Day 1 in Iceland!!! (Tuesday, 4 Oct 2022)

My overnight flight to Iceland was spent getting as much sleep as possible during the 5-hour flight. I hit the ground running I must say. I caught my bus to the downtown area of Reykjavík, the BSI Bus terminal. Most people when they travel to Iceland wind up booking a spa day at either the Blue Lagoon or the Sky Lagoon. This was on my to-do list but it had become very complicated to try and figure out the transportation and transfers and timing so I decided to just get to town and check out the local swimming pool. The local pool is Sundhöllin. What a find. 1 outdoor and one indoor lap pool, several varieties of hot tubs, a cold dip a steam room, and a dry sauna. I spent about 3 hours there waiting for the time for my check-in and I don’t regret a minute.

It was very relaxing. I checked into my AirBnB, about a 20-minute walk from the pools. Afterwards I made my way toward the downtown area and started my exploring/sightseeing. I just started walking around the waterline until I would see something interesting. It was really quite beautiful but I also discovered quite spread out, not to mention, a bit chilly with intermittent rain. I had already booked a ticket for the symphony for Thursday night at the Harpa so I wanted to get an idea of that location. As I was walking along I noticed all sorts of the infamous electric scooters available for rent. Why not? I looked up the app on my phone and soon I was off for my first electric scooter ride. What a difference! I have to say I was quite glad for the knit cap I had purchased on arrival at the bus station and the waterproof gloves I had purchased for my trip. My waterproof winter-weight Carhartt jacket was also just right.

I was able to visit the Harpa, I discovered a very cool and fun show, Fly Over Iceland. Fly Over Iceland was an immersive flying experience. You are strapped into seats which after the lights go out become like an aeroplane ride with the views up close of all sorts of the amazing landscapes Iceland has to offer. It was very realistic and even included effects like a mist sprayed over you as you entered snow territory or a fragrance to simulate the smell of the geysers erupting. It was quite fun!!

The scooter afforded me the opportunity to visit a lot of different stops quite quickly and just happen on cool sites and learn my way around. I zipped up and down hills all over the place. I then looked for what is considered a favourite, the Icelandic hot dog. It was quite affordable and very good!! Crunchy onions I think, a special sauce and their mustard which is actually brown not yellow. I had 2. I was quite hungry by that time.

Here’s the map of my scooter travels