Sunday was a resting day. I was a bit slow off the mark after a very late Saturday night. But I did a lot of walking in the damp dark evening. Most shops are closed so it was mostly a walk through residential areas and to the hills where I had good views of the town. I had some local sandwiches and chocolate at a tiny corner grill, “Drekkin”. It was rather tasty and had a very local feel to it. The local kids were in and out getting their sweets. Although I can barely read a word of Icelandic I browsed the entire newspaper.
Monday started as they usually do here with a great breakfast. I thought I’d go local and do the cold fish items with rye bread and the great coffee. Some kind of pickled herring and curried something from the sea. Actually I liked it a lot and figure it was a healthy way to start a day. They have these cute waffle irons for making your own. Very nice and tasty with melted chocolate instead of maple syrup.
I picked up my city card that gets me on all the local buses, museums, and best of all, the thermal pools. The pools are heated by natural geothermal water and doesn’t have the sulfur odor of the household hot water. After figuring out the bus routes that takes time to understand since the street names are very difficult to remember much less pronounce I headed for the biggest pool, Laugardalur. The place is huge with several pools, a stadium, spas, skating rink, and a zoo. The pool etiquette takes some getting used to, you *must* shower completely without clothes. And yes there is an attendant to make sure you do the right thing. There is even a sign that shows the parts that must be cleaned extra well. The pool has little to no chlorine so everyone must be clean. Young, old, it doesn’t matter and nobody is shy. You then put on your trunks and make the cold walk to the pools. It isn’t that cold actually and I think the concrete pad outside is heated. I chose the outdoor pool of course for full effect. But first I went into one of the many small “hot pots”, labeled as 38 degrees. Truly heavenly sitting there with several locals. I had a nice talk with a young couple that by chance had recently visited Montreal. I soaked for about 30 minutes before going over to the big pool. Everywhere there is a steamy fog blowing around and I was told that the best time is when it is snowing as the fog gets very heavy and takes on an other worldly feel. I swam around and enjoyed the warm clear water. Without the chlorine it was pleasant swimming under water without goggles. I expected the water to be heavy with minerals but it was very soft like rain water. Truly relaxing and I can see why this is a popular past time.
At the bus terminal I ran into the same wino that I met a few nights before on the other side of town. We had a quick chat and I headed to the hotel before deciding what to do next. I can still feel the effects of the pool. I think I will do the same each day but I’ll pick a different pool each time.
I want a pylsur so much!!!