Guest lovelacm Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 Anybody got any bright ideas of stuff to do at Kef while you're waiting for a part? We've been here for days with one bad "rescue part" already.. Trip was supposed to be a quick out-n-back the same day.. yeah.. that didn't happen exactly as planned. I think we've checked in and out of billeting 2-3 times now.. the maids are getting to know us by name, and we've bowled so many times that our thumbs are gonna be sore for a week. I've read the OCONUS gouge thrown together by Mr. BaseOps, himself.. looks like a new rescue is in the works again, so we probably won't head out on the town.. Headin' this way? Give us a yell when you get here. Cheers! Linda
Riddller Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 Keflavik, Iceland Not a bad place, when you're not in a blizzard. The party scene out in town isn't bad, but a bit expensive, and the rooms on base are nice, for a Navy base. Good luck to you lovelacm... [ 27. September 2004, 13:39: Message edited by: Riddller ] 1
P-3FO Posted September 27, 2004 Posted September 27, 2004 I spent a few months there of my 6 month deployment. I was there during the winter months so I am sure things are a little different. There is the obligatory tour of the Blue Lagoon. Try to get to Reykyavik(sp?). It is a great city, and the drive isn't too long, maybe 45 minutes or so. I rented a car on the base, but this was almost three years ago, so I don't remember the name of the place. Try checking out the Liberty program on the base, it is an MWR run program that caters to single military that are in Kef. PCS or TDY. They plan outings and such. I really enjoyed my time there, but that might have been because the previous 4 months of that deployment was spent on the Navy base in Puerto Rico. Thank god they closed that hole (no offense to anyone who liked that base, just my opinion). Have fun. 1
LJDRVR Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 Linda, The duty free shop at the BIKF terminal is actually the best one I've seen in fifteen countries and countless airports. (Except for the cheap coffee beans in El Salvador) Don't leave without getting over there. The seafood is pretty good too. Try to spend some time visiting with the locals, they're wonderful folks, as I'm sure you've discovered. Enjoy Iceland. I don't get to fly there anynore, but I always enjoyed shooting an ILS down to minimums and breaking out with that big wet, windy, piece of rock in front of me. 1
Guest lovelacm Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 WooHoo! We made it out, folks! Thank GOD for the Army and their lovely C-20... picked me and my pilot up.. brought us a replacement part and a couple of guys to bring the Herk back to the ranch... then cooked up a fantastic lunch for us... AMAZING plane.. incredible crew. Many thanks, guys if you happen to stop in here to read some posts.
Guest C-21 Pilot Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 Mark, Those guys just joined us recently over in the 76th. Cool grunts from what I can tell. Was that you with all your crap by the door as I was walking out w/ my wife and kids? If so, sorry I missed ya'.
Guest lovelacm Posted September 28, 2004 Posted September 28, 2004 Nate, I thought that was you! LOL! No sweat, man.. got to go in and see Fowler and Lucas.. hadn't seen those two characters in a while. And that wasn't "crap." It was "stuff"... 5 glorious days at Kef worth! Good to be back home... if only for a few days anyhow. Gotta go give our boys in the box a break.. figure it's my turn anyway. Take care, Nate. We'll have to sit down sometime over a Linda
Baseops.Net Posted October 3, 2004 Posted October 3, 2004 Linda, your post made me reminisce about my TWO TIMES that I broke down in Kef - each for over a week, each time checking in and out of billeting over and over and over (waiting for those hard-to-come-by E-model parts!) One of the times I broke there was in the dead of winter and I did not even have a jacket (we were returning from Saudi) - I remember trudging through that large open field between baseops and billetting - running through thigh-high snow to stay warm (no crew bus to be had). I ate ten or eleven straight meals at that Wendy's - never wanted to eat at Wendy's again! Last thing I remember was coming out to the plane - which we had chained down - and seeing it bouncing up and down clear off of its nose tire in the heavy, steady, 50-knot (surface) winds that had shifted to 90-degrees off of the nose. Does it still take about 2 hours each time to check into their crappy billeting? Good to see that nothing changes!
Guest lovelacm Posted October 3, 2004 Posted October 3, 2004 Man, the folks at Billeting are getting better from your experiences to mine.. but the key-card you use to get in your door expires all the damned time and they won't run one over to you (we were in a building across base, and had ONE van.. had to walk there once just to get them to fix my key so I could go to sleep). Yeah.. we did the Wendy's runs for the first few days.. thank God they have a Subway there. I don't want to see a Wendy's for a long, long time. Holy Smokes! The winds there are CRAZY! We joined a Dyess bird that broke just before we rolled in... they blew a tire and were waiting for parts and some jacks. Their bird was bouncing 6 ft in the air, 14 ft to left and right.. good for the skid plate, the urinal drains, and the gear struts! ATOC guys had driven big vehicles around all the planes on the flightline to form wind-breaks of sorts. I do have to say - The bowling alley was a pretty good time.. they put up with a Herk Crew drinking beer and bowling for a couple of nights with only one incident - "Guys, I should NOT have to go down there and pull 4 or 5 balls out of the back of that alley!" (luckily the guy couldn't count because it was actually 8 balls!). Cheers! Linda
Guest HueyPilot Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 Just heard about a Dyess crew that broke at Souda for about 10 days...poor souls (note sarcasm)!
