Weeknotes 340: Human habitation

Significantly cooler this week. Not in London, which continues to push the boundaries of fitness for human habitation, but in Iceland where I spent five nights on holiday. Zero gyms, but lots of stomping around on mud and rocks, so that’s the same. I saw waterfalls, walked down into a volcanic crater, swam in a hot spring, got splattered by a geyser, hiked through the gap between continental plates, drove past mountains, and gawked at lava. It was around 10 °C every day, I didn’t open a laptop, I felt peaceful. It was great. I also ate lots of good food and drank lots of good coffee. The tastiest thing by far was — sorry, my tastes are unsophisticated — the “vegan potatoes” at Le Kock in Reykjavik. Umami, crispy, spicy, just fantastic. Contra my love of Le Kock, I’m not sure I’d recommend the Icelandic Phallological Museum. It’s a funny idea but once the initial joke wears off you’re stuck in a room looking at a nauseating collection of dismembered members. You can probably get most…