I've Already Got a Sunburn

Surprise, surprise, I’m heading back to Iceland for a big chunk of my summer vacation. For anyone that’s read my blog before, you’re likely not shocked. I’m sort of a one trick pony when it comes to international destinations. 

Well, jokes on you, fools. I’ll have you know I'm also going to Denmark this year. I’ve been playing the long game, making everyone think I’ll only write about Iceland. You were all wrong. I’ll also write about visiting a country that once ruled...Iceland. Okay, there’s a connection or two. But it is currently a separate country. And I'm going there tomorrow.

First, my annual uncomfortable overnight flight recap. This flight from Minneapolis to Keflavik (on Delta, not Icelandair) didn’t leave until 10:15PM, so optimist that I am, I planned to sleep on the plane and wake up in Iceland refreshed and ready for the day. I boarded the plane, strapped on my eye mask and neck pillow, and leaned against the window, taking calming, meditative breaths, and trying to think what I hoped were sleep inducing thoughts. 

Leaving Minneapolis Tuesday night

Of course, the moment I attempted to do this my brain became a three ringed circus of bizarre and unhelpful ideas. Did I unplug my straightener? Yes, definitely. If not, there’s certainly nothing I can do about it now. I’m too short for the airplane headrest support flappies to do any good. Who designs these things? How did that person get a job like designing airline seats? Did I visit the Tampa aquarium on my trip to Florida in 2009 or 2013? My feet are cold. My feet are tangled in my backpack straps. Cross my legs. Uncross my legs. Startle out of my daze when a lady across the aisle laughs loudly. Shut up, you.

While my thoughts and some of my neighbors are loud, my world stays dark thanks to my eye mask, and so I miraculously manage to doze for several uncomfortable hours, slipping in and out of strange dreams as I regularly reposition myself in my tiny seat. I awaken and after several minutes of trying to coax myself back into sleep, give up and tug my eye mask down. 

BLINDING LIGHT!

What asshole has their overhead light aimed directly at my eyeballs? I quickly pull the mask back over my offended eyes and try to gather my sleep addled wits. When I fell asleep it was pitch black outside the airplane windows. Now, as I peek past the borders of the mask with squinty, untrusting eyes, I realize the offender is The Sun, not an inconsiderate seat mate wielding the power of a miniature 60 watt. 

Oh. Okay then. 24 hour day light, I have returned to thee. Sorry about slamming the door in your figurative face. You just caught me a little off guard.

"Way up up higher."

I’m wide awake at that point and start looking around for the promised gourmet airline breakfast. Delta does a nice job of keeping their customers fed and watered on longer flights, and I was looking forward to my turkey and cheese breakfast croissant. I try to distract myself with the views outside my window. The sunny cloud tops are lovely, but too thick to allow us to see Greenland as we fly over. Still waiting on that breakfast. The flight attendants had passed out Cheez-its to everyone earlier in the flight. Cheez-its, the most pungently cheesy of all snack crackers. Someone in the snack choosing department at Delta has a sick sense of humor. The smell lingers on the breaths of everyone around me. I pray the breakfast comes with an amuse-bouche of tic tacs, or that the attendants make a pass through the cabin with some Febreeze after the mass cracker consumption. The smell is making me cranky. The flight attendants arrive with their carts of breakfast trays just as I'm starting to feel the onslaught of real hangriness, and I happily gobble down my meal. Much longer and this blog post may have gone down a much darker path. 

I took the Fly Bus at the airport to the main bus station, BSI in Reykjavik, where I was met by my good pals Erin and Guðjón, who scooped up me and my luggage and brought me back to their place. I'm spending just one night here before I go right back to the airport and head to Copenhagen tomorrow. I spent an unusually warm and sunny day walking around Seltjarnarnes and downtown Reykjavik, just please to be back in one of my favorite places. If today is any measure, it is going to be a lovely summer.

Sunny walk toward Grotta