Thursday, April 12, 2018
Here we are, Kevlavik airport outside of Reykjavik. It is 6:30 am on Thursday morning, but to us it is 12:30am. Yawn.
Though I sleep very well on airplanes, I made the serious mistake of thinking “Oh, I’ll read a little before I go to sleep,” and opened my Kindle to Dan Brown’s ‘Origin.’ Big mistake because 7 hours later and about a chapter and a half left in my novel, the plane landed. Oops. Well, I think I did doze for about an hour in there somewhere, and I think Jeff and Tom might have slept a little (very little) as well. We disembark through the back doors; being in about the center of the plane we could go out the back or the front, but the back is moving faster and that’s the way we head. Down the stairs, into the rain and onto the waiting bus which carries us to the terminal. Immigration is a breeze, in fact, there isn’t even any paperwork to be completed. As we walk through the airport to the baggage claim area, Jeff, Tom and I marvel at how nice the airport is – we, having been here just 18 months ago, (that blog is here.) don’t remember it being this nice at all.
We collect our luggage, and while Jeff visits the duty free liquor store, Tom goes to the ATM. We know that while liquor is sold only at “Vinbüdins, (government-run, fixed price liquor stores) prices at the airport will be cheaper because it is a duty (tax) free store.
Tom has returned, successfully from the ATM, oh wait!! Light breaks in his jet-lagged brain fog. He took 10,000 kroner out of the machine – um, let’s rephrase that – he took his receipt and ATM card out of the machine but not the money! He dashes back across the hall and returns empty-handed. Bummer, but he made someone’s day. (10,000 kroner=$100)
Jeff returns successfully having purchased some wine, which he indeed has in his hand. We each go to the ATM; Tom is now the experienced one and we wait patiently until the bills appear in the little door below.
Luggage, kroners and booze laden we head for Customs and having nothing to declare, except that Tom is a philanthropist, we walk right through. Aha! This is the ugly part of the airport that we remember so well! There is a small shop with some grab-n-go foods and beverages and a Dunkin’ Donuts sharing very limited seating. Jeff and Tom corral our suitcases while I head for a table. As Jeff goes to the door to look for the car rental pickup point, Tom goes to Dunkin Donuts for some much needed coffee. Tom returns to announce that there is no coffee – Dunkin’ Donuts won’t open for another hour and a half. I am horror-struck!! Jeff returns to say he can’t figure out where we catch the rental car shuttle. We must have coffee. I notice that the woman at the next table has a small cup of the caffeinated elixir and realize there must be a coffee machine or pot in the convenience store. I stand up and, in turning around, fall over my backpack and end up on my butt on the floor. Egads. Even the embarrassment of having people rushing to pick me up off the floor will not keep me from my quest. I have become a Viking woman! Get the hell out of my way and show me how to work this damn coffee machine! Success! A cup of coffee, about 4 ounces (or 1/2 cup) is 5,00 kroner or $5. Fine, I bought 3 for myself – Tom and Jeff are on their own.
Jeff goes over to the tourist information booth to get information about the shuttle pick up. I pour my coffee into my thermal coffee mug (We always travel with thermal travel mugs and recommend that you do as well.) I tilt it to make sure I’ve put the lid on tightly before sliding the mug into my backpack. Oh crap! The lid isn’t on at all and I pour very hot coffee over my hand and onto my blue jeans! (Guess I should have drank some first.) Jeff returns, looks at me and says “Did you do that?” HELL-O?? What? You think some random person came by and doused me with coffee? I got a little snippy with my reply as I mopped up my hand, jeans, the table and the floor. Well, we’re all tired. The good news is that Jeff now knows where to catch the van to our car; so we grab everything and head out. (The bad news is that I only have 2 pair of jeans with me andI just dumped coffee over the pair I’m going to wear for the next 5 days.)
