Saturday 27th May

Day 1

Our plane didn't depart until 13:25 so we had plenty of time….or so we thought…!

The journey to Birmingham was quick and uneventful, however we had not realised that it was half term.  We had already checked in online, and as there was no automated luggage drop off like there is at Heathrow, I had to join the check in queue to do it and it took me half an hour.  Mathew joined me when I got to the counter,as we just wanted to check that we could take2 bags each. She said as it was a full flight she recommended one bag per person, so we put Mathews carry on luggage into the hold along with the suitcase.

Icelandic mountains in the distance on the approach to Keflavik

We made our way to security and stopped off to get some lunch on the way.  At this point, we looked at the departures board to see “Final Call”! So we legged it to the gate but there were plenty of people behind us. We made the flight which was fairly uneventful, and landed in Keflavik at around 3pm Icelandic time.  Mathew registered with the car hire and we collected a red Toyota Yaris, an off we went, leaving just after 4pm.  We drove along route 1 along the south coast all the way to a place called Brekkur, which took us about 2 and a half hours.

Icelandic scenery and weather greeting us on our first day

The scenery was interesting, very flat lava fields where Keflavik was, and then more erratic moss covered lava when we got out into the country. The weather was cool and drizzly on and off all afternoon. Our hotel was up a small hill and didn’t look that interesting on the outside, however, reception looked a little like a hunting lodge. We checked in and brought everything into the room before going for dinner in the restaurant. My stomach wasn't too good so I settled for a chicken salad, whilst Mathew had his first taste of Icelandic lamb.