After our tour of Reykjavík, we were dropped off at our hotel. The rooms were ready, so we checked in. The Hótel Loftleiir is owned by Icelandair. It has a very ’70-ish exterior; however, it looks rather modern on the inside. Our room was a little on the small side but it was always clean and cozy. There is a domestic airport behind the hotel but I don't remember being bothered by noise.
It was a relief to finally check into our hotel room. Because we had an overnight flight, this was the first opportunity we
had to shower and change since the day before. Speaking of showers, one thing we had to get used to in Iceland was the sulfur
smell (smells like rotten eggs) in the water from the faucets. Iceland is geologically a very young island and has a lot of
geothermal and volcanic activity not far beneath its surface. This allows the island to enjoy an abundance of natural hot
water. It is used for things like electricity generation, heat, and plain hot water. A side effect of this natural hot water
is the sulfur odor. Fortunately, we did not smell it when mixed with soap. After a day or two, I barely noticed the smell when
I turned on the shower.
Our tour package included the Hótel Loftleiir Scandinavian breakfast buffet each morning. This consisted of a hot and cold bar. The cold bar
had cold cuts, vegetables, fruit, cereal, bread, and skyr, an Icelandic yogurt. There was also fish. I'm not sure if it was
steamed or raw, but it was on the cold bar so I was not trying to taste it.
The hot bar was a disappointment. It had boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, baked beans, and what looked and tasted
like miniature hot dogs. With the exception of the hot dogs, the rest of the food at this station was a
disappointment because it was always cold. Therefore, I ended up skipping the hot bar each morning and eating the skyr and
cereal instead. My wife, Traci, enjoyed toast, oranges, and skyr for breakfast.