Page 5 - 2000 ICELAND

did get an excellent airport out of the operation! Besides, what could
200,000 Icelanders do against the power of Britain and the US? Several

Icelanders we spoke to said that on the morning of the British “invasion” of
the harbor at Reykjavik, the townies were scanning the ship names to be

sure it wasn’t the German fleet! Relief came with the sighting of the Union
Jacks!

Currently, Keflavik is also home to many military men under the NATO flag

(most of the sailors and airmen are US military, however). After the war,

there was some resentment among Icelanders over the continued stationing
of US troops at the airfield, mainly because the fellows were mostly single,

bored with no important duties, rowdy when they came to town on leave,
and ready to join battle with the young locals who were also spoiling for

showdowns. Now, the military stations mostly married men in Iceland and
they no longer wear uniforms when they come into Reykjavik or other

Icelandic cities and towns. Relations between Keflavik and the rest of the

country seem to be quite smooth and, of course, the nation benefits
economically from the huge foreign presence.

REYKJAVIK

As we groggily disembarked around 6 AM, we were dismayed but not

surprised to find that the airport motor coach driver strike was still in
progress; our travel agent had warned us about it. After standing about a

bit wondering what to do (since we had also been told that the ride into
town by cab would probably cost about $100 to $150) we saw two other

women who looked as sleepy and confused as we did. It turned out they

were Canadians and were on our tour. So we four joined forces and
grabbed a cab into town for about $30 each.

Guest House

We arrived at the Guðmundur Jónasson Guest House about 7:30 AM pretty much
wiped out by fatigue from little or no sleep and jet lag—only to find that

were no rooms were yet available. Not too surprising when you consider