So what is new?
An email from the appliance guy, the new refrigerator is in the warehouse, still waiting on the ovens and dishwasher. The new refrigerator won't fit where the old one is at - we are moving things around in the kitchen as part of the remodel. They will hold it for us for a while.
The exchange rate for Iceland is hard to get my brain around, about 137 ISK to 1 US dollar. Prices seemed high, and many were. Getting home and checking the charges after the exchange rate things were not as bad as I thought, dinner out for the two of us averaged about $120, maybe 20-25% more than here in the DC area. It is mostly a cashless country. American Express is not accepted every place. Have a pin and chip card - most petrol stations are unmanned. I have two, the one from a major European bank was declined at the pump, the one issued by Chase for one of the major discount chains in the USA worked on the first try. That retailer had a major security breach about 10 years ago, and is one of the few in the USA that insisted that all of their store cards would be pin and chip (Visa or Mastercard.)
There are a hundreds of tours available, we really like moving at our own pace. I rented a car for three days, and we set off, on and off the beaten path. We drove the Golden Circle one day, another day we set off north west, turning down back roads, through the farms, finding our own way. We didn't see everything, not even everything that was on my list, but we loved what we saw, and we did it at our pace, stopping when we wanted, moving on when we were ready.
When renting a car in a foreign country, I always add all of the insurance that is available. It doubles the cost of the rental, but as the guy the with the rental company in Reykjavik described it, if the car comes back on a tow-truck as a smoldering wreck, you are covered along with anything you hit. (Reminds me of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.") He said 30% of the rental cars are returned with cracked windshields in the spring. Without the optional glass breakage coverage, that will double the cost of your rental. Once again I returned the rental car in perfect condition, and I didn't cause anyone else to panic and have a bad day (a cryptic reference to my last international rental experience.) The drivers are patient, kind, considerate, except for the roundabouts at rush hour.
There are a million things to write about,
We're listening........
ReplyDeleteOh my, back to writing
DeleteI’ve got my reading glasses.
ReplyDeleteI like my large screen, I can enlarge the page and not need glasses
DeleteYou've painted a good picture to start. Renting cars anywhere can be a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThe rental people were nice, the car fairly new and nicer than what I reserved.
DeleteThanks for the good advice -- I'm taking note of it all! I spent 20 years regularly renting cars while traveling. Only ever had two incidents where the car rental agency tried to shake me down for alleged damages and I prevailed both times. They can be very aggressive and intimidating in pursuing their claims and I can see how people could be browbeaten into simply paying up. That's why it's good to be a lawyer. "Bring it on, asshole, you don't scare me" LOL
ReplyDeleteThe renal agency in Iceland photographed the car from all angles when I picked it up and when I returned it. I should remember to do that
DeleteRenal agencies are known for being thorough.
DeleteI rarely get the insurance when renting a car, but in a foreign country it seems like a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI haven't rented a car in a foreign country in many, many years. But I think Iceland is the perfect place to do it. There is so much landscape to admire.
ReplyDeleteI have rented in France, Ireland, England and Iceland. We had a car in Germany and Austria. Rural France is easy. Germany has amazing roads.
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