The photos in the beginning of my set are of my makeshift studio on the top floor (kind of an attic) of the house. There isn’t any furniture in the room, but I wanted to work up there and look out the little window every once and a while.

There are a few night shots in the set of the harbor area- Eskifjörður has a pretty big shipping port. The next set is from the 100th anniversary celebration of the first hydropower plant here. It’s not in use any more, and hasn’t been since the 60′s. I am told this is because it is so small, and also the the pipe that leads the water is filled with mud.

The last few photos are just tourist photos. We get just a few hours of light at this point, so I seized the opportunity today when I saw that sun was not hiding behind clouds.

The reason I wanted to post something before I turn in for the night, is that a conversation about what the next steps for the #occupy movement will be broadcast in just a few hours (from 8-10pm eastern time)  live at this link:

http://www.thenation.com/video/164494/watch-michael-moore-naomi-klein-and-others-occupy-wall-streets-possibilities

It has been so exciting to read about what is happening back home, and to hear reports from some of my friends are very active in the movement in New York and Baltimore.  And, on some level, a little heartbreaking to know that I won’t be back until May.  But, I am not whining, just torn.

There is an #occupy camp in Reykjavík, which I think might have happened just when I left the city to come to Eskifjörður. I will definitely be stopping by to check it out if they are still able to camp in the cold when I get back!

More about what I am doing tomorrow. Watch that broadcast!

I didn’t take any photos while I have been in Akureyri (I know, I know), but might be able to take some before I jump on the bus on my journey. I am so excited to visit east Iceland and talk to the people that live around there- and take a trip to the nearby Alcoa operated hydro-electric-powered aluminum smelter (named Fjardaál, or, “aluminum of the fjords”).  This plant, and Alcoa, were the subject of a documentary film (and book) called “Dreamland“.  I have already watched the documentary- and while in Akureyri, managed to pick up what may be the last copy of the english language version of the book left in Iceland (I have been looking for it everywhere!).

Once I arrive in Eskifjordur, I am staying in a small house, which is, according to the information sheet that was sent to me, “probably the oldest house in east Iceland”.  Sounds great!

We stopped at a black sand beach in Vík, and then headed out to the Golden Circle. My camera battery ran out before the day was over, unfortunately (I forgot my power adapter!) so the trip ends a little abruptly.

On the first day, our destination was the glacier lagoon – which is in southeastern Iceland (about a 5 hour drive). We also made a few stops along the way. The one problem, which maybe we did not calculate very well, is that it gets dark at about 5pm here.  We made it to the glacier lagoon just as it was getting dark.  We managed to shine the car headlights on the glacier pieces and do some long-exposure photos (luckily the ice chunks were not moving). The two that I put in this set each took about 40 seconds to expose!

That year, an artists’ collective from Reykjavík called Kling & Bang was at Frieze with a project that transplanted a well known bar called Sirkus that had recently been shut down in Reykjavík to the white walled cubicles of the art fair. While I was never lucky enough to get to go to Sirkus while it was open in Reykjavík, I did get to go while it was in London.

Inside, there were Icelandic DJ’s, bartenders, the furniture from the original Sirkus, and of course, the “black-death” liqueur that Iceland is famous for. The corner of Frieze where Sirkus was located was alive with music, a huge crowd of people- and was by far the most activated space in the fair.  Heather, I remember, was really excited because she had visited the bar when she was in Reykjavík and, if I remember correctly, wound up making friends with members of a death metal band that she still keeps in touch with.

Here’s a little more info from Kling and Bang’s website:
Kling og Bang, the artists collective from Iceland, will commemorate Sirkus, a Reykjavik bar, landmark, and hub of the alternative arts scene, which is due for demolition. Kling og Bang will save its facade and interior and re-erect it at the Frieze Art Fair, like a circus moving to another town. A zany nomadic act reflecting the drive of Icelandic art, producing a situation of one circus within another for artists to respond to.

Sirkus, a bar in the scruffy downtown area of Reykjavik, was demolished this spring after serving for nine years as a living landmark and the hub of the alternative arts scene. In a zany nomadic act that reflects the drive and spirit of Icelandic art, Kling & Bang, a gallery run by eight enthused artists, has not only helped the owner, Sigga Boston, save the bar’s facade and interior, but also resolved to bring it to the UK and re-erect it at the Frieze. A place of celebration and creation will move town for a few short days, like the travelling circus invoked by the bar’s name.

