All Things Iceland

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...

Because Christmas is right around the corner, I decided to dedicate this episode to giving you ideas for Iceland-themed gifts you can get for yourself or a loved one this year. Below are all of the places I recommend getting a gift that was either made or designed in Iceland. Iceland Themed Gift Ideas Talked About in the Podcast 1.) The Handknitting Association of Iceland is where I get my Iceland...

Visiting Iceland for the first time is such an amazing adventure, but it also comes with some surprising experiences. In this podcast episode, I point out 12 things that shock first timer visitors to the country. While this will help to manage your expectations, it doesn’t mean that you won’t have some type of reaction to one or more of these things when you encounter them. Shop at the...

While there are certainly more than five trailblazing women in Iceland’s history, I thought it would be helpful to start off with these women first because they have made a significant impact on Iceland and the progression of the society for everyone. You might have heard of some of the  women I’m featuring but there are others that you have probably never learned about.  Before I jump into speaki...

Ragna Kjartansdóttir (Cell7) and Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir are the dynamic duo that makes up the band Red Riot in Iceland. During this interview, they share the ups and downs of being an artist (solo and in a band) in Iceland. In particular, they provide insight as females in the Icelandic music industry and some of the challenges they have faced just due to their gender. Use my special link be...

So many people around the world have fallen in love with Icelandic music because of the amazing artists from this tiny country in the North Atlantic ocean. Like many industries, the Icelandic music scene has had to pivot during tough times in order for artists to continue working/creating and for the industry itself to keep alive. To get a better insight into how the Icelandic music scene has adap...

Icelandic ghost stories have been told over the centuries and there is one in particular that I am sharing in this episode. “Deacon of Dark River” or Djákninn á Myrká is a spooky story that involves love, Christmas and the undead. Over the last couple of years, Halloween has become more popular in Iceland, even though there is another holiday (Öskudagur), where kids dress up and sing for candy. Ho...