Photo by smcgee.

It hasn’t been lost on me that on a miserable day like today, traveling to Iceland probably ranks well below “finding a space heater” and “popping a few xanax” on our to-do lists. On the other hand, curling up with a snow bunny or taming a Nordic viking in a volcanic hot spring sounds pretty alluring right about now — unless CSPAN and salting the sidewalks is your thing anyway.

Starting May 17, Icelandair will return seasonal service with four weekly, nonstop flights from Dulles International Airport to Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik (spell-check be damned).The air carrier had flown out of BWI airport, but pulled service in January 2008. Reykjavik also serves as a hub for connections to other destinations in Europe, saving you the annoyance of having to watch Eat, Pray, Love when you can experience it yourself.

For those of you who were journalists in the past year, this would be a good opportunity to put everything you learned from covering the spring 2010 volcanic eruptions to good use. Impress those Nordic ladies with your spelling of Eyjafjallajökull and crude jokes about eruptions. Woo that Viking with your knowledge of Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir.

Later this month, Icelandair and Iceland’s tourism board will host A Taste of Iceland, featuring several cultural events at several venues across the city.