Do you have a keen new grad student in your life? Is someone gearing up to start a masters degree or PhD this fall and you want to find the perfect gift that will help them rock this next phase of life? As someone who has already spent 5 years in grad school, this is … More Back to [grad] school: Gift ideas
After my evening soaking in the Drangsnes hot pots, I jumped into my rental car to take on an epic road trip through the Westfjords! The entire time in Iceland, we experienced the constantly changing weather, but never had it been to this extreme. There were big blue skies, fluffy clouds, snow storms, hail, thick fog, … More Every season and all the weather on an endless and beautiful drive: Westfjords
With a few days left and a rental car, I decided to head out of Reykjavik towards the remote Westfjord region in the north-west corner of the island. The Westfjords are sparsely populated with limited options for accommodations, so I decided to spend head to Drangsnes. I booked in at an Airbnb, which was literally … More Hot pots on the ocean: Drangsnes, Iceland
There is a crack between the American and Eurasian continental plates, which happens to pass through Iceland about 2 hours outside of Reykjavik.The fun news is that you can dive there, in the crystal clear waters!As soon as I had decided to go to Iceland, I knew I wanted to dive here. In preparation, I … More Diving the crack: Silfra fissure, Iceland
I didn’t have much time in Reykjavik, but because the sun doesn’t set in May until nearly midnight, I had a few hours to wander around town and soak in some of the best bits. My first destination was Hallgrimskirkja, the iconic and striking church that is one of the tallest buildings in Iceland. This church … More An evening stroll in Reykjavik
In celebration of the final day with Emma as co-pilot, we decided to visit the place where the bowels of the earth expel sulphuric flatulence in visually spectacular ways. Welcome to Krýsuvík! The earth bubbles with hot steam, resulting in the sensory experience of existing inside a hot wet fart. It is really undeniable. But still quite … More The smelliest place of all: Krýsuvík, Iceland
Another fun thing to do, if you happen to make it to Vestmannaeyjar is to simply wander around looking epic, as demonstrated by Emma! And then you (/fate) decide that you must stay on this strange little island for the night. And, of course, we stayed in the cutest little place -a collection of barrels and … More Barrels and tiny cottages, Vestmannaeyjar
Vestmannaeyjar is home to Iceland‘s largest puffin colony. There is a convenient bird viewing platform located on the north side of cape Stórhöfði. In our quest to see all the puffins, we headed there in the afternoon. There was nary a bird on our first visit to the area (although it was still stunningly beautiful).You can … More An improbability of puffin pictures, Iceland
After luxuriating in the Blue Lagoon, Emma and I took to the road, crossing the starkly beautiful Icelandic landscapes in the direction of the ferry. We arrived with plenty of time before the ferry departure, so we took a moment to enjoy the enchanting view of a black sand beach. This was a moment of bliss before … More Volcanos of Vestmannaeyjar
After a long and exhausting ferry kerfuffle (see travel note below), Emma and I landed on Heimaey Island, the largest of the Vestmannaeyjar islands and the home of several thousand people and Iceland’s largest puffin colony.We knew the local celebrity puffin, Tóti, lived at the Sæheimar Aquarium, so it was our first stop. For Emma, it was love at … More Puffin paradise: Sæheimar Aquarium
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