Stepping into Keflavik International Airport, it was instantly clear that we were far from home. Gone were the grumpy TSA officials. Gone were the blaring television sets suspended from every corner of the airport. Our first priority was to find toilets. We followed the signs down an elegant flight of wooden stairs and rushed into the ladies WC. My friend and I uttered a duet of OHhhhs. This public rest room looked clean enough to double as a surgical unit. What we call stalls in the US were true individual bathrooms here, complete with a sink right beside the toilet all with the privacy provided by a floor-to-ceiling door.
Next line of business was the duty-free shop. We’d been warned that liquor is expensive in Iceland. It turns out that there are several duty-free shops at Keflavik, however tourists coming into the country can only buy from one of these shops. Our journey-weary legs limbered as we hiked up and down a confusing array of stairs trying to locate the appropriate shop. At 7:30 in the morning, we were outnumbered by the three store employees who eagerly answered questions about the exchange rate and wine selections. I limited out, purchasing four bottles for my ten-day stay. I paid less than $45 for my bottles; three of the four were typical low-end, grocery store grade wines. The fourth, however, I fell deeply in love with. When I got back to the states I discovered it’s an $18 bottle, if you can find it here.Did I mention there are only about 350,000 people calling Iceland home? And yet, they support both an international airport as well as a domestic airport. They even have their own airline, Icelandair, which we found punctual, relatively comfortable, and liberal with free wine and beer—although meals are not included and purchasing them on board is pricey, so its recommended that you purchase your meal in the airport and carry it on board. Honestly, I’ not sure you save all that much in this process.
Did I say the airport is spotless? It is. It is also comfortable—with coffee shops that serve food on real plates with real cutlery. There are also comfortable easy chairs, grouped into sitting areas as well as lined up along wall outlets that provide charging stations for electronic gadgets.However, we were eager to go exploring so we passed up the airport coffee shops this time around. We located our bags, stacked neatly beside the now-empty carousel. Gee, where’d everybody go? We seemed to be the only people left in the airport who were not employees.
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sybil said:
I look forward to hearing more about your explorations in Iceland.
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, Sybil. More on the way.
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Sandra Parsons said:
Hahaha, I love the last picture! I have often wondered how some places manage to have such nice, spacious and clean toilets where others are only, well, sub-standard. It can’t be that difficult, can it? Can’t wait for the next instalment.
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rangewriter said:
I wonder if we can judge a country by the comfort of their public toilets? 😉
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btg5885 said:
A clean restroom in an airport. Oh my. Your two posts have made me want to travel there and not because of the clean restrooms. Have a safe trip home.
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rangewriter said:
Thanks. Actually, I am home. I don’t have much luck blogging from the road. 😉
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allesistgut said:
Yes, they are very rigorous about the sleeping/camping issue. I watched more than once that the security personal summoned to stand up some people who sat only on their Therm-a-rest-mats because in the check in area were not enough seats for all the people who waited. Especially when flights go in the middle of the night I experienced that the check-in starts opens only very close to the boarding time. So it can happen, you sit for hours with your baggage and you can call yourself lucky if you have a seat. Especially when you not know that they open the check in so late in the night. Now I know and would come very late before the flight starts. 🙂
Have a nice day! 🙂
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rangewriter said:
Obviously, you have been there when it was busy. Although, I actually did experience a wait in the check-in. There weren’t many of us in line, but those that were, began getting very nervous before the finally opened the check-in stations.
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deansgreatwahoo said:
Am sure enjoying your Iceland experiences, Rangewriter! And the snow is fun. I trust you know Reykjavik, the capitol city, has the largest geothermal space heating system in the world. Some 87% of the buildings in Iceland are heated by geothermal water. When they were building their system they came and studied the system that had been built in Boise, at the time the world’s largest system.
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rangewriter said:
Glad you’re enjoying this series, Dean. I did know about Reykjavik’s prodigious geothermal. However, I found it odd than when I asked people about the source for the power, they always said it was hydro-electric. And I surely didn’t know that Boise’s system had been studied as a model for theirs!
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reneejohnsonwrites said:
I love that you’re in Iceland! Can’t wait to hear more about the journey. How fun!
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rangewriter said:
Thanks, Renee. I’m home now. More will follow. 🙂
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alinktothematt said:
The closest I’ve ever gotten to Iceland is two people who I work with at college every day from there. They are kind people, so I don’t think Iceland’s hospitality is overrated.
I have a list of places I want to visit one day, and Iceland is on my list. Anyway,your blog is filled with beautiful pictures. So I’m following from now on. Check out my blog if you get time. It’s not a travel bog, but hopefully it’s interesting.
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rangewriter said:
Thanks for checking out, following, and commenting, Matt! It’s nice getting to know you. I don’t think of my blog as a travel blog either, as a matter of fact, I usually don’t care for the travel writing genre. But, when I have been lucky enough to travel, that’s what I tend to write about. I’m the queen of esoteric topics!
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alinktothematt said:
You’re very welcome. I didn’t mean to call it a travel blog. Haha,
From what I’ve read so far, I don’t think your blogs are too esoteric. I think there’s something there for everybody, and I’m having fun going through your catalog of posts.
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Thor said:
Good blog! For those interested in more about Iceland check out http://www.icelandhotspots.weebly.com
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rangewriter said:
Boy, that weebly site is chock full of great shots!
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bronxboy55 said:
I’d never thought about Iceland’s population, but was still surprised at the low figure. It all sounds very civilized.
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rangewriter said:
I found it miraculously civilized. Yes, it’s said there’s a drinking problem…but where isn’t there a drinking problem? It didn’t seem to get in the way of this country’s progressive thinking. I came, expecting to find a country reeling from the recent financial melt-down which hit Iceland particularly hard. But instead I found a country that made my own little county seem backward and uncivilized. (well, of course, it really is, sadly.)
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broke hungry & happy said:
I’m belatedly reading about your fabulous Iceland trip, and looking forward to the subsequent posts!
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rangewriter said:
Thanks. I think I’ve bled that topic dry by now. 😉
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