Iceland day 3 blog incoming! Today was filled with outdoor activities so strap in for a lot of snowy pictures. We started off leaving our first hotel and playing with a dog while waiting for the bus. He used to be a farm dog but was too friendly with the sheep, so he had to give it up. What better way to start the day than with a dog?
We hopped on the bus for a long ride to Thingvellir National Park where the oldest parliament in the world, Alþingi, was held. Here, the laws across Iceland were decided and maintained through a yearly meeting in summer of all officials, known as chieftons, free men, and the law speaker. The law speaker was the only paid role of the parliament and would recite one third of the law every year from memory. This early form of independent government, in which there was no true executive branch, influenced how Iceland governs today in a very similar manner. The power is given to the people and landowners.
We then went to the golden falls, Gullfoss. It is a huge waterfall that spans an entire canyon. Just down the road from that was the Geysir, a huge geyser that goes off approximately every 7-12 minutes. I sadly couldn’t catch a picture of it, but it was great to watch. However, it did get me pretty wet. All the snow and water definitely felt like the first day again! Thank goodness for all the waterproof gear.
Final stop of the day before the hotel was the Friðheimar greenhouse. This greenhouse is incredibly sustainable and used geothermal heating and electricity and hydroponic systems to grow their plants. By using these methods, they are able to provide 40% of the tomatoes used in Iceland today, the largest distributor of tomatoes. This use of sustainable energy allows for Iceland to gain fresh produce while reducing the amount of energy needed to sustain it. Without these renewable methods, the harsh climate of Iceland would require significant amounts of energy to be used to maintain the conditions. Overall, this was a very interesting visit to take part in. The sustainability procedures found proves that we can adapt our infrastructure if given the time and resources to try.
We made our way to our hotel for the night and grabbed some tacos for dinner. Yet another successful day in Iceland but after all that walking I am dead tired. I can’t wait to see where we end up tomorrow!
Swanson School of Engineering 