August 4^th, 2026

Well our concerns about hand luggage turned out to be accurate. When we checked in for our Icelandair flight we were asked to place our hand luggage in the luggage sizer – phew, my red bag was an exact fit. Even half an inch bigger would not have worked. They are very strict.

At the gate I saw that they were making people check their bags even though from where I was it was hard to say whether they were too large or not. This resulted in very unhappy looking passengers.

Still, we had no worries with our carry-on bags and settled happily into our seats, excited about our direct flight to Reykjavik.

I looked out of the window and watched the baggage handlers loading the bags onto the conveyor belt. There seemed to be much disagreement going on between them. Bags would go up the conveyor belt to the hold, only to reemerge moments later and be put on the cart. Then they would come off the cart and end up back on the plane again. I could see one of our suitcases doing the back and forth, but the other was nowhere in sight.

Brian checked the Apple tag – it was at another terminal. It was too late to do anything about it – we were taking off without it.

The flight was OK, I think the highlight was Brian’s gin and tonic.

The gin was blue,

but when you added the tonic, it went pink! How cool is that!

We discovered when we landed in Reykjavik that our one suitcase had remained in Seattle and had failed to join us. Still, one suitcase is better than none and the baggage claim people were very nice and reassuring. They even gave us a flyer for a hiking goods supply store where we could borrow hiking gear free of charge if needed. I would have preferred my hot brush and hairspray, but I suppose you can’t have everything.

It took us over an hour and a half to get through immigration, but eventually we were on our way to our hotel (the Marriott Reykjavik Edition – strange name for a hotel)and just in time to drop off what luggage we did have and to catch our transfer to the Sky Lagoon. Yay for deciding to pack our swimsuits in our carry-on bags.

I am a huge fan on hot springs. The more natural the better. The Sky Lagoon isn’t actually natural, but they have done an excellent job of making it look so. The web site says soak in the fresh Atlantic Ocean air, the sounds of wildlife, the sensation of warm geothermal water and the captivating views from the lagoon’s 70-metre infinity edge. Perfect after an overnight flight.

Sky Lagoon is more than just relaxing in warm geothermal water, a visit there also includes what they call the Skjol Ritual. There are 7 phases, the first one is the lagoon itself. When you feel adequately relaxed from the warm water, the next step is to enter the cold plunge pool. Well. I did dip my toes in, but no way was I getting into the freezing cold water, so we moved on to the next step, the most incredibly beautiful sauna.

With a floor to ceiling window looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and soft background music it was an amazing experience. Brian was totally in to it. However, after a while, beauty or no beauty, I though it was too hot, so I abandoned it and headed for the next experience – getting refreshed in a cold mist.

I was beginning to feel a bit like Goldilocks. Everything was really lovely, but it was either too hot or too cold. The mist was described as a revitalizing mist that whispers stories of resilience, -5 degrees C – cold but refreshing.

Enough of the freezing mist, let’s try the next experience. This was the Sky body scrub which was actually quite interesting, and you follow up with the steam room and a nice hot shower.

Finally you have a drink made from crowberries, and you can go back to the lagoon. Now that’s where I wanted to be. Back in the soothing water looking out at the ocean and volcanoes beyond. The perfect way to get over a long flight. And looking back at it, all of that ritual stuff actually was an interesting experience and I am glad I tried it.

I declared our first day in Reykjavik a success.