In the summer of 1861 the German-born geologist, zoologist and politician Carl Vogt (1817-95), Professor at Geneva, accompanied the wealthy landowner Georg Berna on a privately financed voyage to the Norwegian coast, the North Cape and Iceland. His role was to explain the natural history of the places they visited; also in the party was the artist Heinrich Hasselhorst, whose drawings illustrate this account of their journey. Vogt’s book, published in 1863, is a travel narrative rather than a scientific report. It describes life on board the Joachim Hinrich, and his impressions of places including Bergen, Tromso and Reykjavik, which he compares to a ‘white desert’ without trees or bushes. Vogt praises the hospitality, athletic physique and good looks of the Icelandic people, but expresses surprise that the natural resources of the island remain largely unexploited. The book includes appendices on Norwegian geology and Icelandic volcanoes.