How do I keep ending up in the cold?
For a long time, I’ve hated the cold. But after my recent adventures, I’ve started to appreciate it. Traveling to Iceland and Greenland for the first time, we learned about Inuit culture, tasted new foods, and discovered the beauty of ice.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Icelandic Street food
We couldn’t resist the bread bowls filled with seafood stew or a mix of mashed potatoes and seafood. A fun pub, Icelandic Street Food, just a few doors from our hotel, pulled us in. The unlimited refills on soup and a little fermented shark as a starter (with a shot of vodka to wash it down) made for the perfect setup.
We tried every one of their soups and felt like locals for an afternoon.
Hvammsvik Hot Springs
I had heard about the Blue Lagoon many times but wasn’t sure what it was. Seeing it advertised on the seatback TV during the flight, I decided that was NOT somewhere I wanted to go. Kelly, however, found a unique spa about an hour outside Reykjavik, which delivered an incredible experience.
We drove to Hvammskik in a slow drizzle. The temperature hovered in the 40s. The Hvammskik Hot Springs spa was simple but enchanting—a low, coastal building with pools of varying shapes, sizes, and temperatures. We tried nearly all of them, but a few were too cold and a couple too hot for Kelly. We soaked in the hot tubs under the wonderfully cold rain for hours. A small window in the wall opened into the restaurant, where they happily served drinks or coffee right to you, in the pool.
That morning, we felt like part of Iceland.
On the way back, we stopped by one of the waterfalls on the Golden Circle. Yes, we felt like tourists, but we embraced it. We may never return to the Golden Circle, but Iceland? We’ll be back.
Greenland
I didn’t expect much from Greenland. I should have. It’s an incredible place.
There’s a saying: Greenland is icy, and Iceland is green. It’s true. The ice in Greenland was the star of the show. The glaciers, fjords, and icebergs mesmerized me. The sheer volume of ice was overwhelming. One of our guides joked that if we took all the ice in Greenland and gave every person on Earth an “ice cube,” it would be 70 meters (230 feet) tall! The concept of so much ice is hard to grasp.
The culture of Greenland also surprised me. We learned about the Inuit, who have thrived in Greenland for over 4,000 years. Many of our modern kayaks and parkas are inspired by their designs, perfectly suited for this cold climate.
The expedition leaders on our ship were experts, deeply connected to the area. There was a certain reverence in how they spoke about the Inuit and their culture. Hearing their stories, I could feel the awe they experienced. One guide shared a story about spending a winter as a shepherd to a sled team, living in a tiny cabin with only the bare essentials. It was clearly one of the highlights of his life. What made it so special? The totality of the experience.
So Much Ice!
Some of the most powerful moments of this trip were simply observing the ice. I felt tiny when I was hiking along the coast and standing on the rocks above the Ilulissat Icefjords. The giant glacier in front of me was breaking apart, sending building-sized icebergs into the sea. This was just one of the thousands of fjords in Greenland, all part of a vast ice cap that took millennia to compress snow into glaciers. It’s hard to comprehend, but trying makes me appreciate how immense our planet is.
On the shore, in the zodiacs, and aboard the ship, I tried to capture the beauty of the icebergs. I wondered why watching an ice cube float by made my chest tighten and gave me goosebumps. Then, I let go. I lost myself in the moment. These colossal icebergs are melting, caving, rolling, and eroding in real-time. Every minute, their form changes. The perspective I have when looking at the ice is unique—just like a snowflake. A trillion snowflakes might form an iceberg, but each moment is still singular. Life, like the ice, really is magic.
