(edited to add: Saturday, September 16 to Sunday September 17)
First of all, if you fly to Europe through Keflavik (the name of the airport) or Reykjavik (the city), you have a series of choices, depending on the length of the layover. One is to treat it just like a layover, and stay in the airport. A second is to zip into Reykjavik for a few hours, and doze at the airport. A third is to is to stretch out your layover by a day, book a hotel, and explore as much of Iceland as you can fit in. A fourth is book a hotel and sleep in a proper bed, and work in whatever sightseeing you can.
The latter two require a bit of planning ahead, as you will not have access to your checked luggage. You'll need to have what you need in your carry-on. Be aware that WOW airlines charges for carryons bigger than a handbag (check their current requirements). I was able to fit my bathing suit, jammies1, and the minimal toiletries into my computer-toting carryon backpack with plenty of room to spare.
I chose the last. Realizing that Reykjavik was 45 minutes from the airport, I looked for a hotel near the airport, and found Hótel Berg, which is 15 minutes (maximum) from the airport and has a free shuttle. Well as it turned out, I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, because the Keflavik airport layout was so confusing I could not find the shuttle depot.
Once I got to the hotel I realized I had lucked out. It's a lovely little hotel, newly expanded, overlooking the Keflavik small-boat harbor and the Duus museum complex. In a few weeks, the hotel will also have a large hot tub (sitting pool). I am sorry I missed the experience. The hotel also offers tours booked from the hotel itself -- some of those might suit you, especially a trip to the Blue Lagoon, which seems to be the closest of the famed Icelandic geothermal bathing pools.
Below: Here's the harbor from the launch site. I enjoyed the smell of sea. The wind was terrific -- like being beaten with pillows.
Below: two views of the harbor from the hotel patio. The red building is the Café Duus (Islandic: KaffiDuus), where I had dinner; the rest of the Duus museum complex stretches away.
I decided the best thing for me would be to visit Viking World (Icelandic: Vikingaheimar), a small museum about 10 minutes away by taxi from Hotel Berg. It's a small museum formed around the Viking replica ship Íslengingur. The shipwright Gunnar Marel Eggertsson recreated a ninth-century find known as the "Gokstad ship" and in 2000, sailed the Íslengingur to the New World.
Below: a view of the harbor to the right of Vikingaheimar -- where the ship sailed in on its final voyage.
Below: the sculpture honoring the Viking voyagers in front of the museum:
The first thing that struck me walking into the museum was the very evocative scent -- burning wood? A peat fire? -- it wasn't oppressive, just a subtle perfume that made me think of times long ago.
Below: view of Íslengingur from above, looking from the stern toward the bow.
Below: view of the ship from below (a below-waterline view, were the ship in the water), with the rudder viewed edge-on:
Below, view of the ship from below, showing the rudder side-on. Imagine the strength it would take to move the rudder! I wonder if it was just one man, or a team.
Below: a view of the ship, standing in the stern (by the rudder) looking toward the prow. You can see one oar, on the left. According to Viking World site, a ship of this nature would have had a crew of 60+ to man the oars, when the ship could not move under sail. The Íslengingur replaced most of the men with two motors, which they used sparingly as it stressed the ship.
I tried to image the ship full of men, and livestock (the Vikings apparently carried animals with them, for meat and milk) with the wind blowing and the spume from the waves higher than the ship...)
Íslengingur made landfall in a number of New World locales, including one commemorated in the display below. I think this is when the ship made landfall at L'Anse aux Meadows. Do you notice something weird and out of place?
Below: text describing image above. The man in buckskins and a Plains war bonnet (?!) is Chief Misel Joe, the chief of the Mi’kmaq tribe. The feathered, tailed bonnet he wears was not part of Mi'kmaq traditional dress, even today. You can read more about Mi'kmaq culture here.
The museum has several other exhibits, including one on the spread of Viking culture across the North Atlantic and a rather intriguing one on how the Vikings navigated. I enjoyed my visit. There are several other small installations on farming and fishing in walking distance, open in the summer months.
I returned to the hotel, took a walk on the bluffs (sorry, no photos) and then walked from the hotel, across the harbor, to the afore-mentioned KaffiDuus. If you are a large party, reservations are recommended. I was seated immediately. I was tired and not that hungry, so I ordered two starters: Marinated Salmon and the Greek Salad, with a Gull beer (a product of Reykvik).
The combination was delightful (dinner pictured below):
Another nice thing about the Berg Hotel: they have a cold breakfast buffet that starts at 3 am. I was scheduled for the 5 am shuttle back to the airport, so I went down for breakfast at 4 am. There was a very satisfactory collection of fruit, fruit juices, cold cuts, bread and flatbreads, and cereal. The coffee was very good as well. The shuttle was right on time.
A word about early morning departures from Keflavik: the lines to check bags were enormous. If you do have to check bags, you might want to arrive extra-early.
I gathered a second breakfast at the airport, after I had passed passport control and security (which was speedy as I only had hand luggage).
Future notes: I was quite intrigued by the offerings of the Edhestar group, with a hotel and Icelandic horseback riding trips. See more at http://eldhestar.is
I'd also like to visit a geothermal pool other than the Blue Lagoon.
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1. travel trip: after experiencing a hotel evacuation, my travel jammies are a long-sleeved t shirt and a light pair of yoga pants, that I wouldn't mind being seen wearing in public. I keep a pair of ballet slippers by the bed, as well as my headlamp and a huge light cotton scarf that started out life as a beach coverup.
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