September 17, 2015 – Day 1 – Iceland Trip
Spoilers: Day 1 of our trip to Iceland consisted entirely of air travel.
We found a great ticket price on WOW Airlines from Boston. WOW is Iceland’s low-cost carrier (more on that in a bit), and it represents the first real competition to Icelandair when it comes to flying to Iceland from the US. WOW was the dramatically cheaper option, and it is really the only reason we were able to afford the plane tickets. When we purchased our tickets in January 2015, WOW only flew from Boston and Washington, DC. They have added a couple of west coast gates since then, but the fare ($450 roundtrip per person) was too good to pass up.
Fortunately, we were able to find some pretty cheap tickets between Chicago and Boston. We left at 9 a.m., arriving in Boston at around noon. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to deplane, get our bags, check in with WOW, and go back through security. As it turns out, flights into Keflavik Airport near Reykjavík are all coordinated. Planes arrive within similar windows on similar days of the week from all parts of the world. The only flight option for September 17 left at about 7 p.m. As it also turns out, the international terminal’s ticketing counter is shared by multiple airlines, and you are only able to check in about three hours in advance of your flight. All of this we found out upon arriving in Boston. We found the one restaurant that was outside of security and hunkered down for a bit.
After (finally) checking in and dropping off our bags, we made our way to the gate. This is when we started to get *really* excited for our trip.
Our gate!
We are lucky enough to live in a major city with tons of business and service options. A local currency exchange near my work was able to convert a few hundred dollars to Icelandic Króna before we even left home. Luke got a bunch more converted within the international terminal in Boston before we left. I saved the rest of my US currency for conversion in Iceland. If anyone planning a trip to Iceland is reading this and looking for tips, all of these things were great ideas to do. Most places do take credit (in fact, I cannot remember anywhere that did not), but those foreign transaction fees are killer.
A couple of words about WOW’s “low-cost carrier” label. The flight time was five hours, and those seats were TIGHT. Everything was an additional fee (bags, snacks, etc.) This isn’t a ton different than most domestic carriers anymore, but a word to the wise: if you can afford a bit to upgrade your seats — do. Our seats were a set of two, just in front of the over-wing emergency exit. No leaning back, people in front of us *could* lean back, hardly any legroom. For five hours.
Squeeeee!
Our first exposure to the Icelandic language came during the airline safety speech. Everything was in both English and Icelandic. It was a little something like this:
The plane and flight attendants were all super-cute. Everything was an electric purple color, just like the company’s logo — this included the flight attendants’ outfits and eye shadow. They all reminded me of Björk.
Cutesy messages all over the plane.
Upon landing at Keflavik (at 4 a.m.), we made our way through security (bleary-eyed). We had purchased tickets for a bus to Reykjavik several months in advance, but tickets could also be purchased on the plane or at the airport. There is no other form of transportation to/from Keflavik airport. The bus (or a rental car) is your only option.
The bus dropped us at our hotel, the Hilton Reykjavík Nordica. It was the butt crack of dawn, so we had to wait for a room.
Waiting for a room.
While waiting, we had what would become my routine breakfast every morning we were there; I present to you, the Scandinavian breakfast! Toast topped with tomato, cucumber, and salmon; a sliced, hardboiled egg; and a coffee. And we would eat it while looking out over Reykjavik’s harbor and the city.
Then we crashed for a couple of hours before our adventures officially began.