After an hour flight from Pittsburgh to Boston, a two hour layover, and another 4.5 hour flight later… it is official! We have landed in Iceland! Walking out of that airport felt like I was walking back to my house in South O- around 30°F, a strong wind, and a little bit of unshoveled slush- and it was onto the bus. My first impression of Iceland was a string of delirious, tired thoughts, but nonetheless, I could believe myself (and my luggage) had arrived.
Getting on the bus, my first thought was to go to sleep, but I was too busy looking at the scene right outside my window. This is not like Oakland at all. There is a lot of snow, some businesses, but only a couple houses, roads, and cars for that matter (but alas, it was 6:30 AM…) Nonetheless, the scene outside was beautiful, the lights of the few houses, and that is about the last thing I remember until I took a nap for a couple minutes.
We pulled up into Reykjavík just to look around for a couple minutes before getting back on the bus. Almost everything there opens around 10/11, so we did a lot of outside sightseeing lead by our wonderful tour guide Ólöf Bjarnadóttir. Here, we saw Hallgrimskirkja, a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík which also happens to be the tallest church in all of Iceland. I learned that the area of the building represents Iceland’s geography, the slopping curves, the squared columns, and even what is known to be a glacier near the rear. Right by the church was a statue garden by the artist Einar Jónsson. His statues were beautiful with so much emotion behind them. I enjoyed Ólöf sharing the stories behind a handful of them.
We passed by some critters, and like us, the cats in Reykjavík were exhausted. As we walked, Ólöf pointed out various meaningful pieces in the town that were stories of the past. A wooden door, for example, told the story of the moving of the first settlement of Iceland. Eventually, we entered into the Concert Hall and Conference Centre, which was stunning. Right after, we walked a little ways and found the thing Dr. Barry had been hyping up since I first applied to this experience. The Icelandic hot dog. Did I get one? Yes. Was it all that I imagined? It was more.
The only thing I remember about the drive to Hellisheiði Power Plant was brief two-minute intervals when I would awaken from my slumber. We stopped for lunch along the way at a grocery store/bakery, and the bakery smelled SO GOOD. Surprisingly, groceries were cheap at the store, and I picked up a few snacks and beverages. The power plant itself was so interesting to learn about. Our tour guide at the plant walked us through how the makeup of Iceland contributed to its location as well as the step by step process behind harnessing geothermal energy. The plant was massive and extremely cleanly, we couldn’t walk on the floor, however there were viewing windows. We were taken to one of the 60+ boreholes that the plant uses to pump carbon dioxide into the ground in efforts to initiate carbon recapture.
Okay, I have to stop yapping, so the rest will be quick! Iceland is beautiful! We stopped at a hot spring and all I wanted to do was jump in! The hotel is so cute, and the food (lamb dinner) was delicious!
Okay thanks byeee!
Swanson School of Engineering 