LAND OF ICE AND FIRE

It commenced with a single passing vote on the night of Tuesday, November 7.  A single, unified, heartfelt and pleading voice from the citizens of KC, MO screaming “Yes, we want want a new KCI Terminal!” The pitch for the new terminal had actually been gaining steam for months.  The Kansas City Area Development Council, the Kansas City Sports Commission and countless other organizations joined forces to help educate  citizens across the region what a new terminal could and would mean to the Kansas City Metro economically.  Even though only Missouri residents could vote, the economic impact would be felt across the region.  And guess what, it worked.  The dream for many years, for many travelers like myself, was finally becoming a reality.  http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article183379336.html

Once the vote passed by a landslide (thank you to all those whose time and efforts will never be forgotten in educating the public!) there was a visit from KCI transportation officials to Iceland in December 2017 to help pitch Icelandair officials that Kansas City needed a Transatlantic flight direct from KCI.  The agreement and announcement was swift on January 9, 2018.  Kansas City had achieved it’s first Transatlantic flight straight to the capital of Iceland – Reykjavik and the Keflavik airport.  The announcement is found on this site:

https://www.icelandair.com/blog/icelandair-is-going-to-kansas-city/

Icelandair is the longest running airline based in Iceland, having been around for over 80 years.  The only other major airline in the country is WOW that is considered a money-saver airline with more a la carte pricing.  Once this announcement was made public, I started envisioning my next international adventure, and to the most sparsely populated European country.  The stage was set, but the questions were now cost, timeframe and what to see and do.  I knew nothing of this isolated land.

One of the first things I remember reading was that Iceland was the film location for “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (even the Greenland scenes) so I went back and watched all those foreign scenes that brought that film to life.  In transporting a man (Ben Stiller) that was seemingly boring and never left his hometown, they brought his character to one of the most breathtaking and adventurous places they could imagine and having him chase down his photographer friend, Sean Penn.  Once I learned this was my destination, excitement grew all over again.  If you get a chance, watch some YouTube highlights of this movie to get a glimpse.  Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HddkucqSzSM

My first step was to check travel dates.  I knew I had planned trips already in early to mid summer, so it had to be towards mid to end of summer.  I have found Icelandair’s rates change pretty drastically from time to time.  When I first looked when the flights were announced in January, there was round trip for $581.  By the time I checked back in February, round trip was in the $800s minimum.  Finally, when I checked again on April 6 and saw the one way ticket for $267 from KC to Reykjavik, I knew it was do or die….so I did, and adrenaline pulsed through my veins.  You don’t get a rush like this on buying many material objects, this is the kind of rush that only an adventure can duplicate.  But, the planning was only beginning.

From the outset, I knew that if I was going solo, I would want to immerse myself in the people and culture of the country.  Staying in hotels only creates more barriers between you and the organic way of life Icelanders live.  So, Airbnb’s was my preferred lodging, converse with the locals ahead of time, and this is where my research would commence.  I’m personally not excited about hostels, but they are all over Iceland.  I’m staying in one, for a single night in a private room in the southeast edge of Iceland, but only because the area is so remote that the couple hotels available are either already sold out or over $350 per night.  It’s a port town of Seyoisfjorour where cruise ships dock from Denmark carrying tourists.  A picture is below.  It’s breathtaking, but I’ll get into this much more as I get into the details of each town.

My flight takes off from KCI at 5:15p and arrives in Keflavik (Reykjavik) at 5:10a.  The actual city the airport is located is called Keflavik with airport code KEF, but this is only a 39 minute car ride to the capital city of Reykjavik, so don’t get confused just because the city name is different.  There is a 5-hour time difference on top of that from USA Central time Zone, so I’m planning on sleeping overnight on the flight, just as I did when I ventured to Italy.  I had read that the Blue Lagoon (bucket list and must-see destination) is only 20 minutes from the airport, so the best planning is either visit from the airport or to the airport.  As you can see on the map below, it’s very close.  The main city of Reykjavik is in the top right corner that you can’t even see.  The drive from The Blue Lagoon to Reykjavik is another 41 minutes.

I rented my 2-wheel drive Toyota Yaris automatic transmission with A/C from Hertz.  There are 4 main on-site rental car agencies located in the arrivals terminal at Keflavik Airport.  Those rental agencies are Hertz, Avis, Budget and Bilaleiga Akureyar/Europcar.  Naturally, I was going to go with a rental agency I was familiar with, so that cut my list to 3.  There are many more rental agencies offsite in which you can take a shuttle bus and save money without airport fees, but I decided to ultimately just pick it up at the airport since I was heading to the Blue Lagoon in pretty short order by 8a.  Rental cars are fairly expensive in Iceland as there isn’t much public transportation.  If you are looking to drive anywhere outside of Reykjavik, you will need one.  The public bus system is few and far between pickup and drop off times and limited locations outside the city.

In addition, the default transmission in Iceland is manual.  So, if you are looking for automatic, like me, then you must make sure it specifically says “automatic” or you could be in for a surprise when you arrive.  Of course, automatic vehicles will be more expensive as well, and very few vehicles have A/C since the temps are cooler in Iceland, but it was included in mine even without really searching too hard.  It will get approx 38 miles to the gallon.  Hertz also receives rave reviews and you can save money by paying in advance.  I wasn’t willing to do that, so I will pay at the counter when I arrive, which is a little more expensive.  So, from renting from July 15-July 22 it will be $880 USD including all the fees.  To get it for that long of period of time with automatic and a reputable rental company, it’s a good value.  There are other rental companies cheaper with poor reviews or offsite of the airport or manual transmission.  So, make sure you take it all into account based on the type of trip you want to have.  You can make your reservation from Hertz here: https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/  AND WE’RE OFF…….

