Hello from Europe!
We’ve left the U.S. for our big European adventure, in fact, we just finished our big hike. But let me get you caught up first.
On May 9th we left Sea-Tac to fly to Reykjavik. We had a big journey ahead of us as our free (using miles) flights had gone from 3 to 4. Most people wouldn’t want a bunch of layovers, however, free is a big motivator for me. But 4 flights? That was really pushing it. Our plan was to use United Club passes from our United cards to help ease the travel woes. Free food and drinks along with much more comfortable seating was our motivation.
We flew from SEA–>ORD–>IAD–>CPH–>KEF. It took us around 27 hours and we did not get nearly enough sleep. When we arrived in Iceland we were exhausted and in need of transportation to our hotel beds. It was about 10:30 am Reykjavik time and we had planned on catching the local bus. We had even downloaded the app for it in advance. But after wandering around the airport parking lot in the cold windy weather, we found the bus stop along with a timetable letting us know we would be waiting for 90 minutes for the next bus. Tired and hungry, we caved and spent the money for the Flybus to our airport. $73 to be exact. The airport in Iceland is a good distance from the city and surrounded by nothing besides a couple of airport hotels and car rental places. Transportation to and from the airport can be expensive. And it turns out, unfortunately, the (cheaper) local bus is less frequent than all of the tourist bus services and taxis.
We arrived at our hotel earlier than check in but luckily they were able to get us a room. We were looking forward to a much-needed shower. We booked our room with IHG points and the room did not disappoint. The rain showerhead was heaven after 27 hours of travel. After showering, although extremely tired, we headed out to explore Reykjavik!
The Sand Hotel
The Sand Hotel was a great place to stay in Reykjavik. It was centrally located, had breakfast every morning, and had an attached bakery with delicious coffees and pastries. On check-in, they gave us some chocolates as well. We have found that hotel breakfasts in Europe are far superior to the free breakfast you get at hotels in the US. We didn’t realize our stay came with breakfast so it was an added bonus.
We had planned our Iceland trip as a way to recuperate from travel before setting off on our 7-day walking adventure in the UK. Also, I was planning to check off one of my 50 X 50 activities but soaking in a geothermal lagoon! Three days meant more time to explore but not much time to leave the city of Reykjavik, but we still found plenty to do. We visited the famous Hallgrims church, ate Icelandic hot dogs, and visited a sculpture museum along with soaking in the SkyLagoon. Despite being grey and rainy at times, Reykjavik was a lot of fun for the short time were there. It can be a bit expensive, so we definitely picked up things at Bonus, the local grocery store, to save money. After Iceland, we headed to Denmark for an overnight layover and a chance to explore Copenhagen!
