How excitement!  Iceland is one of those places that I never thought I’d see and now here we are about to board an Icelandic Airlines plane that is going to take us there.

I’ve landed in a few different countries in the past and as grateful as I am about that, there’s always a tiny bit of disappointment that every airport is exactly the same.  The plane lands and you walk into a terminal that is pretty much the same as the last one, you collect your luggage from the same luggage belt and you drive away on the same roads passing the same landscape of industrial buildings……  I always thought (and hoped) that Iceland would be different.

So Amsterdam was wet and grey and windy.  Apparently they have 250 rainy days every year and quite frequently have winds up to 130 kph.  Nobody seemed that fussed though, people were still riding their bikes and getting about their business as usual.  We were just hoping that the planes would still take off.

And take off they did!

Here’s Me Jenny brushing up on a bit of Icelandic knowhow on the flight over.

I kept a look out so I could see Icelandic land as soon as we were over it.

But then this blanket set in and all vision was lost…

Until we were about 10 feet off the ground!

We’re hiring a car for the first 6 days we’re here, and as we entered the airport – which was the same, but had a bit of an Icelandic feel about it, we headed straight for the car hire desks.

The fog and mild on/off rain had completely set in and you were lucky to be able to see 10 feet in front of you, but we found the car and put the co-ordinates into the GPS – that’s right, you heard me…. the co-ordinates – not the address!  N.64°130.54  W.20°450.21 (not the exact numbers) and the route was set.  We drove out of the airport without being about to see beyond the side of the road.  So factor that in with being on the right (wrong) side of the road in an unfamiliar car, you could possibly say that it was a stress-free drive.  Me Jenny handled it brilliantly!

The fog lifted briefly along the way to reveal flat fields of volcanic rock some covered in moss…..

Photo credit: Chris Ford

which made me think of the Scottish Highlands – not because I’ve been there, but  because I’m obsessed with the series – “Outlander” which is filmed there.

So you could say that arriving in Iceland was completely different from anywhere else that I’ve landed before…

The GPS and the co-ordinates that were entered took us right to the front door of our hotel – perfect!

We’re staying at this weirdly wonderful hotel that reminds me of the place they stay at in Dirty Dancing.  The main building is on its own, then there is a ring road behind it  dotted with large houses.  Then in each house is a long corridor with rooms off each side, a lounge area and kitchen at the end and hot tubs outside at the back.

Photo Credit: Hotel Grimsborgir

This is the view from our bedroom over to the main building.

Therefore you need to drive to breakfast.