The day we left Reykjavik it started to snow – and according to the Instagram posts that followed in the next days and weeks the snow did not melt. For my snowbirdy self I am totally OK that we missed the frozen white stuff falling from the sky on my vacation.
We did not, however, miss Greenland. This is a photo taken from the airplane as we passed over Greenland. Shanon took it because I insisted on the aisle seat. It is true story that the Viking who convinced his compatriots to move to Greenland used the name as a marketing ploy. It really isn't that green. I still hope to actually set foot on it someday – maybe next time I go to Iceland, when I go in the summer, I'll do a hop over there with Icelandair. Maybe.
This is Kevlafik airport. It really is one giant duty free store with a bit of art spattered in-between.
Stuffed puffin for the road?
Maybe just a leg of lamb?
Don't forget the Brenniven Aquavit! It is really hard to find this stuff back in the states.
$8 dollar Icelandic horse doo doo? Seriously – I love how every tourist destination turns the excrement of their local wild life and domesticated animal attractions into candy. Iceland is not above this craze.
After our forced shopping experience it was time for eating a real meal before the $10 cup-o-noodles on the a la carte airline menu. You can see in the photo above that the snow was starting to pile on the lovely skylights.
One would think, with all of the shopping options, there would be a veritable treasure trove of food places to choose from at this airport. Nope. Just this one place, hot dogs, or a bar (which we didn't explore to see if served food). We walked down the hallway to find that the rest of the airport looks like a nice Greyhound bus station. We would avoid that as long as possible.
So I went with the lobster pizza – because why not? Living large in the airport and one last strange seafood and cheese dish while still in the land of fish and dairy. It was quite good, not fishy tasting at all, and I washed it down with a celebratory glass of bubbles. Not that I was happy to leave Iceland and go back to my day-to-day life – but just to celebrate a good trip and say goodbye one last time to my favorite island in the Arctic Ocean. Until next time (when I'll come in summer and explore your natural beauty).
Seattle and its bright shiny lights of construction and upcoming holidays was waiting on the other side of the 8 hour airplane ride.