Iceland, Revisited

Twelve years ago, I crossed Iceland in the summer — two months of midnight sun, interior roads, and my first time ever sleeping in a tent.

It was a two-month geology program abroad through Northeastern, and I was a Computer Engineering student who'd wandered into volcanic and geologic processes out of sheer curiosity (and maybe a little bit of Björk). I've noticed a pattern: follow the curiosity, the rest will figure itself out.

This time, I came back in the dead of winter. Different season, different person. Stronger, sharper, and a lot hungrier.

 

Even the excursions I revisited — horseback riding, glacier hiking, geothermal baths — felt new under winter light. I moved through the landscape with the comfort of someone returning home, but I was seeing it with fresh eyes. And the food hit differently this time around when you're not group camping with a cooler. 

Oats are a genuine staple here, alongside high-protein pillars like Skyr and Salmon in the form of Gravlax and Lox. I've noticed fun add-ins like chia seed pudding and fresh fruit. It felt like visiting a place that already understood what we're about.

 

 

Between outdoor activities, I was heads-down on the ROOTSTOCK iOS app. Testing a nutrition-focused tool abroad gave me a perspective I hadn't fully anticipated. It's one thing to log a salad at home. It's another to watch your algorithm parse reindeer, volcanic bread, Icelandic licorice, and the ubiquitous pylsur (hot dogs). From traditional lamb dishes to gas-station snacks, the trip became a formidable stress test for our analysis engine — and it held up.

 

 

Back in the US now. The post-travel fatigue is real, but it's already eclipsed by the pull of my yoga mat and the gym. The reset is short-lived, though — I'm packing again to volunteer for a Vipassana meditation course where my mom will be sitting. We're fueling up for the silence ahead with plenty of Power Oats.

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-Kim

Founder, ROOTSTOCK