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| Parliament House |
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| Park across from Parliament House |
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| Icelandic Coast Guard |
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| Drinks we drank |
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| Platter we ate |
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| Platter we ate |
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| Bar we ate in |
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| Government House |
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| Stuffed Puffin |
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| Stuffed Puffins |
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