Flight stopovers: Keflavik & Copenhagen

Iceland seems to be a somewhat new travel destination; perhaps encouraged by a good stopover location and cheap Icelandair airfares.  The airport is modern and busy.  We stayed in a B&B on Keflavik harbor.  No currency exchange was necessary; a credit card (with no foreign currency fees) worked everywhere.  You can see the usual tourist destinations by renting a car.  The driving is easy: uncrowded roads, light traffic, decent signs.  The scenery is worthwhile; volcanic lava beds, lush green valleys, low mountains, glaciers, rushing rivers, lakes and waterfalls.  The Icelandic people must be a hearty bunch.  We witnessed an outdoor carnival being held near our B&B while the weather was in the 40's (Fahrenheit) with light wind & rain, and crowds of people were enjoying the rides even after sunset.  The Blue Lagoon was less than we expected, but Gullfoss was an impressive water feature.

 
 Copenhagen is such a great city.  It has millions of bicycles, miles of pedestrian-only streets, thousands of boats along its canals and sea front, great public transport, and it is so welcoming, civilized, and historic.  Unlike many old European cities, it didn't need to be rebuilt after WWII.  We stayed in a commercial hotel with a free shuttle to the airport and easy connection to the metro.  Many open areas nearby for our daily walks.  Walk, take a ferry or metro to anywhere in the city.  Visit the Little Mermaid or Tivoli Gardens; many other attractions.  We did get some local currency to use buying food from street vendors.  It is very cosmopolitan; people from many origins feel at home there.  One of our servers was from Argentina and was taking Danish language lessons.  Another man we met was headed back to visit to his relatives in Istria.  We are so fortunate that English is the universal second language.