Sunday, March 28, 2010

An Erupting Volcano, and the Northern Lights

While we were there, Laki Volcano erupted. According to The Associated Press, this volcano has been dormant since 1783. We piled in the bus, and went to take a look. After a nearly two hour drive, the road which leads to the volcano ended. The valley closest to the erupting volcano had been closed due to safety precautions, but we were still able to see the smoke and lava rising over the peaks.
The dark smoke clouds were visible from miles away.
As the sun set, the color of the lava and ash was more apparent shooting into the sky.
As if witnessing a volcanic eruption weren't enough, we were able to see the Northern Lights on the way back to Reykjavik.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Gallery Visits

We have had the opportunity to visit many galleries and design studios. The first one that we visited was Gallery Fold, where we met with the gallery director, and got a tour of its collection of Icelandic art from the early 20th century to today.



Gallerí Fold
Rauðarárstígur 14-16
IS-105 Reykjavik
Iceland


The next gallery we visited was i8 Gallery, where we met with their sales manager. She gave us an overview of the of Icelandic artists developing an international reputation.i8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
Tel: +354 551 3666
info@i8.is

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Walking Tour, A Scavenger Hunt & The Golden Circle

We arrived in Iceland at 6:30AM local time, and after dropping our bags at the hotel, we hit the ground running. Anne took us on a walking tour of Reykjavik, and then we set out in groups to complete a video scavenger hunt throughout the city.We had a welcome dinner at a restaurant called Solon, and headed out to experience Reykjavik's nightlife at NASA, a club hosting a fashion show and concert as part of the Reykjavik Fashion Festival.

9:00AM felt like it came pretty quickly on day 2. We all boarded the van to set out on our day tour of the Golden Circle. We spent hours driving through the Icelandic country side, with the view out the window constantly changing from moss-covered lava fields, to snow covered mountains, and fields full of horses.

The three main sites that we visited were:Gullfoss Waterfall, the largest one in Iceland.Geyser (Geysir)


& Thingvellir National Park, a "no mans land" created in the crack between tectonic plates. We were able to stand on Europe's plate, and then drive to the opposite side and be standing on North America's plate.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Ready, Set, Reykjavik!





We just finished our pre-departure meeting and are about to get on our shuttle to JFK to leave for Iceland!
Since the trip has drawn students and alumni from various majors, and all pre departure presentations were done online, today was the first opportunity that many of us had to meet one another.
The excitement in the room was tangible as we prepared to leave, receiving our plane tickets and travel information - the reality that our adventure was about to start.

I'll be posting while we're there, so make sure to check back frequently!

As they say in Iceland, bæbæ for now!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Two Week Countdown

Today marks the two-week countdown before we leave for Iceland.
As our departure draws nearer and nearer, there are 10-million things on everyone's minds, and the excitement is definitely growing. I asked members of the group what they were most looking forward to seeing in Iceland - here are some of their answers:

"The landscape and the city (Reykjavik) itself, and how it compares to the US" - Alex Weiss

"The glistening Northern Lights that I hear are life changing" - Christina Sioutis
"I think the scenery will all be beautiful, but I'm super excited to see the Blue Lagoon" - Alyssa Mirsky

"The People" - Lauryn Goldberg

photos courtesy of flickr.com

Monday, March 1, 2010

Next Stop, Iceland!

Photo courtesy of LonelyPlanet.com

It's hard to believe that the next trip we're taking is to Iceland! The trip will be led by Design and Merchandising Head Anne Cecil, who has led this trip with Drexel many times over the past decade.

We will depart from JFK on March 19, and stay one full week.

The group traveling includes current students as well as alumni, from various majors across the University. In preparation for our journey we have been learning as much as we can about the people and culture of Iceland. Each group member was responsible for presenting a topic of Icelandic culture, from the food and the language, to designers, artists and musicians.

While we're there we will be visiting design studios, and learning about design and merchandising in Iceland.

We'll be posting as much as possible while we're there so make sure to check back a lot!