Iceland Day 1: DC to NYC to Reykjavik

From Dulles as we work our way through flight delays and arranging new flights to Reykjavik …

UPDATE: Sometimes things don’t go according to the plan. Our flight to JFK was delayed so much that we wouldn’t make the connection to Reykjavik. Rebooked through London, but missed that when we didn’t get our luggage back in time. Now departing on day 2. Flexibility is key!

Iceland … The origins for this trip may go back almost 30 years ago to our 1997 trip to Alaska. While we didn’t plan this trip way back then, it was the first time that Mickey, Donna, Patty, Sue, and me traveled together. Since then most of my international travel has been with Mickey and Donna, and Patty has been on several trips as well. But this time Sue is coming with Don and we’re heading to another cold weather destination … although it was very warm on our July trip to Alaska!

I’ve always been interested in traveling to Iceland with its unique climate and landscape, and because it’s not very far from my home in the DC suburbs. I’m looking forward to seeing the volcanic terrain and lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls, geothermal hot springs, and hopefully the northern lights. And maybe there will be some interesting foods to sample along the way!

Here is the itinerary …

And here is what I’m packing …
This is a shorter trip compared to some of my more recent international travel, but with waterfalls, northern lights, and colder/wetter weather this trip still requires careful consideration of what to pack to capture the best photos and video of a bucket list trip! I’m bringing the Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera with the Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR zoom lens but also the Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 lens. For a faster ultra-wide option I’m bringing the Nikkor Z 20mm f1.8 S prime lens for landscapes, astrophotography, and the northern lights. I’ll need a tripod in those situations, so I’m also packing the Peak Design Travel Tripod. And also in the bag is the DJI OSMO Pocket 3 for timelapse video and situations that might benefit from a gimbal camera. I’ll bring the Apple iPhone 16 for GPS location tracking through the SnapBridge app. For backup I’m bringing the Clouzen Tainer with 2TB of M.2 SSD capacity. Although I’ve traveled with the Vanguard Kinray Lite camera backpack for many years, for Italy and Greece I carried the Gura Gear Kiboko City Commuter 18L+  but I found the roll top access really inconvenient, so for this trip I’m bringing the Shimoda Designs Urban Explore 25. I usually pack an assortment of shorts, t-shirts, and pullovers for travel, but with daily temps ranging from 35°F (1.7°C) to 44°F (6.7°C) and expected wet weather conditions, my clothing pack is very different. I’m bringing a lightweight base layer for each day, a fleece assortment for mid-layers, and a waterproof/windproof jacket and pants for the outer layer. Also a couple of pairs and gloves and a couple of hats.

A note about spelling …
Iceland has one of the most unique spelling structures using a latin alphabet that I have encountered. The Icelandic alphabet has 32 characters compared to the 26 characters found in the English alphabet. The Icelandic language is derived from Old Norse. For spelling on this trip I’m sometimes using Old Norse and sometimes Modern Icelandic.

While I’m traveling I will post daily updates here on the blog. If you want to get an email when I post an update subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription box. I’m looking forward to sharing these updates with you!