Day 3: Return to Iceland. This time, the Whole Shoe (I mean, Show!)

We landed at 7:30 am, which meant that we left Edinburgh at 6 am (see Scotland 2025 for more on that trip), which meant that we were up and dressed at 3 am! Even though the airport is absolutely 6 minutes away, we took the shuttle because our golf bags are heavy—even with wheels. So we had it “all sorted,” as they say in the UK.

We got our Iceland rental car from My Car, which meant we would be picked up and taken just a few miles to the car rental site. My Car is terrific and so accommodating—they took the time to help us feel comfortable with everything, including wifi and CarPlay for navigation. In just a few minutes, we were off!

The airport area is slated to be all volcanic with nothing to look at, but this time of year, the land is covered in green and gold, colors that are almost unnatural. All along the roadside is purple lupine (non-native, invasive, but majestic). The structures are largely corrugated metal and concrete, and everything (it’s true) looks like a warehouse.

Downtown, or Old Town, Reykjavik, a very hip town.

As we got closer to Reykjavik, the street sprouted another lane, the road became smoother, and buildings just appeared, as if we were entering the Emerald City. The Grand Hotel is big and glorious (thanks, Julie and Ken!) and just 3 minutes from the edge of town. Everything is here, it’s just nicely contained.

The Grand Hotel has a lovely, open lobby. No pool, but a gorgeous restaurant.

We decided to start with the ridiculous. John noticed that the Viking Mars was in port, so he wanted to go see that, and I did not bring waterproof boots—silly me. I had some shopping to do! A trendy thrift store in the cool part of town filled my shopping bag nicely. I’m now living in cozy Ecco boots, just my size, and while we didn’t board the Mars, we had a good close look.

The boots that made walking on lava so much easier.

From there, it was the National Museum of Scotland, which featured early Iron Age and early Christian relics to the present day, with lots of stories about the importance of Christianity to the island. Terrific displays, so well lighted and described. We just loved this place.

Very Christian from early times. A fabulous museum.

Soon, it was time to move on to the Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral, the super famous church that looks like a Pipe organ from the front, and inside, has a pipe organ with pipes that back the facade. Super cool church, but felt very stark compared to those European churches.

The Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral and the monument to Leif Erickson were a gift from the United States.

Our only meal all day had been sandwiches in the Edinburgh airport. We were ready for a lovely meal. Dinner in the hotel restaurant was by candlelight. I had cabbage, nuts, and mushrooms in a glaze sauce. John had langoustine soup and battered cod. Delicious. We splurged on the chocolate cake that was more of a tart— very chocolatey! Tomorrow is the big day! Good night.