big wool.

Friday night we discovered we had run out of heating oil. And we had a house guest. Luckily we had a space heater to give our guest and at 5am I woke up in an anxious panic and turned on the faucets to drip so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

We woke up to our house being 50 degrees and I took a check over to the oil company. I will never get used to heating a house this way. I would have to wait until the driver would get to my house to pump the oil into a huge metal drum in our garage (which didn't happen until 6:30 pm!), and in the meantime I stayed extra cozy in my Icelandic sweater.

Made from wool from their purebred sheep, I was pretty determined to get a sweater while we were there. Their sweaters are hand-knit, and have a traditional yoke patterning. Walking around, I saw they were pretty expensive, but of course we found the greatest second-hand store. What's better than an authentic Icelandic sweater but a vintage Icelandic sweater?

They have to fit a particular way, loose, and long. They are made to be layered, and many of the locals wear them as coats or chic over-sized tunics. This was the only one in my perfect size, and I loved the subtle colors of tan and brown. The woman there approved of my authentic Iceland style and I was sold. Especially at 1/5th the price.

man onesie

I ran across this photo again from our trip and it always makes me laugh. These guys were on our flight with us from Copenhagen to NYC with a layover in Iceland, which is where I managed to get the sneaky pic.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these "outfits." I was like hoodie, sweatpants, no wait? no waistband? I love how they are wearing them cool high school boy style with the legs scrunched up. You have to do something to make it look like you wore a onesie on purpose.

I found out they are called a one-piece, and are from the UK. Maybe my friends over the pond can explain if this sight is a common occurrence? Don't get me wrong, I would love love love to have one of these to hang out in my house with these days, but walking out in public is another story.

clear souvenir

So I haven't really shown any of my trip finds (coming soon I promise), but this one is probably one of my favorites. We went to an antique store in Reykjavik and Tyler found these beauties in a drawer full of plastic specs. I've been looking for clear frames for years, and these are just perfect. And they were only 5 krona (about 3-4 dollars)!

I have an eye appointment this week to get a new perscription, and hopefully get the lenses for these bad boys really soon. Because they were so cheap I'm totally going to spring for non-reflective lenses. You glasses-wearing friends know what I mean about that. I want people to see my eyes!

I did have to convince Tyler that I should use them, because once he tried them on we realized that they look pretty smashing on him, but his handsome mug can pull off anything, so I get them.

Iceland recap 4: road trip

see all my Iceland pic on my flickr.

Our last day we took a road trip to the Snaefellsnes peninsula. We just stopped as we drove along, seeing glaciers, craters, black sand beaches, lighthouses, and grassy cliffs. It was a nice way to end the trip, everything was so breathtaking. Iceland is truly a world wonder.

Maybe there is a drawback to going in winter when there is only 5 hours of daylight, but the upside to that is that you witness every glorious sunrise and sunset. It seems like the whole day is twilight. Sadly we didn't see any northern lights because it was cloudy the whole time we were there, that's the only thing that I'm sad about.

I wore my Icelandic sweater that day, which are hand knit with their special wool. You can spot them by their traditional yoke patterning. You can buy them new, but of course, I found mine in a second hand store for so much cheaper. They are super warm, and they are meant to be really large, so you can layer sweaters under them. Icelanders have some truly excellent style, they can layer for winter like an expert. I really wanted to be Icelandic so bad.

This is my last big Iceland post, I might have some bits up of some of the things I bought there (mostly vintage, of course), but next up: Denmark! It won't be as long as Iceland, I didn't take as many pictures, so maybe by the end of the week I'll have my trip wrapped up.

In short, go to Iceland! Pretty much the trip of a lifetime.

recap 1, 2, 3.

iceland recap 3: dangerous day

We had a rainy day after Christmas, where we went to the History Museum, and also made a stop at one of the top hot dog stands in the world, Bæjarins beztu. It's a lamb hot dog that is made famous by its toppings: raw onions, fried onions, sweet mustard and a remoulade. They were good, I wasn't used to how sweet the mustard was, I love a tangy mustard, but it was a fun experience.

We took the famous road trip call the golden circle, where you make stops at some of the most famous scenic spots in Iceland. We started early in the morning before the sun rose to get to the first place in time for some sun. We had a bit of a terrifying car incident 20 minutes in (first time hearing this I'm sure to my mom, I didn't want to scare her, hi mom! I'm okay!), where we hit a patch of black ice and did a 360 and went off the road. We were lucky that we didn't roll because we went off backward, not sideways (the road is elevated), and we went off the road in a spot where 100 yards ahead or behind, we would have hit a ditch or frozen water. We just spun and stopped, very forcefully but stopped. We took a deep breath, and realized our car was also fine, and we were fine. It was one of those things that sometimes you can't avoid, and our driver was great. At the beginning we decided to spring for renting a jeep, and that was a very good decision. I may had been a little naggy about driving slower after that, but I couldn't help it! I'm a nervous nellie and have some strong car anxieties.

We first got to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) where you can see the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates in the faults in the earth. This also causes many earthquakes in the area. This is also where the first Parliament was. It next to the largest lake in Iceland.

We then drove to Geysir, where there are geysers, and where geysers even got their name. There is hot geothermal water bubbling out of the ground, and geysers that go off, the most often one being every 5 minutes. It was an amazing sight. This was one of favorite spots to see. The geyser was so spectacular to watch go off, so unreal. 

We then went to Gullfoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe. Having lived next to Niagara Falls, they aren't the same, but this one allows you to walk up right to the source, really right to the edge of the falls (see 3rd picture). This would be great but it was winter. And the spray coated everything in a coating of slick ice. There was a rope to grip as we went sliding down the trail, but once you get to the rocks, it's only your common sense keeping you from going off the edge. A little unnerving really. Especially when there are other tourists in tennis shoes, sliding around and falling into other people. Kelly had to literally catch someone in order to stop him from sliding and taking her with him close to the edge. We walked away from that once again grateful to be alive. 


