Day 2: Keflavik

Thursday, August 15

What even are days when you're crossing half a dozen time zones, on flights that last only a few hours? I didn't have anything resembling a normal sleep cycle during this stretch.
    I do still have some computer things left that i didn't get done before i left on the trip, and i probably should have used my time in Keflavik to accomplish those, but alas. After i finished the "Day 1.5" log, i got some water and found a quiet-ish corner to try and get a little nap in. This...did not really work. I kept nodding off, but couldn't maintain a sleep state for more than a few minutes at a stretch.
    I was parked right in front of the flight information board. They weren't announcing my gate until one hour before the flight, so i set an alarm for 3:30, just in case i did sleep. It became clear i wasn't going to get any sleep by about 3:00, but i had been posting on Facebook, lamenting the loss of Reykjavik time, and Huan-Hua commented that she'd been in this airport and found interesting features. So i got up to refill my water and seek out interesting features, even though i felt like the airport was so small i had already walked the entire thing. I didn't find much. I sat down in a different area, a larger common area that was pretty busy.
    At 3:29, i turned the alarm off, and looked up at the screen to see my gate. A11. That shouldn't be too far away. I followed the signs, and found that it was pretty much right where i had been sitting and trying to nap.
    Still an hour to go. Huan-Hua had mentioned unique foods, and i hadn't eaten anything except that salmon croissant. I had seen a stand in the other common area with a sign that said something like "Iceland's Most Famous Hot Dog" or similar.
    So i got a weird hot dog.
    Long, skinny, and probably made of lamb, with sauces that i can't identify but really enjoyed. Pretty good for a hot dog.
    I was finished eating and just scrolling on my phone while sipping a Coke Zero when suddenly it hit me like lightning that it was nearly 4:00. The flight departs at 4:30. What am i doing?? Get back to the gate!
    Considering that the flight out of O'Hare called me up to the desk and replaced my electronic boarding pass with a paper one, and "inspected" my bag, i kind of assumed that this airport would do the same. So i'm not really sure why i thought "walking away from the gate one hour before departure and eating a hot dog at a picnic table outside of PA earshot" was the play here. But that is what i did.
    Passengers were queued up at the door as i approached, so i just joined the end of the line. More people quickly filtered in from the thoroughfare behind me. So i wasn't the last one on board this time.
    I pulled up my boarding pass to check my seat assignment. Oh hey, 6A, another window seat.
    No one bothered me about my backpack. Not sure if it was because i still had the "Approved" tag from O'Hare on it, or just because they didn't seem to be checking anyone's. I didn't even see the sizing boxes near this gate at all. They were asking people if they'd like to check their carry ons for free, since it's "a full flight." I've had this happen to me before and accepted, but today, i did not want to do that, and also my backpack is full of batteries which cannot go in the cargo hold.
    They also scanned my electronic boarding pass, no problem.
    6A turned out to be just behind first class, so i got a few inches of extra leg room for free there. No one else was in the row when i boarded, surprisingly, so i stowed my bag and sat down. The aisle seat filled in soon after, but the passenger in the middle, 6B, never showed up.
    This is an ideal seating situation, a unicorn, a golden ticket. Legroom, window, space to breathe. Fantastic.
    I tried napping on the flight as well, to about the same results. I've never been able to sleep well or at all in moving vehicles, be it a car, a plane, a bus, what have you. So not surprised, just disappointed.
    But i did get to see Denmark on approach while there was still a tiny bit of daylight, and it is god damn gorgeous. Sprawling fields, untouched wilderness, so much water and islands that i wondered, "Is this an archipelago?" I looked it up, and it is! Plus a peninsula. I guess i had never thought of it that way.
    I am really, really bad at geography. Always have been.
    Another perfect kiss-the-ground landing. These Icelandair pilots have really got their shit together.
    Cyndi & Jake met me at the airport around 10pm, not long after i landed, and we got directly onto a train back to their place, which was super crowded and we all ended up sitting with strangers. Jake was so far away from Cyndi & i.
    We made a transfer at a big station, onto a larger but emptier train. We found ourselves a nice table with four seats facing each other, and it was quiet enough to have a conversation. Someone from two tables away got up out of his seat and came over to our table just to tell me he loves my hair, and that it really suits me, and to ask how i got it to turn out so good. Hi, Kyle! I know you're not reading this, but here's a shout out anyway!

    After a quick tour of their townhouse, and reminding their dog Maverick who i am and that he likes me, Jake cooked me a pizza and we chilled for a bit watching How It's Made, which is a fascinating show with subjects seemingly pulled from a hat and the worst, just the worst puns.
    Cyndi & Jake still have to work in the morning, and i am jet lagged all to fuck, so i'll probably sleep in. But around noonish, we're planning on getting out and seeing some Copenhagen!

Also it was great to take my shoes off for the first time in 48 hours.