Correspond with Iceland on Tumblr

Have you ever wished that specific places around the world had a voice of their own that could be used to tell tales, answer questions, and the like? We sort of have that now, thanks to a Tumblr user who has taken on the entirety of the voice of Iceland (Iceland on Tumblr). Judging by a link on the Icelandic Tourist Board to the corresponding Iceland Facebook page for this Tumblr, the Tumblr appears to be managed by someone working with the Icelandic Tourist Board. Iceland on Tumblr’s welcome message reads:

“Halló, I am Iceland and this is my Tumblr. I am an island and I want to be your friend. I am also on the Twitter, the Face-book, the Vimeo. (You can also visit me one day, if you are not too busy and important.)”

The page includes responses to questions that visitors to the site post, photos, videos, informative tips like How to Celebrate a Birthday in Iceland, and Tweets like “I am still here, in the middle of the ocean”. Perhaps most importantly, everything on this page is written in what I want to call First-country narrative. Iceland is speaking for itself in these posts and this Tumblr is nothing if not cute.

Photo of the day: Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland


The Snaefellsnes Peninsula in Iceland is also referred to as “Iceland in Miniature”, thanks to the large amount of national sights in the area. Sarah Landau, professional lighting designer and photographer, snapped this photo during a recent trip around Iceland’s coast, otherwise known as “Ring Road”. Home of the Snaefellsnes Volcano, the peninsula, at least in part, can be seen from Reykjavik on clear days.

I’ve been prematurely bullet-pointing my tentative Iceland itinerary for years now. Although I haven’t yet planned a trip and although I desperately hope to do so sooner than later, seeing photos like this one is enough to get me through till my next “Iceland” Google Image Search meltdown.

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Photo of the day: Ring Road, Iceland


I wish I were in Iceland right now. I’m not. Instead, I’m sitting at home writing in Austin where, as far as I can tell, the only ice is in the freezer. (Ouch. Bad pun?) But my friend Sarah Landau just wrapped up an honestly epic journey in Iceland. Traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles by car, she recently road-tripped around Iceland.

Iceland’s Ring Road
, also known as Route 1, is a main road in the country and it connects the habitable areas of Iceland (Iceland’s inland is mostly uninhabited). The road stretches around for 832 miles and, if you read any reviews of the drive, you’ll find that a lot of people refer to Iceland’s Ring Road as the drive of their lifetime. And man, I want to do it! But until I get to do it myself, I’ll marvel at the photos Sarah has shared with me. This shot above was taken on the Southern coast of Iceland.

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Photo By: Sarah Landau

Video of the day: Reykjavik, Iceland

So there’s this guy I met while living in New York, Dave Pinke. He’s one of those really cool guys with a really cool taste in music and things that look good. He even has a really cool taste in where to go when he travels. When Dave started compiling video footage from his journeys and making fun music-themed videos for me, and, well, everyone else, I was excited. And I’m still excited. I’ll share his videos with you when I get the chance. Here’s one of my favorites from his trip to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Reykjavik from Dave Pinke on Vimeo.