Today was another day full of some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Our first stop was Friðheimar, a geothermal tomato greenhouse. The greenhouse was filled with rows of tomato plants growing in a carefully controlled environment. It was really interesting to see how they use Iceland’s geothermal energy and LED lighting to grow tomatoes year-round despite the cold climate outside. After the tour, we had lunch inside the greenhouse. The tomato soup was amazing, and they even had tomato salt made in Iceland that you could add on top. This was one of my favorite meals so far in Iceland.
Next, we traveled to Gullfoss waterfall, which was incredible but also extremely windy. The wind was so strong that it almost knocked me over while we were walking toward the viewing area. Even with the wind, the waterfall was amazing to see in person. The amount of water rushing over the cliffs, combined with parts of the waterfall frozen along the edges, made it incredible to see in person.
To finish the day, we visited the Geysir geothermal area. It was really cool watching the geyser erupt and seeing the steam rising from the ground all around the area. It was a great way to end the day and another reminder of how much Iceland’s landscape is shaped by geothermal activity.
Overall, today was probably my favorite so far! The greenhouse showed how Iceland uses its natural geothermal resources to support sustainability and economic activity while adapting agriculture to an extremely challenging climate.
Swanson School of Engineering 