Along the way we passed lots of Icelandic Ponies, and they are a beautiful native horse breed that is kept so pure that if one leaves the island, it can never come back. They have shorter legs, and a beautiful mane of hair. We stopped by a group of them and they were so friendly and came right up to us. I even got to pet a few of them! We tried to feed them a clementine, but they didn't like it. 

At the end of our loop, we stopped by Hveragerði, known as the greenhouse town, where they use the geothermal energy to heat the largest concentration of greenhouses on the island. They grow lots of bananas, and are the largest exporter of them to Europe. We went to a local swimming pool, the last natural geothermal heated olympic sized pool in the area. We mingled with the locals, and they were probably a little disgusted by our custom not not showering nude in the open showers in the locker rooms. They are pretty strict about their showering standards if you are going to go into their geothermal pools, and tourist places have a few stalls for American prudes like us, but at this place they had none so we got some weird looks while showering with our suits on. We didn't want to stick out but we couldn't do it! I'm sorry if I insulted their culture, we are scarred by the American freakish way of self-consciousness about our bodies, and I truly wish I could have been like them.

If you made it this long, congrats! You win a prize from me. Good vibes. There are lots of pictures if you go to my flickr set, and click on any picture for more information. Falling in love with Iceland yet?

recap 1
recap 2

recap 2: the blue lagoon

Christmas day we went to the Blue Lagoon. It's a very large geothermal pool, field of pools even, natural seawater with minerals, silica and algae that create that brilliant milky blue color. It is an amazing place, and it was quite the experience. That day it also snowed while we were in the pool, and I love that sensation of being in hot water while it's cold outside. The water varied in depth, and you could just wander around, with parts being hotter, some colder. There was a waterfall, a sauna, and a steam bath, you could also put the white silica mud on your face which had some kind of healing properties.

We just spent a relaxing day there, the seawater made you really boyant, so I would just float and just relax. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. The scenery of the black jagged lava rock was so striking with the blue water. I would highly recommend it. It's probably the biggest tourist attraction in Iceland.

I had a waterproof disposable camera that I had found at a thrift store that I used while in the water. I don't have it developed yet, but hopefully they turn out.

All of Iceland is heated by geothermal water, created by the volatile volcanic activity and probably loads of geology stuff I don't understand. It took a bit to be accustomed to the strong sulfur smell of your shower, or any hot water, you could smell it a lot of places.

That first picture is probably my favorite picture I took of the trip, the sunrises were so beautiful. None of these pictures are altered or even adjusted in photoshop. The scenery was gorgeous and everyday totally amazing to view.

Click on any picture for more information, and view my whole set so far of Iceland.

trip recap 1: arriving in iceland christmas eve

This is the first of I don't even know how many recaps. I'm trying to keep it short, and each recap represents dozens of pictures that I've posted to my flickr. As always, click on the picture to see captions and more specific info. I will break up the trip recaps with some project posts to not to fatigue you with pictures. Thanks in advance for letting me have my slideshow into the trip of a lifetime. Any questions, let me know!  

Landing in Iceland, I was slightly petrified, I didn't even know what to expect. The airport was beautiful, we got picked up and got our car, and went on our way to the closest grocery store. Within an hour, everything would be closed for Christmas eve. Everything was in Icelandic, but we had helpful people tell us what things were good when they noticed that we were trying to figure something out. We made sure to get some skyr, Icelandic yogurt, and some Egils Appelsinusafi, or orange soda that along with coca-cola, Icelandic people always have on hand. 


We checked into our apartment, met the super nice family who we were renting from, and headed back out to see Reykjavik while there was still some daylight. There was about 5 hours of daylight per day. We went downtown, and it was totally deserted because families get together for dinner and opening presents. Why did that seem so different? It felt more like Christmas than ever that night. I was so happy to escape the American commercialism of Christmas. We found some great spots, found a cafe that was open, had some hot chocolate and then went to Hallgrimskirkja, the striking church in the center of town and the tallest building in Reykjavik. We listened to some beautiful organ music and left before the service started. 


Just after that short amount of time I knew this place was pretty magical.


Why Iceland? In winter? We had talked with our friends Cardon and Kelly about our desire to take a trip over the winter break. They wanted to go to Iceland, and we were were game for anything! We all have family in the west, and flying to Iceland cost just as much as flying across the country, and Tyler and I were wanting to be spontaneous and travel somewhere new. It is the off season in Iceland, so the flights and our apartment we rented were more than reasonable, almost shockingly so. Our friends are great to travel with, as we had just spend a camping trip in Vermont with them, and we wanted another adventure. 

See the rest of the pictures on my flickr set.  Takk!

hello? Is it me you're looking for?

The title is a reference to the L. Richie song that we watched (too awesomely bad) while in Denmark with Miss B. Memories! 

Sorry I've been away so long. I've missed being here, and maybe you've missed it too? (Here's to hoping.) My trip to Iceland and Denmark with a little hop to Sweden was pretty epic. After 2 buses, 4 flights, 1 rented jeep (that almost gave me a heart attack), endless snowy treks to trains and metros, I'm back home.

I've got thousands of pictures to go through to start recapping some of the highlights starting next week, but this picture from my phone really says it all to me. Majestic breathtaking landscapes, huge chunks of ice and a child-like wonder about it all. And a hat that I made the day we left, and then wore 24/7 for two weeks. Let's just say the pom pom is a bit tired.

So much more to come, I can't wait to settle into 2011! I kept up a tiny bit with my phone, which was amazing to have on the trip, face-timing with my sis on Christmas day felt like a miracle.