The city bus ride cracked me up because the driver… let’s just say wasn’t wasting any time… and once people had stepped on the bus, we were on our way. There was a group of six people (with big suitcases) who got on at a stop just after us and then opted to stand rather than walk to the back of the bus to sit down. To watch them try to catch their rolling suitcases every time the bus started or stopped was making me giggle inside. Those of you who know me well know I struggled not to giggle on the outside, too. I am not known for my poker face!
We got to the airport around 8:15am for our 10:20 flight. Turns out Keflavik airport uses self-service for baggage check-in. We went to a kiosk and scanned our boarding pass and it printed our tag. We then tagged our bags and took them to the IcelandAir counter. We used a hand scanner to scan our bag and then pressed a button that our bag was ready to go. Off it went - it was whisked away to the baggage area, wherever that may be. Less employees… less overhead? Although we were pretty confused until we figured out what to do.
We got to the security line which looked very long when we walked up! We all looked at our watches, hoping we’d be okay on timing. Thankfully, the line moved pretty quickly. Security was fairly similar to that in the U.S., although we didn’t have to take off our shoes. My bag was marked for inspection, but they took it over to a second monitor, took one look on the screen, and told me I was good to go, without ever opening the bag. We picked up coffee and a quick breakfast (I tried skyr yogurt!) and started the walk to our concourse. Our gate wasn’t posted until exactly one hour before the flight. Passport check was down closer to the concourse, and then we sat down for a few minutes to eat and drink what we had purchased.
Ken told us in line that he thought we were in an exit row on this flight, and indeed we were! It was great for legroom! Much more comfortable than the flight from RDU to Iceland. The flight attendants ensured that we watched the safety video, though that, too, made me laugh. It was scenes out in nature, perhaps by beautiful lagoons, on hiking trails etc… and then in the corner (in a drawing and lettering that barely showed up) were the actual safety instructions. I could give their graphic designer some ideas to make that video slightly more useful and informative…
The flight was under three hours, and we were in London! Another country for me, though no passport stamp this time. The passport checking was also self-service! We scanned our own passports and when the light lit up and the gate opened, we were good to go. We made our way to baggage reclaim and then headed to find the train that would start the journey to our VRBO.
We first used an in-airport train to get to the other terminal.
Then we looked at the tube map and figured out what our route would be. Ken did some research on the first train stretch.
We changed our mind a few times, and took two underground lines to get to where we needed to go. I loved the reminder to “mind the gap” when you get on and off the underground.
After a brief 10-minute walk, we were at our flat! A couple of pictures are below. It was a good find!
We put our feet up and rested for a bit before walking across the street (literally) to The Dog & Truck for dinner. Our VRBO host and people who had left reviews on this flat all recommended it. They have a limited food menu, but all we wanted was a simple dinner, which we found.
We then walked to Sainsbury’s Local store for a few groceries. I knew I wanted to check every country we visited to see if they have Strongbow Dark Fruit cider, which I was been dreaming of since I went to Scotland in 2019! No luck in Iceland… but in London, I’m in luck… Sainsbury’s carries it! Too bad I didn’t bring a whole extra suitcase to take some home with me…
We came back to the flat to rest more and make some plans for tomorrow. It’ll be our first full day of sight seeing! Ken and Pauline have both been here before, multiple times, so they’re kind and very willing to do just about anything again so I can get the full experience. More tomorrow….
Another country… and it was another banner day!
Just to be clear, the pack of cider Nancy is holding is probably just for tonight. We’ll be making multiple visits to the market I’m sure.
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