Today's schedule was similar to yesterday's. We woke up early and had breakfast at the Sandholt bakery, and then went to the bus stop to head to the National Energy Authority. The students from UNC that joined our lecture the other day also came.
Our first lecturer was a high up employee in the National Energy Authority and spoke to us about Iceland's current focus issues and goals for the near future. Iceland's fishing industry and automobiles are dependent on fossil fuels, and since the rest of Iceland runs on mainly on renewable energy, transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables for transport and fishing is the next big goal. In addition, he talked about improving geothermal energy technology, water resource management, and exploring for hydrocarbons on Icelandic territory.
After the lecture we had about an hour long lunch break, so I quick made myself a peanut butter/nutella sandwich and then went exploring. A block or two behind the National Energy Authority building were some outlet shops, so some of us headed over there to look around. We went in and out a couple of stores, and I ended up buying some stuff from 66 degrees North, Iceland's popular outdoor brand (much like North Face).
Arriving back at the Energy Authority building, we next learned all about implementing a large scale electric car experiment in Iceland. since Iceland is such an isolated, closed environment, testing a fleet of electric vehicles on a large scale here would prove valuable. In addition, the lecturer discussed broadening the hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure in Iceland. Iceland is home to the world's first hydrogen fuel station, and a few city buses run completely on hydrogen fuel. As with the methane technology the hydrogen fuel and electric car projects are still in the beginning stages, but hopefully there will be a complete transition within the next 50 years or so.
Leaving the National Energy Authority we met back up with Gabriel at the same bar and discussed more environmental ethics. Once again, his class was really interesting, but after another long day I was struggling to be engaged. Heading back to the hostel after class, I managed to get my friend Evan to come downtown with me and have dinner at Reykjavik's famed hot dog stand, Bæjarins beztu pylsur. Apparently Clinton has eaten a hot dog there (and had a heart attack about a week later) among other people. The pylsur (as Icelanders say) only cost a couple of dollars, and comes with fresh and fried onions, their distinctive mustard, and a type of mayonese sauce. It's been open since 1937 and has been named the best hot dog stand in Europe. I got two pylsurs and they were great. I think they're made with lamb, which might explain why they tasted so much better than American hot dogs.
When we finished our hot dogs we went back up to the hostel and just hang out for a while. Later that night we met up with the UNC group and went to Oliver's, a young bar near our hostel and sang karaoke. I didn't sing, but it was funny watching some of my friends sing after they had been drinking.
Today was fun, but I expect tomorrow to be more exciting. We are going to meet the president!
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