YEP 7 CAMP KAMCHATKA – DAY 2
After waking up and realizing that we actually all finally arrived in Switzerland we took advantage of our excitement and went on a morning run at seven AM. When we started stretching our jetlagged bodies it was still dark outside. We really enjoyed seeing it become lighter with every step we took, so that soon we could see the beautiful mountains surrounding us. We ran past cows, farms, crossed a river on a wooden bridge and it seemed a bit surreal that we were suddenly part of this idyllic postcard scenery. It was not very easy to stay together as a group since our running speeds varied quite a bit. But we tried to push and motivate each other.
The next event of the morning was an eco-driving experience led by two Mercedes Benz representatives. After telling us about the BlueEfficiency Technology and engine development they presented us different car models of the future. What fascinated us the most was the F-Cell that runs completely emission free. It consists of a Hydrogen tank and a battery that gets charged by just letting the car roll and not accelerating. We were very fortunate to have the chance to test drive this car, since there are only very few models available today. Unfortunately there are not enough Hydrogen gas stations around yet, so they are doing their best on convincing more businesses to sell hydrogen. Best case would be if this hydrogen was produced eco friendly and CO2 emission free as well. It got us excited that there is a chance that one day we will be able to drive without harming the environment if we take the right steps of further development these next couple of years.
They also gave us efficiency driving rules, which are easy ways to save gas. We did two test-driving, one before and one after hearing these possibilities of saving gas. It was amazing to see how easily you could save gas and even reach your goal faster.
After talking about cars and technologies we had a more creative activity later on: Dimitri and Ben gave us some useful tips on photography such as choosing the optimum frame, settings on the camera and choosing the right position of your object. We took portrait pictures of each other up by the beautiful church of Château-d’Oex while the sun was going down.
It was a good day, we learned a lot and are now going to get a good night’s sleep to prepare ourselves for the Mayo Clinic Fitness Tests tomorrow!