from the Borderlands to Snæfellsnes
31 October 2013
Map from Atlas Cosmographicae, Gerardus Mercator, 1596; public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Thursday 31 October 2013--Has it really been twelve years since I last set
foot in Iceland? Much too long. Airlines drew me away, and airlines are driving
me back. The connection in Amsterdam on KLM has been convenient and
reasonably inexpensive these past ten years, but prices are on the rise now (to
say nothing of baggage fees and other off-putting policies). Icelandair looked
more attractive this year. I decided on a six-night layover on the return leg,
avoiding the early-morning jaunt to the airport on an eastbound stopover. Win
has decided to join me, and we've plotted a trip to the far-flung Westfjords.
Departure from Glasgow is midafternoon, so there is time to run downtown to the Good Spirits Company to pick up a bottle of whisky. I'm at the airport early enough to deal with a luggage snafu, and still have time for lunch at the Sanderling, a Wetherspoon's pub in the terminal. I savor a last pint of Deuchar's, too. My recollection of the beer scene in Iceland is that it's Scandinavian-style lager or, if you're lucky, Guinness stout. Win meets me at the terminal in Keflavík. He arrived early this morning, picked up a rental car, and went for a drive around the area, waiting for me to arrive. He reserved a four-wheel-drive car from a local budget agency, and quickly found out why it was so much cheaper than the standard rental companies--the car is an old beater. He has no confidence in it, so returns it and gets another from a major outfit, at about twice the price. It's probably a wise move. Win is fried--if I were in his position, I'd probably have spent most of the day sleeping in the car--so I drive us into Reykjavík. We take the time to discuss our itinerary. It's been plain for a couple of days that the weather wasn't going to cooperate. There's been snow in the Westfjords, with some road closures. It's remote country, and part of our route is an unpaved road that closes altogether in winter. Reluctantly, we cancel our lodgings up north and do a rethink. We knew, of course, that this would be a possibility at such a late date. We check into our hotel and go for a look around town. A pleasant surprise: the craft brewing boom has made it to Iceland, and Micro Bar provides us with a decent selection from the Gæðingur brewery. I quite like the pale ale. Next |
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The Sanderling
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Aloft
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Must Be Close
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I Don't See Any Houses
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Familiar Sights
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Landscape
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More Landscape
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Approach
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Icelandair
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Reykjavík
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Reykjavík
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Reykjavík
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Micro Bar
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Micro Bar
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Reykjavík
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