As you have read, we have had some technical difficulties posting on the road. To make sure you can still see what we see, you can go to this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55770908@N04/
on our flicker account. So stay tuned for further surprises on our travels.

Many of you may remember this building from our Architecture unit. It is the Hallgrimskirkja in the center of Reykjavic Iceland. We both agree that it is more beautiful in person. We have seen many other interesting site on our exploration of the capitol city of Iceland.

This church is located in the
center of Reyjkavik and from
the top there is a great view.

Perlan

A funny thing happened in the shower this morning.  A distinct odor and a strange chemical reaction left us with more questions than answers.  Being the good detectives we are, we set out to find out what was happening. Our inquiry led us to an odd looking building that looked more like a science fiction movie set than anything else which was set on one of the highest elevations in the city.  We found out this is the Perlan building in the center of Reykjavik city. Originally heated geothermal water was stored for use in the city on this site.  In 1991, a newer more attractive building was built that would not only serve as a water storage facility but a museum, restaurant and venue for other functions.  There are 6 aluminum sided tanks that can each hold 4 million liters of water averaging 185 degrees farenheit.  The hot water is pumped through the metal framework in the winter and cold water during the summer. 

Mrs. Edge listens as she observes, This one even moved

One of the tanks has been converted to a museum dedicated to the history of the Icelandic people called the Saga Museum.  We had the opportunity to take a self-guided tour to learn more about the history of this area and its people.  It recreates key moments in Icelandic history with some very life like models.  In fact, one was so life-like, Mrs. Hess thought he was real.  

If you look closely you can see the sweat on his face

World's Best Ice Cream at Perlan

While we were exploring we got hungry and decided to stop for a snack. What we ended up with was the best ice cream ever!  Who knew that we would find our favorite cold snack in one of the coldest corners of the world. While we were enjoying the delicious ice cream we met Kristjan and his lovely wife. They told us about the way many Icelanders use energy. They explained that we were sitting on top of the main holding tanks for the hot water that generated a third of the electricity that was used in the city. Kristjan told us that energy was very cheap. He estimated that the average cost of electricty per day per house hold was maybe $1.00-$2.00. If you do the math, you will be as surprised as we were!

Lupines were everywhere and looked like bluebonnets

One of the things we noticed on our walk to Perlan from the church were the beautiful flowers we found everywhere that reminded us of our own bluebonnets.  We found out on a tour later that these lupines are really not native to Iceland but were brought here and planted.  Many of the people here do not like them because they have spread and are taking over some of the native plants.  Another thing we learned about Iceland is that things that grow here are small and low to the ground.  When you see the landscape in many places, particularly near the airport it reminds you of the surface of the moon. There is black volcanic rock everywhere.



This is the view from the plane
when we landed at 11:30

As we landed in Keflavik airport at 11:30 at night we were greeted by this wonderful sight. Though we were tired after traveling for 12 straight hours, we could not help but get excited knowing that we were truly witnessing the effects of this season of the Midnight Sun. When we had taken first a bus then a taxi to our first nights home away from home it was 2:00 am and still as bright as if it were 6:pm in Houston Texas. Needless to say it was very hard to convince our  bodies that it was realy night time and we needed to sleep!

Pictures?

Well if you are waiting for pictures bear with us a little longer. We are experiencing technical difficulties with our blog and iPad. It does not want to cooperate with uploading pics. When we get to Oslo, we will have access hopefully to a computer and will post some pictures. We are also working on posting to Flicker. Stay tuned. We will recap Iceland later today. Right now we are on the early morning Flybus headed to Keyflavik to catch our flight to Oslo. Up at 3:30 this morning but there is something about the daylight that makes you feel less tired and unwilling to get up. Stay tuned!

We made it

On the plane and heading out with
our 2 friends.

We made it! After a long, long day of traveling (Houston to Philly, to Boston and finally Keyflavik) we landed in the land of the Midnight Sun and it truly is. This picture was taken about 12:35 pm. It is rather chilly but a welcome relief from the heat of Houston. For Mrs. Hess' Challenge kids following, Griffy joined us on our journey to explore. You will see how much he enjoyed the flight. Well we are on the bus to Reykjavik and will arrive about 2:00 am. Can any of our student followers tell us what that time is in Katy? Well that is all for today (2 day). Check back with us tomorrow as we explore the city. If any of you have been here before and you know some must see things, let us know. Tomorrow is our explore the city day and visit to the Geothermal plant. Bye for now.

Hello all,
The anticipation is mounting because we are almost ready to take off for Iceland which is also known as the "Land of Fire and Ice". We expect to get there around midnight, but we don't have to worry about missing anything because summer is the time of the "Midnight Sun". The sun sets very late and comes up very early. This goes on most of the summer. Check back to see just how many hours of daylight we will have each day. 
Our plans for Iceland on the way in are to visit the Islands Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant. The plant´s purpose is to meet increasing demand for electricity and hot water for space heating. We can't wait to see just how heat from a volcano is turned into electricity for homes and offices.
 We will also take a tour of the "Golden Triangle". Rumor has it that we will see some of the best geysers in the world  located in the  Haukadalur geothermal field. We will tell you more about why it is called that after we have taken the tour.
Well, that is about all for now! Check back soon and often!