I walked past the old location of the bar a few days ago and took some photos.

I love the gesture of paying homage to a place that was important to so many people- locals and visitors alike. Having now seen where Sirkus used to be (or should I say- where it was originally?)- I feel I experienced Sirkus  backwards- which seems kind of appropriate.

Here’s a blog post with an image of Sirkus in Reykjavík before it closed:

http://goldcurating.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/sirkus-at-frieze%E2%80%A6/

And here’s another with images of Sirkus at Frieze in 2008 (scroll down a little to see the image):

http://www.wayfaring.info/2008/10/20/the-frieze-art-fair-in-london/

At any rate, here is the only photo I have of the lab that was built in Baltimore- I don’t expect it to be too hard to re-build.

I have been setting up meetings with people in Reykjavík in the meantime, including one with Ósk Vilhjálmsdóttir, a really interesting artist and activist.

I will be leaving sometime around November 1st to begin an adventure in east Iceland at a house that is “probably the oldest house in east Iceland”!

I, of course, abandoned all immediate plans for a slow morning and threw some clothes clothes on, ran out of the house and chased the music.

When I got down to the main street, there was a parade of dogs, organized by breed, that followed the marching band. It was a great treat!

Video (really, this is the best part)

http://www.facebook.com/v/10150353660183017

The landscape around the power plant was stunning, as you can see in the photos below.
Click to view slideshow.

I took the public transportation out to the plant. I told the bus driver where I needed to get off- not knowing if I would be able to see evidence of the plant on the side of the highway. The driver kindly let me off on the side of the highway, the steam from the plant rising about one km away across a mossy/lichen-y volcanic rock landscape.

Here’s a little more about the plant:

The power plant was built in stages – beginning with exploratory boreholes that were drilled in the 80′s. Here’s a timeline from Reykjavík Energy’s webiste:

• 2006 – electricity production in two 40-45 MW turbine units.
• 2007 – a 30 MW low-pressure turbine brought into use.
• 2008 – electricity production in two 40-45 MW turbine units with steam from Stóra   Skarðsmýrarfjall mountain.
• 2010 – 130 MW thermal station (space heating) online in December.

The long term plan includes adding more turbines to Hellisheiði power plant, if the utilisation of the area allows it. The same procedure has been used with good effect in Nesjavellir power plant.

The museum itself had two videos, one about how geothermal energy is produced, and another about environmental responsibility and geothermal/hydroelectric energy production.  They also had a few interactive touch screen installations – my favorite of which was a display documenting the depth of most current boreholes in Iceland- most of which are 2500-3000 meters deep. The display documented the geological makeup of each layer, as well as some notable points in  history that helped illustrate when some of these layers would have been formed.

The other photos are of the machinery- both inside and out side of the plant.  The photos with the large yellow boxes are close to where the actual turbines are that generate electricity.

After spending a few hours photographing the machinery, I realized that getting back to Reykjavík might be difficult- mostly because I was not sure if there was a bus stop outside. I asked the man working at the museum if he knew anything about buses coming by and he said “You mean you don’t have a CAR?”.

It turned out that he had to work late at the museum because of an event (there were people laying out volcanic pottery in the entryway that was beautiful!). But, he arranged for me to get a ride back to the Reykjavík area with some of the people who worked in the plant. It was so mice of him- and so typical of many of my experiences with how nice Icelanders can be.

I have been a little late in getting posts up, and am about to head out on a 2-day Golden Circle tour with Jessica Harvey, another Fulbrighter who is here in Iceland, so I am going to keep writing and have new posts up every couple of days- then I should be caught up!

Stay tuned for a small tour of Reykjavík, a parade of dogs led by a marching band, project updates and more!

We started the tour off with a trip to Borgarnes, where we saw an exhibition in the settlement center about Egils Saga. Apparently, this is the second most famous Icelandic saga.

The photos of the fence and the bench, the mountain and the bridge, as well as the video of the island are from the town of Borgarnes. We also stopped at a church in a town called Borg where Egil lived most of his life. There we saw the oldest structure in Iceland, the old hot pot in the photos.

We made a couple of other stops along the way, one at some nice waterfalls and another at a hot spring near Borg. You can see the pipeline for hot water leaving from the site. The amount of steam here was incredible! Like a true nerd, my glasses fogged up!