It has always been a goal of mine to have something to look forward to. Anticipation is excitement, waiting eagerly for something that you’ve taken the time to plan. I really do enjoy the planning. When Bob was really sick, after having several sessions of chemo, I gave him a task. Give me a list of places that you’ve always wanted to see or explore. It was good for his mind and spirit to dream of places and make a list. O, you must realize the engineer side of Bob and I was not surprised when he presented me with three lists. Foreign, domestic and local (meaning Florida). Smiling.

I had work to do. One of his top choices was the fjords of Norway. What a lovely thought. In the heat of our Florida summer, I will plan a trip to Norway. I, of course, read and researched and found a cruise that included Norway and Iceland. I’ve been to Iceland with my nieces and sister and told him I’d take him there someday, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Once he knew which trip we were going on, I had him log on and start narrowing down the excursions and tours that might interest him. Thankfully, without saying a word, we usually pick the same tours, so that makes it easy. We booked this trip about 8 months in advance so we had plenty of time to ‘anticipate’. We waited until a few weeks before leaving to watch their weather and know what to pack. It was definitely one of those trips to layer.

June 12, 2025 – the day arrived for our adventure to begin. We drove to Tampa International Airport, which is a much easier drive than Orlando. What a beautiful day to fly. We took off around 1 pm and flew up the west coast of Florida. I’m obsessed with having a window seat because I’m glued to it watching every detail. I was seeing the beautiful, many shades of blue water and then a piece of land I recognized. Cedar Key! I had Bob lean my way to catch a glimpse. I could recognize the shape of it and bridges leading out to the key. Our friend, Bev, has an uncle that lives there and we’ve been to his house. Before we knew it, we were landing in Detroit. Nice airport to walk and get our steps in before catching a longer flight (5 hours to Iceland).

We did not sleep much, but should have. Guess it was the ‘anticipation’. We arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland at 2 am (Eastern time), which was 6 am their time. As we flew in, I could see the rugged coast of southern Iceland and the famous Blue Lagoon. Bob and I did not plan to go to the Blue Lagoon (I did in 2018 for girls week out). It’s a great experience, although, we’d prefer the less touristy hot springs.

We landed and not surprising, the land of the midnight sun was bright and sunny at 6 am. As we touched down, I noticed the color purple. What is this? As we got closer, I recognized Lupines! I love Lupines and we learned that Iceland used these plants to help with erosion issues. Little did we know, we would see miles and millions of these flowers in the next week.

We landed and went through customs. The agent was really sweet and when we presented our passports, he said we may be related. Joking. His last name was very close to Mikulski, just a slight spelling difference. We claimed our luggage and immediately a Viking representative was there to greet us and take our luggage to the bus. We wondered what we would be doing since we arrived so early and knew we could not board the ship yet. We left the airport and could immediately see the volcanic landscape. Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and literally translates to “Smoky Bay” in Icelandic (refers to the steam from hot springs in the area). The bus took us to Reykjavik’s famous Harpa Concert Hall where they had breakfast all set up for us.

The building features a distinctive colored glass facade, inspired by the landscape. As we sat enjoying our breakfast, we were able to visit with other explorers. Nice people from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and UK. We finished breakfast and boarded the bus. They took us on a short drive around the city and showed us points of interest.

At 10 am, we arrived at the dock to board the Viking Vela. It’s Viking’s newest ocean cruise ship. Launched in Dec 2024, so it’s only 6 months old (will it have that new car smell?). The ship’s capacity is 998 passengers. Every cabin has a private balcony. We boarded the ship and immediately greeted by friendly staff offering glasses of champagne. We were given a safety briefing and then escorted to check-in. Very efficient process. It took maybe 5 minutes. We were told our cabins would not be ready until 2 pm but we were welcome to explore the ship and have lunch on the pool deck. We weren’t really hungry, so we had a drink and made our way to a place called the Winter Garden.

I went to explore the ship while Bob basked in the sunshine of Winter Garden. It’s an elegant glassed area with a Scandinavian design, featuring a trellised wood canopy inspired by the Tree of Life. He described the ship as a giant IKEA ship, which made me laugh. It is a sophisticated Scandinavian-style interior and exterior spaces. At noon, there was an announcement that all staterooms were ready. Yes, 2 hours earlier than we expected. We found our way to our stateroom and opened the door. What a lovely cabin! Nice size balcony. Sofa and king bed. Plenty of closet space. The bathroom had a lovely heated floor and nice size shower.

We went off to explore the ship while we await our luggage to arrive. One of the best features of the ship was, we’ve never seen so many public spaces. We never had a problem finding a quiet, cozy place to sit and enjoy the view, listen to music or sit by a fireplace. So many spaces made to look like little libraries with shelves of books and Viking decor. We loved the simple but elegant decor of the entire ship.

Our luggage arrived so Bob could grab a jacket and off we went to explore. We took the shuttle bus to downtown Reykjavik. It’s a very safe city and 98% of the people speak English. We walked from the Concert Hall through some city parks, to shops and then the church, Hallgrimskirkja. It’s a Protestant, Lutheran parish. It’s 244 feet tall. The largest church in Iceland and houses the largest musical instrument in the country. The pipe organ has 4 keyboards and 5,275 pipes. We were lucky enough to be there on an evening when the organist was playing.

Hallgrimskirkja

We strolled back through the streets of the city. Enjoyed all the little shops and bakery’s. Stopped to buy some black, volcanic salt. We love a bit on our steaks. It’s delicious! We enjoyed the colorful houses and buildings. We walked through another park and spotted a lilac bush in bloom. Awww, haven’t seen one in sometime. And, enjoyed that unmistakable scent! Guess we had better make our way back to the ship and get ready for our first dinner. We’ve been up for many hours, but I have this thing about being in a place that never gets dark, I don’t feel tired. Bob always reminds me, we have to sleep sometime. We have a big day tomorrow.

We made it back to the ship and got ready for dinner. The main dining room is called ‘The Restaurant’ and has open seating. No reservations required. Another fabulous feature about this ship was the main dining area is split up and not one big room that gets very loud. More intimate setting was enjoyable. We were seated and ordered dinner. Did not disappoint. Bob thoroughly enjoys all seafood and I believe this trip will be just what he dreams of.