Family Trip - Austria/Switzerland/Iceland 2023 [Part 3]

The flight from Zurich to Iceland was about 4 hours and we had a very empty plane. The welcome kid gift was an adorable puffin stuffy with some snacks.

We let R have a little Coke and then he proceeded to spill the contents of his cup on the seat but somehow managed to not get it all over himself. Once that was cleaned up, he knocked over my soup container in my lap. It did hurt, but not too badly thankfully. The flight attendants were so amazing and helped me get cleaned up, which I appreciated because it looked like I had puked all over myself (I'll spare you the photo here). Did not feel like pulling out my suitcase to find pants, so I washed off best I could in the tiny plane sink. Also, I'm pretty sure I smelled like soup for the rest of the day.

Arrival was easy since we were still in the Schengen Area and we landed as the sun was setting. Since we were visiting in January, the sun rose around 10:45a and set around 4:30p (with a long twilight).

We used Flybus to transport us from the international airport to the city center (~45min ride). That involved taking a large bus to the bus station and from there we were dropped off at bus stop #6 in a van. We stayed at B14 Rooms & Apartments and loved it. We had a private room/bathroom like a hotel and a communal kitchen/living space plus laundry machines. It is at the bottom of the rainbow road so very accessible to Reykjavík's highlights. 

beautiful views riding into town

For dinner we dined at Seabaron, recommended by someone raised in Iceland. The salmon and grilled veggies were delicious.

A huge plus for families in Europe is the consideration of kids. Seabaron had a separate playroom and a coffee shop I visited a couple of times had a kid nook with some toys.

view of the rainbow road

We also visited the Lebowski Bar which was fun being a fan of the movie.

On Thursday morning I ventured off pushing the stroller on some icy sidewalks to Brauð & Co for giant croissants. This was the coldest day of our visit. A visit to Iceland in the winter was very hard dealing with my coat/boots/hat/gloves hating Texan toddler.  It was a struggle to leave a heated space because he wasn't cold....yet.

Stopped to see the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral exterior on our way back to the apartment.

navigating the treacherous sidewalks

sunrise

view from our lodgings!

Around 10a I received an email that our Golden Circle tour on Fri was canceled due to the expected inclement weather. That really threw a wrench in our plans because we only had two full days in the country and had planned on having someone familiar with driving in winter weather drive us around.

Hertz was booked, but Go Car Rental was able to rescue the trip. They came to pick us up and then we had to travel about 20 mins outside the city to do all the paperwork. Finally, at 1p we hit the road.

The scenery felt almost lunar with hardly any trees and the landscape covered in snow and some mountains. Loved seeing the Icelandic horses along the way, but we did not have time to stop and say hello.

First stop was the Kerið Volcano crater. It was blustery cold so we basically snapped photos and continued on the route.

Next was Geysir where we saw the famous Strokkur geyser that sprays about 20 meters high. R got cold and was not having it as we stood waiting for the eruption.

After getting tomato soup/quiche/pizza, our hanger was diminished and we then rushed to Gullfoss to see the famous waterfall. Very interesting to see in the middle of winter, mostly frozen.

The next and last stop on the circle was an hour away at þingvellir National Park.  We arrived a little before 5:30p and had just enough light to see what was high on our list, where the Eurasian and North American plates meet!

It was dark so we it was time to drive back to town and find a parking spot.

Friday morning the rain set in as I returned the car to Go Rental. I had them drop me back at the church so I could see on my own in peace.

Then I trudged in rain/sleet/slush/icy sidewalks and streets pushing the stroller to the Sundhöllin public swimming pool. Sadly it was closed due to an issue with a pump. I will admit, I was not a happy camper when we arrived and I saw the sign. After navigating more tricky slushy sidewalks, we visited the interior of the church. R then decided not to listen well, so we left.

After trying hot dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, we all went up in the bell tower of the church to see Reykjavík from above. The bells chimed 3p while there and it was loud!

hot dogs are a cheap way to eat in Iceland

On Saturday morning the adventure for the day was a visit to the Blue Lagoon and then fly home since the lagoon is fairly close to airport. I booked an entry time to the lagoon and added on transportation from town and then onto the airport. I had booked an 11a transfer, but failed to realize they would pick us up at 10:30a at the nearby bus stop to then make the transfer at 11a from the bus station. So we missed that and had to rearrange our visit.

Blue Lagoon was a highlight of the trip. I tried out the included mask and loved soaking in the warm thermal waters. Kids under 8 have to wear floaties and should not be in there for more than 2 hours. 

Upon arrival you are given a bracelet that will serve as the lock for a locker and keep track of what food/drinks you buy while there. You must shower before entering the pool and they suggest putting conditioner in your hair before getting in the water with high silica. 

view on way to Blue Lagoon

testing out the face mask

leaving the Blue Lagoon

We had a 2:30p transfer to the airport and they do in fact leave at 2:30p on the dot. We discovered this as I was running with the stroller to grab our bags from the baggage area and saw the bus pull away. So we had to hail a taxi. It is a good idea to do this stop on your way to or from the airport since it is so far from the city center.

Once we reached the airport, we found a place to eat with a pizza oven to curb the hunger again since we missed lunch. Then it was time to go through customs and security.  I was a lucky winner to get the dreaded SSSS marking on my boarding pass for extra screening...

The plane to JFK was packed and took quite some time to board. They made us check R's duffle, but we had to check the stroller anyway.

He did great on the flight playing with his toys and watching YouTube. It was a ~5.5 hour flight. We had to purchase food on Icelandic Air. We had some pretty heavy turbulence passing by Greenland. Probably the worst I can remember, but weirdly I find kinda fun and R did too! 

very bumpy ride over Greenland

Once we arrived at JFK, we had a very long wait to get through customs. The adults have Global Entry, but R cannot travel under ours like he can with Pre-Check. So S glided through easily and then I had to wait in the 2 hour line at what felt like midnight to us with a tired toddler. This was not fun at all. R was exhausted and acting out. Some very kind folks tried to help entertain him and let us cut several times. 

Once customs was cleared, I discovered the stroller got stuck behind the oversize luggage portal and then raced to our next flight.  Our layover was just over two hours and customs took up most of that time, so I was stressed we would miss our connection.

We had to change terminals by riding the sky tram thing and then once at Terminal 5 I found help at the JetBlue help desk to obtain boarding passes and then zoomed through security. R had fallen asleep in the stroller in the rush so was not happy getting woken up to break down the stroller to put through security. 

I sprinted to the gate with all our stuff and then discovered the flight had been delayed. An hour. As my breathing calmed down, I just sat waiting as R slept.

We then boarded the flight and made our way back home. This flight was pretty empty so we were able to have all of our bags with us and they even did an actual gate check on the stroller - THANK YOU! Friends had dropped off the car so that was super helpful getting right off the plane and driving straight home. Got there around 2a and after quick baths, we crashed.

I'm going to be real here. I am not sure that taking the toddler (that hates all things sweaters/jackets/gloves) to Iceland in the winter was the best idea, but we made it work. Coming back to see more of Iceland and its natural beauty is definitely still on my list. This trip barely scratched the surface.