Day #162 - Reykjavik, Iceland to Oslo, Norway

Reykjavik - Europe's Best Airport - 2009

Fancy sculptures in the Reykjavik airport

Waiting for the bus pickup at Oslo Airport

Scenery at Oslo Airport

Monday, August 23rd

Extremely early start this morning. Up at 3:45am for a 4:30 transfer to the airport. We arrived at the airport around 5:45. I walked in and took a quick look at the board to see if my flight was still on schedule. Everything was 'On Time' except for 1 particular flight - that would have been mine. Next to the Oslo departure - '2 Hour Delay'. Man - I've been hitting a bad streak recently with flights. It's making me lose faith in the system.

Supposedly, the flight from New York City to Reykjavik was delayed and we had to wait for this plane's arrival. This really wasn't a big deal for me - I had no definitive plans. It sure would have been nice to sleep in until 5:45am however.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and found the most comfortable seat possible. The good thing is - I found out that the Reykjavik airport was voted as the best airport in Europe for 2009. They have a big trophy in the middle of the food court (see pic). Because of this - it was a nice place to be stranded. I pulled out a new book - "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown and started to read. I was in and out of consciousness for the next 4 hours. I went down to the gate for the 9:50 departure. We were delayed another hour before boarding. The flight into Oslo was fine. 2-1/2 hour trip. Add 2 hours with time zone change and I arrived at 3;30pm. I found an airport transfer to my hotel - getting to my room around 4:30pm.

Up at 3:45am and arrive at my place at 4:30pm - that's a lengthy travel day for minimal distance gain. All good - it's just part of the journey. Learn to adapt and appreciate.

I chilled in the room for a while and then hit the hotel gym. I ran a couple miles and worked out some kinks by stretching. I felt like a million bucks. I ate at the buffet in the hotel and now I'm in the room catching up on email.

Let me say that my trip to Iceland was very rewarding. What a great place! I would really recommend a visit. I saw they have direct flights from Minneapolis - and it's not as far as other European destinations. I don't think I've mentioned this - but all the Nordic countries speak great English. Everybody. I haven't had 1 bit of trouble anywhere with a language barrier. People are friendly and helpful. I can understand the Nordic people better than I can understand the British or Irish on many accounts.

The short term travel itinerary: Oslo - 2 days, Bergen - 3 days, Finland - 5 days, depart for Russia on Sept 4th from Helsinki. Let's keep it going! Consistently strong!