My husband and I just returned from a trip to Iceland for my 40th birthday - what a country! We were lucky enough to be there during a solar storm that last occurred about 7 years ago. The solar storm made the Northern Lights brighter and more active than usual, which thrilled me since they're what I most wanted to see in Iceland.

One of our favorite stops was Geysir, home to a geyser that erupts very reliably every 3 minutes or so, shooting boiling water up to 200 feet in the air. The English word "geyser" is said to have derived from the town of Geysir. The only down side of this stop: the rotten-egg smell from the sulfuric steam pouring out of the geyser and surrounding hot springs. My husband and I really enjoyed Iceland and can't wait to go back in the summer for some great hiking.