The Land of Eternal Sunlight and Hot Dogs

Today, we got ready, and finished our travel pack before breakfast. We had a really nice breakfast on the shores of Loch Lomond, and packed the car. Carrie was incredulous that we had less room for the bags, but with the way things tend to grow over time, it was a tight fit.

We first stopped in town at Luss, right next to our hotel, to see the beautiful village, and try to spend our last few pounds (it was not difficult). As we parked, we realized that this hotel stay was the only non-prepaid one, so I needed to actually check out and pay. I went back to do just that while everyone else got a head start on shopping.

We met up, and walked back to the car. It was a pretty short ride to Glasgow airport, even though the initial destination was someone’s Maps addition, and was not the correct location for the airport. Once we finally made it to the right place, we checked in the car and went to the ticket counter to check our bags.

We made it to the gate after an epically long walk, and waited for our plane to arrive. Once it did, we got boarded, and squished together in the cheap seats. It was a pretty uneventful flight, and we were now in Iceland.

After the up, down, up, down, up, and down again escalator rides through the process, we got our bags and headed out to the arrival hall to be taken to our rental car. Many rental car companies in Iceland do not have a traditional shuttle to take you to pick up your car. This was the first time they told us that only the driver could come with them. They crammed us all into a van, and drive the 10 minutes to the car location.

I got the car quickly, and headed back to the airport to pick everyone else up. When I got in the car, I realized it was a manual. So, I not only had to readjust to driving on the correct side of the road, but I needed to call on my muscle memory to drive a stick shift. Things clicked quickly, and I raced back to the airport.

Signage here is poor, and after several loops, I found where I could meet my crew. We loaded up, and got going to our apartment, then an evening walking tour. Carrie had gotten an email from our tour guide that she was out of town, and was not scheduled for a tour. So we headed to our apartment, when some other guy called her, wondering if we were going to show at the tour. We told him we had had no communication from them except for our assigned guide telling us there was no tour.

There were several confused back and forths, but we eventually just said we would work out the refund issue with the company.

Addresses in Iceland are a bit strange. When I pasted in the address for our apartment to Maps, it sent us to the wrong place. When we used the booking.com Maps link, it gave us the right location. We found it, and parked, and made it inside.

It is an old building, and Carrie and Pat were les than thrilled. Having stayed in most of the Motel 6s in Texas, my standards are much lower. We got unpacked, and went out to walk around the area. We went to a famous hot dog stand that Bill Clinton liked. If there’s someone who’s into low-brow things, he’s the man.

We came back, and got the car to drive around a bit. We saw the beautiful cathedral, and one of our favorite scupltures by the bay. We stopped at a grocery store for some things, and headed back to the apartment to unwind and have an early-ish night.