May 2024: Iceland
Every year, my brother & I take a trip. We usually stay in the US & have visited fun places like Antelope Canyon, Congaree National Park and the Goonies House in Astoria, OR. This year, Jack wanted to go abroad & visit Iceland. His short list of things to do included seeing some waterfalls, dipping into a geo-thermal hot spring & eating an Icelandic hotdog. We got to do those things, plus a whole lot more! In fact, there were several surprises along the way that made me fall in love with Iceland…so let’s give them a High Five:
1. Volcano-y Landscapes:
Leading up to our trip, we were on volcano watch. There had been 5 eruptions on the Reykjanes Pennisula within the past six months so we were quite aware that Iceland had its fair share of volcanoes. What I didn’t think about is how it would make parts of Iceland all steamy & kinda look like the moon. Flying in to Reykjavik, it looked all cratery and in addition to all of the waterfalls, there were some pretty cool geysers as well. This Litli Geysir gets an extra high five for its cuteness & the gift shop across the street, full of authentic & design-y Icelandic goods.
2. Cardamom Rolls at Baka Baka
In the 24 hours we spent in Reykjavik, we visited 3 bakeries (and an ice cream shop). What can I say?! We like trying out the sweet treats wherever we go. I was blown away by all of the amazing baked goods, but nothing beat the deliciousness that we had at Baka Baka. My brother was a big fan of their cookies & I was drooling over their cardamom buns. They were so damn tasty that we had to pop in again for snacks before we flew home.
3. Bounce Pillows!
My brother had been tipped off that Iceland had these random bounce pads all over the country. We were wondering if we’d be lucky enough to find one until I just looked it up on the interwebs and found this map. Oh hell yeah! There was one in a park about 5 miles from where we were staying. These things are basically inflated trampolines and man, they are pure joy! If you ever have a chance to visit, put this on your must do list. Belly laughs are guaranteed!
4. Chum Buddy
One day we took a ferry to Vestmannaeyjar in search of puffins. Sadly they were no where to be found & the skies were grey so we were back on the ferry fairly quickly. On the ride, some poor kid was green with seasickness & that’s when the Chum Buddy was invented!
Chum Buddy Its basically a barf bag shaped like a fish & made of seaweed. Once you ralph into it - you get to drop it into a chute & it goes out to sea, feeding the fish who love to chow down on vomit (really!) If you’re going to be sick on a boat, shouldn’t the barf bag at least make you smile and do a little good for the environment? I drew up this cute explanation in case you’d like to learn more. And high five to any angel investors who want to bring this fab idea to life!
5. Icelandic Horses
While we struck out seeing any puffins, we did see a boatload of Icelandic horses. At first you may think “So what…I’ve seen plenty of horses.” But these horses have the long flowing, windswept manes that fill Tina Belcher’s dreams. They’re roaming through the countryside looking so damn majestic, you will too fall in love and take 5 million pictures of them.