There was a sudden severe thunderstorm about 8 pm EDT last evening. No problems with a light show, except that airplanes don't fly through them. Our Icelandair flight was rerouted to Ottawa and there it stayed till about 10 pm. Yes, we were supposed to leave Pearson at 9, but as it happened, we didn't leave till after midnight. It was a great flight, especially since I was in Saga class with a very comfortable seat with no one beside me. The only problem, with the long delay, I missed the connecting flight to Stockholm.
Icelandair takes care of its passengers. We got hotel for the night, all meals, and all transfers to and from the hotel, and seats on tomorrow's flight to Sweden. It took about 1.25 hr to get from the airport to downtown -- there was a need to change buses at a station. The countryside is bleak, rocky and very black. The volcanic action of the past is evident everywhere.
Downtown is a strange mix of new and old buildings and there is huge variety in both types. On the bus into town I met a Canadian lady who now lives in Sweden and in the same situation as me. We ended up at the same hotel, and so decided to go to lunch together. She needed another COVID test as her first had expired, so we wandered and finally came to a clinic which was doing the rapid tests this afternoon. She got her negative result and we had a nice (but chilly 11 degree) walk back to the hotel.
I wandered down to the waterfront and was amazed by both the natural landscape and the designed skyline. We are headed to supper early as we are exhausted -- I did get about 1.5 hr of sleep last night-- and the wake-up call is for 3:30 am to catch the 4 am bus back to the airport. I truly hope to be on the 7:35 flight tomorrow. I have been waiting for this visit for a long time.
No comments:
Post a Comment