After a huge reorganization and packing effort in the morning, we hit the road around 11:30 to head to our first destination: Gulfloss. Two years ago, the kids were tired of waterfalls by the time we made it to Gullfoss; this year, Gullfoss was also the last waterfall we visited, and I have to say, the kids weren’t much more impressed than the last time around.
Regardless, we got a few photos and grabbed a quick lunch at the visitor center adjacent to the waterfall. After a yummy panini the previous night at the art cafe in Hvolsvöllur, Cassy opted for another panini today, this time with ham and “double cheese.” Noah and Emmie had toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, while Brian and I went with the same Icelandic lamb soup we’d ordered on our last visit to the waterfall. The real Icelandic butter remained a highlight, with Brian and the kids again averaging one packet per roll.
Cassy helped Noah and Emmie climb the rock near Gullfoss.
Noah was the only McMillin child to see Gullfoss from both the top and bottom viewpoints on this trip.
Adjacent to the tomato farm we visited yesterday was a sign advertising strawberries. Curiosity, and fond memories of strawberries in Liechtenstein, combined with the fact it was directly along our route, led Brian to stop. He woke up Emmie, and Cassy and Noah joined in the stop. The strawberries were reportedly excellent, and two boxes were purchased and eaten on the spot.
With temperatures forecasted to be much warmer in Germany and Portugal, we decided to mail home the majority of our warm weather clothing. The postage bill was a little more than we’d budgeted but we are feeling much lighter!
Our final planned activity was The Lava Tunnel, a journey which takes visitors 360 meters deep into a lava tube created during a volcanic eruption dated at 5,000 years ago. To enter the tube, we all donned hard hats and head lamps, except Eilidh; they said as long as we didn’t drop her on her head, she’d be okay.
Our group consisted of our family and two other guys, along with our knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. We enjoyed hiking through the cave and learning how the different wall layers and textures were formed. Emmie refused to hold hands, hiking through the cave on her own throughout the entire tour. Noah and Emmie both did a great job navigating the large, uneven rocks!
Brian attempted to carry Eilidh in the Tula carrier, but she was extremely crabby and seemed to express her displeasure most vehemently when the guide was trying to give us information. I finally took Eilidh and carried her on my hip. Momma’s touch seemed to do the trick and calmed her down.
Following the tour we returned our hard hats and I quickly hopped into the car. Only it wasn’t our car! Everyone had a good laugh, including the guys who were outside wondering why a strange woman just made herself comfortable in their front seat.
Brian wanted one last Icelandic hot dog but wanted to avoid the traffic (relatively speaking) of downtown Reykjavik. After some research, he found the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur operated inside one of the town’s Hagkaup stores, which could sort of be considered the Icelandic equivalent to a Walmart or Target.
Pulling up to the store, we discovered the Hagkaup was part of a mall which included a Pizza Hut, which was the dinner preference for everyone except Brian. We took a brief walk through the mall, the kids played at the small play area, and unsurprisingly, Brian bought himself a hot dog. Cassy was the other traveler to buy food, picking up a Krispy Kreme doughnut for her post-pizza dessert.
Despite the smile from Noah, the LEGO store had no unique sets and products were nearly twice as expensive as in the United States.
While the majority of the mall stores closed at 7:00 p.m., the handful of restaurants and an adjacent movie-theater-slash-indoor-amusement-park stayed open later. It took a while to place our order at Pizza Hut, but the food came quickly. After an order of breadsticks as our appetizer, the adults split a pepperoni and mushroom pizza while the kids ate most of a small cheese pizza.
Just before we got to the airport, we made a final gas station stop to refuel the rental and buy a few last-minute snacks. Cassy and I unloaded the luggage and kids at the airport and found a spot to hang out while Brian returned the rental car. When we reunited with Brian, we went to the Air Berlin kiosk to check our bags, only to find our flight had been canceled.
We did lots of waiting at the airport.
We’d received no communication about the cancellation, and the worker at the counter had no additional information to help or figure out next steps other than “email or call Air Berlin.” After 30 minutes of holding, Brian connected with Air Berlin via phone and was told we were rebooked on the next day’s flight, departing the Keflavik airport at 5:00 p.m.
Brian was told we’d be reimbursed for our expenses, and to save receipts, so he began trying to figure out a plan for the evening. The thought to reclaim our just-returned rental was unsuccessful, as the company had our van, and every other car from Thrifty, was rented. Plan B was using a taxi to get to a hotel, but every hotel we called was fully booked.
We were finally told, around midnight, that Airberlin had rescheduled passengers with connecting flights on other airlines, but those flying direct to Berlin, like us, would be shuttled to a hotel for the night, with lodging and meals covered by the airline. We went to the meeting place, waited some more, and provided our party information (e.g. two adults, a teenager, and three kids) to the representative who was securing hotel rooms.
Connecting rooms were confirmed, and we were directed to board a coach bus which would take us to the hotel for the evening. We had no idea we would be transported what felt like halfway across the country, to Hotel Ork in Hveragerði, 45 km east of Reykjavik, and nearly 90 km from the Keflavik airport.
We arrived at the hotel shortly before 2:00 a.m., and having fallen asleep on the bus, the kids immediately hit their beds in our room. Eilidh had a clothing change, diaper change, and a small tube feed while not even flinching. The prospects of comfy beds were appealing to everyone, and we were soon all down for the count.
