Snowstorm from Iceland and Iceland's First Lady

Wow, already Friday again? Earlier in the week, the "snowstorm from Iceland" moved in and made it rocky here in the houseboat. A little later in the week we met the First Lady of Iceland. So the little Nordic country in the Atlantic Ocean gets to be part of our happy Friday this week!

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Snowstorm from Iceland

The snowstorm that hit the country earlier this week came from Iceland, according to the newspapers. There was a lot of snow here in Stockholm, but above all it was windy. And what does that mean when you live in a houseboat? That it rocks of course!

Since we moved to a houseboat, we are nerdily interested in wind direction. You can talk about how strong the winds are in the villages, but what we really want to know is where that wind comes from. Now during the last storm it was blowing from the southeast, which is much better than from the north. But it was still rocky ...!

Islands First Lady

It was not only a snowstorm that came from Iceland this week, but also President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and his wife Eliza Reid, who visited Stockholm on a state visit. We were invited to an event this week with the presidential couple when Eliza, who was recently appointed UN Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism, gave a warm presentation about her current home country.

Originally from Canada, Eliza spoke about how she fell in love with Icelandic nature and the fresh Atlantic air when she first came to the country. And yes, of course with her husband, the current President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson. Or as she said she calls him, "my darling Guðni".

Iceland's volcano expert

We also heard from Rikke Pedersen, head of the Nordic Volcanological Centre at the University of Iceland, who told us about all the smoke, fumes and spray on this exotic island in the Atlantic.

She concluded by listing the volcanoes that could erupt next, and there are apparently a whole bunch of candidates to choose from...! You can rest assured, though, because Icelanders measure activity underground wherever it's worth measuring.

Sustainability and karaoke

Last but not least, we listened to Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir from Promote Iceland, who talked about how the country is working both for sustainable tourism and to make tourists realise that Iceland is an interesting destination all year round. When travelling to Iceland, you can take the opportunity to sign The Iceland Pledge, where you promise, among other things, to be a responsible tourist and to take photos "to die for" without dying for them ...

And the Icelanders are a bit weird! Have you seen their commercial "The hardest Karaoke song in the world"? We think it's really funny, and since it's Happy Friday, we're giving it to you! And you can learn a few words of Icelandic at the same time... So, what's the best thing that happened during your week?

Did you miss the last Happy Friday? Read the Home in the houseboat again and a new job

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