This trip was entirely too short!
We decided to walk around the city a bit more before our afternoon flight back to Boston. We passed 10 Bankastræti - a building that, although is not original, is on the government list of buildings that MUST retain its original look. Although most of Reykjavik's history is VERY modern (especially compared to Boston and most especially compared to our town in Germany), I appreciate that they want to preserve the historic look of their buildings.
Grant, go stand over there next to those two ceramic chickens that are in this yard on Þingholtsstræti.
A sign of things to come, although it will be much sooner here in Iceland than it will be in Boston.
Our first stop was our FAVORITE landmark ever - the Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat!
Three Baileys and an Unknown Bureaucrat. Or Three Unknown Bureaucrats and a Bailey. You decide.
I love the Reykjavik City Hall, even if they did put it in a flood zone. This is just a small lake/pond though. And I love that Reykjavik is SO LGBTQ friendly!
We visited the large 3D relief map in the city hall again and had the room to ourselves for a bit!
Even Todd thinks it's funny that city hall is basically built in the water.
Time to walk back through the city to where our car was parked so we can get to the airport. Sniff sniff.
Oh maybe we can finally check out the Reykjavik Cathedral! Oh wait. There is a hearse in the front of the church AGAIN, same as last year!
Hmm. Maybe that hearse is just always parked there? Because it's been there two years in a row now. Let's sneak in and see! NOPE. Todd opens the door to the church (which is just past this pretty entryway) and everyone is wearing dark colors and it definitely seems like a funeral!
Oh well. We headed back toward the car, and past our apartment one more time.
We even stopped at the same gas station near the airport and had to get this same picture that I took last year of the Bonus pig! We eventually made it to the Sixt rental car return and since it was around lunch time, the shuttle bus driver for all of the rental car agencies decided to go on an hour lunch break, so a guy named Mike who worked for Sixt took us to the departures area in his own car!
Grant and I were ROLLING when Todd is sitting in the restaurant area past security when suddenly, he says, "What was that?" What was WHAT? He said he felt like he got flicked by a rubber band. My mind is racing, wondering if he got bit by something (doubtful as bugs are rare in Iceland!) and suddenly we realized this guy behind him was taking out and replacing the rubber bands for braces in his mouth. EWWW! SO GROSS!
When we were enjoying some pizza and beer before our flight, we faintly heard (or did we?) "Boston passenger Bailey" over the loudspeaker. Total flipping panic ensues. Did we misread the flight departure time? Flashbacks of Belgrade cause us to break out in a cold sweat. We RAN to the passport control area, which if you remember, it was a madhouse last year and took us a really long time to get through. Thankfully, there was no line at all this year! We finally make it to the gate and they tell me that I'm special, and I've been chosen for the extra security screening. WHAT. I literally haven't gotten the SSSS sign on my boarding pass in decades. I have not seen that since the months following 9/11! I had to go back into a secret room where a very serious woman swabbed every part of me and my bag, molested Croco and sent me on my way.
But... we made it. Bless, Iceland!
Goodbye Sandgerði, which feels like the last little town on the planet when you're leaving Iceland! The craziest thing was that the day after we got home, Fagradalsfjall erupted again!!! Can you believe that? We just missed it, but we certainly knew it was coming.
This country has slowly crept into my top 5 favorite places on the planet so...
Until next time, Iceland!
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