Day 19 - Back to the real world

Today was the day I was leaving Iceland. I was quite sad because there was so much more I wanted to see in this unusually beautiful country. And I didn't know when I would see E and her family again. And it also meant that my holiday was almost over and I would have to go back to work.

I got up early-ish (8:30am) because I had to pack my stuff. My flight was at 11:20am. The advantage of living a stone throw from the airport is that you don't have to spend a half a day getting there and waiting when the plane is late. And it's even better when your fiance works at the airport. He called us to be at the airport at 11am but then the plane was late due to the bad weather in Reykjavík so we got regular updates on the situation and waited in the comfort of E's living room. Finally the plane was on the way to Ísafjörður and I was on the way to the airport, which was about a size of a smaller bus station. In this part of the world people seem to use the planes like we use buses. The plane from Reykjavík landed at 1:10pm, the fuel hose was connected, luggage unloaded and loaded and we were boarding the plane at 1:18pm!!! All that with two members of staff!!! I was impressed.

Here is me just before getting on the plane.

The flight was a little bumpy when going through the clouds but not too bad. It took only 40 minutes and we were landing in snowy Reykjavík. From there I took a taxi to the bus station to catch my bus to Keflavík airport. As we were getting closer to the airport, the sun made its appearance. We could also see the steam from the Blue Lagoon. After arriving to the Keflavík airport I checked my bag in, went through the security and then just wasted my time walking through various duty free shops. The atmosphere was rather calm and relaxed compare to any UK airports. The actual flight to London Heathrow was quite pleasant. As we were leaving at 5pm, I knew there is no chance to see the northern lights this time so I decided to watch a movie. But when we got above the clouds I had this fantastic view from my window. The sun was setting and the moon and a first star were out already. All the colours were beautiful together.