Swimming in Iceland (with snow)
It’s been cold and windy since we arrived, so Theo and I have been regular visitors to Laugardalur, one of Reykjaviks many geothermally heated public pools. Most of the pools are outside, but they are warm enough that once you submerge yourself, you don’t really care that the wind is blowing snow your face. (It’s cheap too; it costs about $3 for me per visit with my 10-visit card, and Theo gets in for free.)
Beer in Iceland
From 1915 to 1989, beer was banned in Iceland. However, since then country has made up for lost time and now has many excellent, locally brewed beers, including a great selection of my favorites, porters and stouts.
(For more information on why beer was banned for so long in Iceland – while wine and hard liquor were prohibited for only six years and twenty years, respectively – check out this article.)
Restaurant and Cafe Play Areas
We’ve only been to a couple of Reykjavik restaurants and cafes thus far, but many of them have had some sort of kids’ area, ranging from just a table with a few toys to a full-on playroom, like the lower floor of The Laundromat in the image below.
Sunshine
Saturday was a gloriously sunny day, and I stopped by one of Reykjavik’s many ice cream parlors. Between customers, the two young employees would run outside in their t-shirts to bask in the sun on the benches in front of the store. Whenever a customer would approach the door, they’d scurry back inside.
It was about 6 degrees Celsius.
Optimism
My Backpack-Sized Wardrobe
I’m definitely not a fashion expert, but after wearing what fits into a backpack for eight months, I feel like I have a good handle on managing a minimalistic wardrobe that blends well into urban Europe. (Here I define “blends into urban Europe” as being initially addressed regularly in the local language, after which my verbal stumblings inevitably identify me as not a local.)
More Reykjavik Street Art
Not Quite Lost in a Forest
When the Vikings arrived in Iceland, the country is reputed to have been fairly green, with around 60% of the land covered in grass, trees, and bushes. In the centuries that followed, most of the trees disappeared due to deforestation and nibbling sheep, resulting in the country’s well-known moon-like landscape. There have been efforts at reforestation, but because of the poor soil quality, the trees are still pretty tiny.
Stockholm: What We Recommend Most
I generally spend the first week in a place feeling vaguely disoriented before beginning to find the places and rhythms that make up our daily life. Stockholm, on the other hand, felt immediately and almost completely like home.