I have never been in a sauna before.
Sadly I don't have one so you won't probably get a good chance of visiting one here either... oh well, at least do try the swimming pools!
Cold water swimming pools are hard to find in Iceland?! Wow!
I just runned to the coldest swimming pool after the sauna. I couldn't help it XD
It's the curse of geothermal energy: the pools are so warm that trying to swim a few laps is exhausting, and those are the coldest pools!
What, did they figure that, being Finns, you were likely to discard the swimwear and thus needed extra supervision?
What you do have in Iceland though is hot springs. Here we have very few saunas and no springs, only the chilly fjords and lakes.
I'm afraid they did. Upon arrival we asked them if the sauna was on that day, one staff member said
"nnnno..." and another said
"yes" and ran off, most likely to switch it on. They know they sometimes get the Finns, we're a thing. They know we'll be displeased if the holy room is cold.
What I'll never understand, though, is why the swimsuits are a necessity...
EDIT: in the sauna area I mean. The pools are obviously a different matter entirely. Public nudity isn't a big deal here, especially not when it comes to bathing. Just to go to the pool you have to strip naked and wash yourself well and the staff won't just trust that you will, they actually have a few staff members always in the shower areas who make sure no one tries to sneak into the pools unwashed (which is good, though at first it felt a bit awkward).
Meh I'd trade a hot spring for a lake. Sand bottom one, mind you.
I don't much enjoy saunas, myself. I find it a little too hard to breath in all the heat.
Yup, saunas are a thing that needs getting used to or growing up with. Main rule is to never spend more time in one than feels comfortable, not being able to breathe does not exactly sound like a relaxing experience...
