All Things Iceland

Easter in Iceland is a time that many Icelanders look forward to because they get a long holiday, and they get to indulge in even more chocolate, sugary drinks, and delicious food. Here is what you should know before visiting during this holiday. Religion in Iceland For most people around the world that celebrate Easter, this holiday is very religious. While more than 260,000 Icelanders are regist...

Kyana Sue Powers is an American content creator that lives in Iceland. She’s inspired many people to visit Iceland and has even inspired some to move. Due to strict Icelandic laws regarding specialty work visas, Kyana is potentially facing deportation. In this interview, Kyana shares how to she ended up in Iceland and the situation she is currently in. Questions I Asked Kyana During the Inte...

Contrary to what most people believe, Iceland has a lot of options for people who identify as vegan or plant-based eaters. I remember being astonished at the options in the grocery stores during my first visit back in 2013. Funny enough, that was the first time I’d heard about Veganuary (vegan January). Icelanders who normally eat meat were excited to take on the challenge of only eating vegan foo...

April Anderson is the Director, editor, and cinematographer of the documentary “Fire & Iceland”, a beautiful collection of the eruption and insight from locals about the impact of the eruption and living on an island with so much volcanic activity. April and her husband are the creators of www.artasair.com , which showcases various artists and aspect of culture. I recommend checking out their...

Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove is an award-winning photographer and author of the book “New Earth: A Photographic Journey of the Geldingadalur Eruption.” He is a Belgian nature photographer, who specializes in photographing wildlife and landscapes with great passion. He has been living in Reykjavik, Iceland since 2016 and uses it as his base to explore and capture the raw beauty of the land of fire and ic...

March 19 th , 2022 marks the one year anniversary of the start of the Geldingadalir eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula . The eruption lasted six months and, according to scientists, is the longest eruption of this century in Iceland! To commemorate this momentous occasion, I am hosting “Eruption Week” on the All Things Iceland YouTube channel and here on the podcast. The Eruption Week Schedule ht...

Gerog Leite is Afro-Brazilian and came to Iceland way back when he was 16 years old. I witnessed first-hand his gregarious nature during my first visit to Kaldi Bar, a place he owns and manages, many years ago. It’s funny how I wondered about his story as I watched him from afar chatting with people at the bar. Little did I know that one day I would have the pleasure of interviewing him for the Al...

Even though the Health Minister had hinted at removing all restrictions, I honestly didn‘t think it would happen now because of the continued high rate of infections in the country. In the last couple of weeks, the number of new COVID cases has broken records. We have seen numbers way higher than when the pandemic started. Yet, Icelandic Parliament, along with the Chief Epidemiologist, have decide...

Tryggvi Rúnar jr is named after his grandfather, who is one of the wrongly accused and convicted individuals in Iceland’s most infamous criminal investigation. In 1974, two men, on separate occasions, went missing and their bodies were never found. The police scrambled to figure out what happened to Guðmundur Einarsson and Geirfinnur Einarsson (not related). I watched the Netflix series Out of Thi...

As I approach my sixth year of living in Iceland, it is fascinating to take a trip down memory lane and talk about what has happened leading up to me living here. Because some people have asked how my family felt about me moving to Iceland, I decided to let them tell you. During this episode, I conducted a virtual interview with my sister and mother. They both get a chance to share with you what t...

Today is the last day of the All Things Iceland 15-day Christmas series. To hear about the Icelandic Yule Lads that have arrived during this time period, and an overview of this series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , Day 9 , Day 10 , Day 11 , Day 12 , Day 13 and Day 14 . This episode dives into what happens to the Icelandic Yule Lads after Christmas. Belo...

Tonight Kertasníkir , the 13th and final Yule Lad, comes to town – the favorite among Icelanders. To hear about the other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , Day 9 , Day 10 , Day 11 , Day 12 and Day 13 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Ker...

Tonight Ketkrókur , the 12th Yule Lad, comes to town. To hear about the other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , Day 9 , Day 10 , Day 11 and Day 12 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Ketkrókur by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the poem...

Tonight  Gáttaþefur , the 11th Yule Lad, comes to town. To hear about the other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , Day 9 , Day 10 and Day 11 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Gáttaþefur by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the poem...

Tonight Gluggagægir , the 10th Yule Lad comes to town. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , Day 9 , and Day 10 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about  Gluggagægir by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the poem about Glug...

Tonight Bjúgnakrækir , the 9th Yule Lad comes to town This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 , Day 8 , and Day 9 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Bjúgnakrækir by Jóhannes úr Kötlum....

Tonight Skyrjarmur ,, the 8th Yule Lad comes to town This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 , Day 7 and Day 8 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Skyrjarmur by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic ver...

Tonight Hurðaskellir , the 7th Yule Lad comes to town This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 , Day 6 and Day 7 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Hurðaskellir by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version...

Tonight Askasleikir , the 6th Yule Lad comes to town This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 , Day 5 and Day 6 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Askasleikir by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the Poe...

Tonight Pottaskefill , the 5th Yule Lad comes to town This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Day 4 and Day 5 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Pottaskefill by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the Poem about Pot...

Tonight Þvörusleikir, the 4th Yule Lad comes to town. This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 and Day 4 .  Just a reminder that on December 16th, 2021 at 8:00 PM in Iceland, I am giving a live talk about traveling around Iceland throughout...

Tonight Stúfur, the 3rd Yule Lad comes to town. This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the  other Yule Lads that have already arrived and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 , Day 2 and Day 3. Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Stúfur by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version of the Poem about Stúfur Stúfur hét sá þriðji...

Tonight Giljagaur, the 2nd Yule Lad, comes to town. This is a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. To hear about the first Yule Lad and an overview of this Icelandic Christmas series, check out Day 1 and Day 2 . Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem about Giljagaur by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Icelandic version...

The kick off to this series was yesterday , so check out that if you want a primer on who the Yules Lads are and a bit about their family. One thing to keep in mind is that the Yule Lads travel in the evening/early morning, so they can get into town before children wake up. Tonight, the first Yule Lad, Stekkjastaur, is making his way to town. Below is the Icelandic and English version of the poem...

While I have talked about the Icelandic Yule Lads on the podcast in the past, I decided to change it up a bit this year by kicking off a 15-day Icelandic Christmas series. This series will include me reading a poem in Icelandic and English about the Yule Lads. This poem was originally written in Icelandic by Jóhannes úr Kötlum and is called “Jólasveinarnir” in Icelandic. The poem was translatedCop...