ClearedHot Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 I know of a gunship crew that broke at Mildenhall for 30 days!
Termy Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 Necropost of Justice! I just want to confirm that there is no longer and military lodging on Iceland, right? I googled around and couldn't find anything but I just want to make sure. Thanks to anyone who has been there recently.Â
sixpack Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) Nope!  The FBO there will get you out to the rental car place and you book your own hotel in town.  Park Inn by Radisson is pretty nice. Suggest you also check out the Blue Lagoon if you have the time.  You'll need to buy tickets for it ASAP as they book up quick.  bluelagoon.com is their website. I was just there last year so let me know if you want more info. Edited February 16, 2018 by sixpack
gearhog Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 I was there recently. Hard to book downtown because tourism demand exceeds lodging capacity by about 1000% they told us. Game of Thrones and LOTR has made Iceland hugely popular. Burgers were around $24. Expect to pay $50 for a pizza. We stayed north of Kef in the lighthouse inn at Gardur. Nice family owned hotel, but in the middle of an open field with not much around. but the scenery is amazing.
tac airlifter Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) I've spent a lot of time in Iceland. Blue Lagoon is fine if you have 24 hours. However, it's touristy and a tad gross; I won't be back. If you're at Kef or Reykjavik and have a day to kill, I highly recommend the Reykjadalur hot spring trail head. It's 45 min drive from the capitol, a 5-6km hike through unique Icelandic terrain which juxtaposes snow with greenery and boiling mud pits. It ends in a naturally heated creek, temperatures ranging from mildly warm to kill you hot. It'll only kill you if you hike north past the boards, as seen in pics. Edited February 16, 2018 by tac airlifter drive to trail takes you through a massive expanse of lowland wildflowers, its great. Do it! 2
Termy Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 Thanks all! This was strictly for a tourist trip. I think we are going to shift a little east to.....Scotland! Any tips on Scotland would be appreciated! (Tentative plan is to stay in Dundee and split time between touring and playing the classic links courses.)
M2 Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 Linda would love knowing that this thread has been resurrected!Â
17D_guy Posted February 17, 2018 Posted February 17, 2018 Spent 2 weeks in Iceland a couple of years ago for vacation. Drove around the whole thing. It's amazing country and we'll be back. Can't recommend highly enough. AirBnB is a must have!
di1630 Posted February 17, 2018 Posted February 17, 2018 Thanks all! This was strictly for a tourist trip. I think we are going to shift a little east to.....Scotland! Any tips on Scotland would be appreciated! (Tentative plan is to stay in Dundee and split time between touring and playing the classic links courses.)I enjoyed the Inverness area. Lots of distillers and scenery with the lochs and back roads. Some good military history as well with the colloden battlefield. Edinburgh was a great city. Highly recommend staying near the historic center to walk around although I stopped at too many bars so didn’t make it far.
uhhello Posted February 17, 2018 Posted February 17, 2018 1 hour ago, di1630 said: I enjoyed the Inverness area. Lots of distillers and scenery with the lochs and back roads. Some good military history as well with the colloden battlefield. Edinburgh was a great city. Highly recommend staying near the historic center to walk around although I stopped at too many bars so didn’t make it far. 8 years in England and travelling over Europe. Edinburgh was easily my favorite city and then when you get sick of it, you can branch out from there using it as your base. Awesome place. Â
ShavedDogsAss Posted February 18, 2018 Posted February 18, 2018 Thanks all! This was strictly for a tourist trip. I think we are going to shift a little east to.....Scotland! Any tips on Scotland would be appreciated! (Tentative plan is to stay in Dundee and split time between touring and playing the classic links courses.)Grantown-on-Spey. Perfect basecamp for anything Speyside.
Prosuper Posted February 18, 2018 Posted February 18, 2018 Spent my remote there, got sick of Cod and mutton. Keflavik is Icelandic for don't knock it , it beats Kunsan. Goendian. Â
BashiChuni Posted February 18, 2018 Posted February 18, 2018 wasn't keflavik the base in red storm rising that got hit by the long range russian bombers? what a great book. rip tom clancy 3
17D_guy Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 On 2/17/2018 at 10:22 PM, BashiChuni said: wasn't keflavik the base in red storm rising that got hit by the long range russian bombers? what a great book. rip tom clancy It was, then they invaded and the USAF Wx officer led the Marines around. I've read it a few times, really very good. Also a window into a totally different time and enemy.
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