The scooter police and a husband gone loco

We realized we'd left the safety and sanity of Homeland U.S.A. when we noted that the Security Police in the Iceland Airport sailed about the sleek modernist corridors on....scooters! (Just about the most fun job in the world!) (One of our fellow travelers noted that before their country fell into financial trouble a few years ago they probably had Segways). 

In any event, the whole Norway-via-Iceland was indeed a blessing in disguise, as one of our bloggers noted earlier.

The funniest (to me, at least) part of the first 48 hours was when Stan "I Sleep Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace" Lucas got a lesson in Jet Lag.  He fell asleep in our awesome Iceland hotel and woke up a couple of hours later, threw open the curtains, convinced we'd missed our plane to Norway because it was so light out.  Then he decided he HAD to know what time it was so proceeded to turn on ALL the room lights so he could track down and read the one watch I had with the correct time. Then he proceeded to THROW open the curtains again, an hour later, because again he was dead certain the world had come to an end and an atomic bomb had blown outside. No, dear, just the 65 degree North sunshine. Still up, at 3 AM.  He tossed and turned the rest of the night, untossing every hour to double check the time and the position of the sun in the sky and, and, and....he was just plain out of his mind.

However, I can't really brag about my own lack of cultural coolness: Our room faced south west so naturally was frying hot when we arrived.  Gasping for air, we tried to open the window but it seemed stuck, so I, taking matters into my own hands, called the reception desk.

"How do we turn on the air conditioner?  We can't find it."

"Uh...this is ICEland.  We don't have air conditioning."  (Dumb tourist, was his thought bubble. Or worse.)

Bottom line: Iceland is GREAT, and Stan has been selling it up to anyone who will listen.  Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT, ask him about how great Iceland is unless you have 60 minutes to spare.

Carol Lucas -- June 26, Al, Norway