The Blue Lagoon opens at 7a and you must reserve a time they will expect you and will reserve your locker.  But, once you are in, you are in for the full day.  I’m hearing you are recommended to invest in a waterproof phone case if you want to take pictures, so I went ahead and purchased one on Amazon for $21.  They also have in-water massages available (which I set for 10a and is 30 minutes long for $102 USD), which you also must reserve ahead of time.  I reserved my time for 8a (7a is usually the cheapest ticket since it’s so early, 8a is about $10 USD more, but I figured it was worth it in case I had any trouble picking up the rental car and acclimating to driving in Iceland and take it slow).  There are various Blue Lagoon packages ranging from Comfort (cheapest) to Retreat Spa (most expensive).  I did the Comfort and it was $99 USD for the day.  This includes a drink, mud mask, towel and entrance ticket.  For the next level, it includes all those items including bathrobe, slippers, Algae mask, restaurant reservation, sparkling wine.  This next package is $129 USD for the day.  Being that I just wanted to experience the geothermal spa, I did the cheapest package.  There are other geothermal pools all over the country, this just happens to be the most touristy with a hotel onsite and most glamorous.  You can book your reservation here: https://www.bluelagoon.com/

The Blue Lagoon is created by an adjacent power plant extracting 400+ degree F temp water from deep inside the Earth’s crust.  This water is brought to the surface to heat the country and the excess water is deviated to this lagoon and then regulated with temperature to 99 degrees F.  So, this water is rich in organic minerals that you can’t find anywhere else and tourists flock from all over the world to embrace the healing powers it has over many skin disorders, including Psoriasis.  My aunt has already approached me about buying her cream and product to bring back to her in treating this issue.  But, as I mentioned, there are many more geothermal pools in this country, but this is the most well-known and most expensive.  Many of the locals and Rick Steves will advise against going here and give alternatives, but how often will I get the chance to come back and experience the beauty and atmosphere?

I plan on staying a majority of the day at The Blue Lagoon.  I figure until 2:30p or so in the afternoon and then drive the 40 minutes to Reykjavik and check into my first Airbnb around 3:30p.  This will give me a chance to retrieve the keys and then explore the downtown area.  I chose my first Airbnb in Reykjavik for a variety of reasons.  Out of all the researching I had done, this first 2 nights was the most exhaustive research.  Deciding on where in the city, where the bus stops were located (for my Game of Thones tour on day 2), if was close to the main downtown street of Laugavegur.  Laugavegur literally means “wash road” and used to be the main road that women took to the hot springs to wash their clothing.  This is now the hub of the city, housing everything from restaurants, retail and world-renowned night life.

Her name is Anna, she has a daughter and is a chemist in Reykjavik.  She decided to put her extra room up for rent on Airbnb to welcome travelers from all over the world and make some side money.  She is a 7 minute walk from City Hall and to the local bus stop, (which is fantastic for travelers or tour participants) and apprx 15 minute walk from the famed Laugavegur street that houses a majority of the night clubs, retail shops and restaurants, including the Lebowski bar (and yes, they serve White Russians) but mainly known for their burgers (pictured below).  Alcohol is known to be expensive in Iceland, so if you can, try and go to a liquor store before you head to a bar as they’ll be even more expensive there.  Their website is here: https://lebowskibar.is/

Anna has a private room to rent, which is what I was looking for.  I wasn’t going to be in my room often, but wanted a room with limited windows (sun only goes down for 3 hours in the summer 12mid-3a in Iceland) and close to downtown (walking distance) for a decent rate and something flexible on cancellations (which Anna’s was).  If you are unfamiliar with Airbnb’s, you pay up front and then if you cancel within a certain timeframe, you can be refunded.  Every property is different, so make sure you check the cancellation policies.  I wanted my trip as flexible as possible in case a different adventure caught my eye.  I’ve been emailing Anna sporadically and she even helped me find the closest bus stop for the next day.  She is incredibly helpful and we look forward to meeting in person.  The entrance to Anna’s house is located below

Here is the distance from Anna’s house to the main downtown street Laugavegur and to Lebowski Bar, a 15-minute walk.

I was going to going to start day 2 in this blog, but think I will hold off on that for now….in true Game of Thrones fashion in making fans wait…WINTER IS COMING.  The next day will be an 8-hour film site on-location tour.

Here are some of the film scenes I’ll be seeing listed below and some actual series moments…Jon and Ygritte got it on in the cave above…until next time.

• • Drogon the dragon hunts for goats. S4E06
• • The Hound and Brienne of Tarth fight for Arya Stark. (only visited during summer season). S4E10
• • The Bloody Gate. Lord Baelish (Little Finger) and Sansa Stark on the way to the Eyrie. S4E05
• • The Hound and Arya on the same route. S4E08
• • Wildlings and Thenns attack what is often called Olly’s farm/village. S4E03
• The scenes at The Bloody Gate were filmed at Þingvellir National Park, a World Heritage Site where the Viking parliament was established. Various other scenes were filmed in that area, such as:
  • • Wildlings roaming South of the Wall
  • • Thenns and Wildlings meet in the canyon, Styr is introduced. S4E01
  • • After leaving The Hound, Arya on her way to find a ship to Braavos. S4E10

  Walk around the Settlement Era Viking Lodge in Þjórsárdalur valley where elaborate scenes were shot and a particularly hair raising massacre in the series took place.

• The Bloody Gate is below