Now officially on the Tauck Tour “Land of Fire & Ice” Cruise, some touring took place before embarkation on L’Austral with lunch at the Pearl or Perlan first. This domed landmark building was built on top of Reykjavik’s six gigantic hot water storage tanks; each contains about 4 million liters of geothermal heated water which provides the city with power and heat.
The domed building has a cafeteria and small cafe with an observation platform in addition to the flagship, revolving restaurant on the top level. Behind the cafeteria is the Pearls Souvenir Shop with a good collection of souvenirs. Tourists come for panoramic views of the city and surroundings. An impressive water feature seen on the main floor erupts from the basement into the spacious atrium where various exhibitions and other events are held.
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Perlan domed ceiling in main restaurant, Reykjavik
Perlan souvenir shop on main level, Reykjavik
The Perlan (“Pearl”), Reykjavik
A few statistics:
The height of the Perlan is 25.7 meters/84.3 feet. There are 1,176 window panes, 942 bulbs create a “star heaven” inside the dome, and 1,900 lights illuminate the interior. (How would you like to clean and/or change those bulbs?)
lamb en croute, Perlan Restaurant, Reykjavik
starter or appetizer, Perlan Restaurant, Reykjavik
“Ladies Room” in Icelandic, Perlan Restaurant, Reykjavik
Lunch was included as were all meals going forward on Land of Fire and Ice Tour and all 160 tour members took seats for a good meal – not great in my opinion. We dined on a starter of scallop, small tiger shrimp, and salmon stack on couscous; the entree was lamb in croute; and chocolate cake topped with lemon, scoop of ice cream and crumbly stuff for dessert. The slowly revolving restaurant takes two hours to make one revolution. Tauck guests were reminded not to place anything on the table perimeter or it would slowly rotate away. I suggest a visit for views only instead of paying upwards of $77 USD for a meal, and instead frequent one of Reykjavik’s excellent restaurants.
Reykjavik views from Perlan Restaurant
outside the Perlan in Reykjavik, Iceland
TravelsWithSheila and musician statue outside Perlan, Reykjavik
It is quite some place though…