My year in Iceland: Reykjavik - the nightlife capital of the north.

Finally we had an opportunity to leave small Akureyri and visit Reykjavik - the famous nightlife capital of North! I have to mention, that we'll (and personally me) have more occasions to see that city in the next few months thanks to the study tour we'll have at the end of may, and two weeks course that'll take place in Reykjavik at the end of June.
The main purpose of this trip was to attend NAHA (North Atlantic Hydrogen Association) conference about Hydrogen. The conference was a part of our course in Fuel Cells, which is quite important to me, because this is what I'm going to be involved in for the next 2 semesters.
First let's see where Reykjavik is:

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland, and it's biggest city as well. With a population of 119,000, it is the heart of Iceland's economic and governmental activity. Today, Reykjavík is the centre of the Greater Reykjavík Area which, with a population of 200,000, is the only metropolitan area in Iceland. As a highly modernized capital of one of the most developed countries in the world, its inhabitants enjoy a first-class welfare system and city infrastructure. Its location, only slightly south of the Arctic Circle, receives only four hours of daylight per day in the depth of winter; during the summer the nights are almost as bright as the days. It has continued to see population growth in past years as well as growth in areas of commerce and industry. (More here) :)

So let the photo story begins!
Before we left, I tried some tricks on a new-found scooter.

Picture of the group in front of the Air Iceland plane in AKureyri.

The flight.

Iceland from above...

...and Reykjavik from above.

Hydrogen and plug-in vehicles in front of the conference building.

Fuel Cell A-Class - $900 000.

Reva - electric car.

Inside the building.

Foucault pendulum (PL & ENG description) in the building. It is named after the French physicist Léon Foucault and was conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.

Conference hall.

After the whole day of presentations there was a time for some "refreshments". As you can see, some people joined us only for that.

Brand new hydrogen refueling station :P

Perlan (English: The Pearl) - a landmark building in Reykjavik. At the beginning there were hot storage tanks there but in 1991 the tanks were updated and a hemispherical structure placed on top. On the fifth floor there is a fancy restaurant in which we had our dinner. The rotating floor does a complete turn in two hours. It offers a good view of Reykjavik and the nearby areas.

Some statues in front of the restaurant.

Interior.

View from the viewing deck.

After a great dinner we went to the city to have some fun. Reykjavik is really a "party city". There are so many clubs, pubs and cafes there, that everybody can find something for him/herself.

Walk back to the hotel - 4 A.M.

After-party :P

In the morning there was a launch of the first ship that used Fuel Cell to generate electricity on the board. It was a small unit used by the local company for whale watching.
Surroundings of Reykjavik.

Höfði - house built in 1909. Initially, it was the house of the French consul in Iceland. It was the place of the Iceland Summit when Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1986.

Sad rock :(

Sólfar, made by Jon Gunnar Arnason.

Harbor.

The only locomotive and rails in Iceland.

Whale watching boat.

Hydrogen refueling station.

During the test ride.

Fuel Cell displayed under the deck.

Captain on the bridge!

View on Reykjavik.

After the boat-ride we had an opportunity to test-drive FC cars again.

Segway - this is really cool :D

After that we had a presentation about the first Fuel Cell powered car, Ford 999, that joined the 200 miles club in Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The lecture was given by Scott Stanley, the Chief Engineer of Fuel Cell Vehicle Technology Development in Ford Company.
"Trzech Czarnych Orłów" :P