As has been our experience each time we’ve flown with them, service on Icelandair was wonderful. Day 3 began rather abruptly as Noah awoke from his overnight airplane slumber to projectile vomit, repeatedly and without warning, all over himself, the floor, our carry-on bags, and the seat in front of him. At this point we were even more grateful that the flight attendant had reseated the passenger previously next to Noah in order to give our family an extra seat and room to spread out with the baby.
I was sitting a row ahead and holding a sleeping Eilidh which rendered me fairly useless during the post-vomit process. Clean-up required Brian’s full attention and help from no less than 4 flight attendants. Of course, this happened to be the one flight in the history of our family travels where we decided to check bags. And, of course, all child-sized clothing was being held hostage in the belly of the plane. One flight attendant kindly raided her own suitcase to bring Noah a pair of leggings and a shirt to wear, but Brian was able to find an adult sized t-shirt which Noah wore instead.
The flight crew attempted to clean our diaper bag (Noah’s school backpack) and Brian’s computer bag, but ultimately declared these goners. Brian was able to salvage our passports and other important stuff from the bags and we were given an Icelandair tote bag as a temporary replacement. The rest of the flight passed uneventfully and so far, we have had no additional problems.
We disembarked onto the tarmac and, as is our custom in Iceland, were the last people from our plane to cram into the buses to be taken to the terminal. This did, however, allow us good crowd positioning to make the journey through the airport and customs.
Brian bought an Iceland-themed doughnut from the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Keflavik Airport.
Cassy and I took turns taking kids to the bathroom while Brian rode the shuttle to obtain our rental van. Unlike our last visit (during which it took close to two hours to get our rental), the process went much more smoothly and after a quick stop for snacks, we were on our way to The Bridge Between Two Continents.
The small bridge is located a short walk from the carpark and spans a fissure between the two tectonic plates: North America to the west and Europe to the South. Kids and adults alike enjoyed romping around the rocky terrain and sliding on the small black sand dunes near and beneath the bridge.
Noah and Emmie led the way from the car to the bridge.
Amanda “vented” Eilidh’s belly by the bridge car park.
We attempted to find a hot spring, but before we could get there we were distracted by a lighthouse and a cliff with a visible hiking trail to the top. We hopped out of the car and took some photos overlooking the ocean. Our attempt to hike further up the cliff was nullified as it was blocked by caution tape and a sign stating it was closed. We settled for hiking around the cliff instead, which led us t a cute cove surrounded by cliff walls and containing a small picnic table and fire pit.
Amanda, Noah, and Emmie pose for a photo in front of the Atlantic Ocean.
The kids enjoyed hopping around on some large volcanic rocks closer the shoreline and, and after talking both Noah and Emmie through the process of peeing outside, we headed back towards our car. We took a scenic route of sorts, walking along the original path of lava rocks which connected the lighthouse to the shoreline.
I stayed in the car, dozing with a sleeping Eilidh, while Brian, Cassy, Noah, and Emmie checked out Gunnuhver Hot Springs. They feature a combination of mud pools and steam vents, providing a nice introduction to the geothermal element of Iceland. The walking bridges allow visitors to take in the boiling pools at a safe distance.
Within a few minutes of leaving the pools, everyone except Brian was asleep, leaving him to find a spot to pullover and join us for a car-wide nap. We ultimately spent about an hour on the side of the road before resuming our journey to Reykjavik.
We were welcomed back to Iceland’s capital city with lots of construction right around our beloved hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. Eventually we found our preferred parking ramp, though it was much less convenient due to the construction.
The adults ordered hot dogs with “everything,” which means onions, French-fried onions, ketchup, sweet brown mustard, and remoulade, which is similar to mayonnaise. Emmie requested only ketchup, while Noah wanted a “hot dog with a bun on it.”
While I remember being very impressed with these hot dogs the last time we visited, which we ate for no fewer than 5 meals during our last trip, but today’s order didn’t really hit the spot. Brian finished half of mine, and Cassy finished half of Emmie’s, putting them at the top of the hot dog leaderboard with 2.5 consumed.
Cassy declared the hot dogs to be very good, but passed on the brown sauce with her second for a reportedly marked improvement. Brian thought his second hot dog was better than the first, sharing my view that the first order was over-topped and sloppily prepared.
We again punted on a stop at Hallgrímskirkja Church in favor of driving straight to our Icelandic home for the week. The kids were excited to unwind and have a place to get comfortable. I immediately set about doing some laundry while Cassy and Brian brought in the luggage. The geothermally heated house was quite warm on our arrival, but opening some of the windows quickly cooled off the living areas and 3 bedrooms.
Eilidh enjoyed running around in her diaper. Emmie and Noah checked out the patios and yard. Noah and Brian then headed out to Selfoss stock up on groceries; their trip was lengthened a bit by an ice cream stop, where Noah was fascinated by the soft serve ice cream cone decorated like a face.
Eilidh and Emmie had baths while the boys were gone, and when they came back, we all had a hodgepodge dinner of grocery store fare. Emmie zonked out in her shared room with Noah. Noah had a bath and joined her. Eilidh happily crashed in her pack’n’play located in the master bedroom, and since we hadn’t done a great job of getting her necessary tube feedings for the day, I hooked up a bag of pedialyte to make sure she was keeping well-hydrated. Thanks to Dr. Lee-Son for the suggestion!
I wasn’t far behind the kids in crashing, and Cassy tells me she was asleep rather quickly as well. Brian reports that he made it another 20 minutes trying to blog for our faithful readers, however, he too, eventually succumbed to sleep.
The view outside our Iceland home, at 10:49 p.m. on Monday.