My first impression of Iceland is that it is a very – cool – place. The gusts of wind did seem to make the landing very sketchy, but we landed just fine, so it’s fine. This was our introduction to Icelandic wind, and it did not go away. As we left the airport, our itinerary was immediately changed, because the road we intended to go down was closed due to high winds. This meant that we explored Reykjavik. Reykjavik is a wonderful city. The Harpa Concert Hall was gorgeous as well as the Cathedral on the outskirts of the city. I love seeing all of the architecture based on basalt columns because that is a good design. We all had breakfast hot dogs (although breakfast is a loose term because time wasn’t real since noon Feb. 28th EDT) and these hot dogs were the best hot dogs I had ever eaten. I am already impressed by Icelandic cuisine. Outside of Reykjavik, we drove to a geothermal power plant and seeing the mountains and the textures that lava flows have left behind is beautiful. It was all powdered with snow and shrouded in mist and something about that just satisfies the eyes.
At the power plant, we learned more about just how volcanically active Iceland is. I did not realize how much use Icelanders can take from the heat of the Earth. There are low temperature hot springs all around it seems, and Icelanders use these to heat their homes and build spas and make hot tubs. All of that is amazing. Then there are the high temperature hot springs where water emerges as steam, not liquid, at the surface, and that’s where the geothermal power plants are. Technically the plants actually drill down to the water, but then it comes up and turns into steam. I didn’t comprehend just how much infrastructure Iceland has in the realm of geothermal power and that only 30% of their electricity is consumed in homes, most of it goes to industry.
I am excited to see more and learn more about Iceland, but hopefully I can do so with more sleep in the future.
Swanson School of Engineering 