Perlan

At 10 AM we jumped on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus.

The entire circular route takes one hour to cover. Throughout the day, the driver covers the same route six times.

Considering this information and our need to catch the early afternoon Flybus back to the airport for our Bergen flight, the tour rep suggested we make two hour-long stops on the Hop-on/Hop-off route before our return to the bus terminal.


As our first stop,
we opted for Perlan
(The Pearl) -
a rotating,
half-dome,
glass-enclosed
restaurant that
sits atop the
city's six
geothermal
hot water
reservoirs.



Outside

Perlan's

entrance,

we viewed

the funky

abstract

band sculptures.


We wandered the grounds taking in the incredible 360º view.

From this summit, we could see
not only the distant capital city but also the surrounding water and mountains.

Closer up, we noticed the heat-releasing ducts and valves protruding from the ground around the city's water storage system.


From the observation deck,

six metal compass maps

helped us align and

identify various landmarks.


Click on this photo
to see Hallgrim's Church
in the background
with its bell tower
encased in
re-constructive
scaffolding.




Later

we

proceeded

under

the canopy

into

the

main

entry...




... and watched

a water fountain

burst forth

in a geyser form.


Upstairs we whirled through
carousals for
souvenir post cards
and selected ala carte items
in the cafeteria's
soup-and-sandwich line
for our lunch.





Because our wanderings exceeded an hour, we missed the 11:30 AM bus and our chance to view the Hallgrim's Church up close.



As a result, we used the extra hour to hike below Perlan, explore the story-telling trails...



check

out

the

man-made

geyser...







sit

in

the

grass...







pen

post

cards

home

and

wait...



to leave Perlan so we could hook up our ear phones on the Hop-on/Hop-off Bus once again.