Despite our late bedtime the previous night or rather early that morning, I had set the alarm for 08:00. We got up and ready for breakfast. While I was waiting for Graham, I downloaded the KLAPPIÐ public transport app and set it up. We were planning to take to the buses that day. Contactless card payments and Apple Pay are accepted just about anywhere in Iceland with one exception. That exception unfortunately are buses. The options are paying cash using the exact amount or the KLAPPIÐ public transport app. I did not want the hassle with cash. I have to admit, there was a point when I wondered if trying to take to the buses was going to be too much hassle altogether. First, I had issues getting the activation link. This came through after the second attempt. Then it kept prompting me to verify the transaction in my banking app when I tried to add my debit card. At long last, it finally let me link the card after multiple attempts and we headed down to breakfast.
Breakfast was about 80% the same every morning and about 20% changed day on day. We both had latte and juice again and I had some sparkling water. Graham had some fruit with some mango skyr. He then had some scrambled eggs; grilled vegetables and he was brave enough to try the bacon. I had one look at this the previous morning, and I was not tempted. To start off with, I prefer back bacon to streaky bacon. I also prefer my bacon cooked that it is just golden rather than crispy as it is served in the USA. The bacon at the hotel was the next level up in terms of being frazzled. Graham is OK with the American style of bacon. This however was one step too far for him. I am a creature of habit. I started with the mango skyr and then had cocktail frankfurters, hash browns and a couple of boiled eggs. I passed on the marble cake that morning. This turned out to be a shame as this did not make a reappearance all week.
After breakfast, we decided to have a nap. We had a very chilled day planned and were not on any timetable. We got up again around 10, put some layers on and then headed out. I had one final battle with the KLAPPIÐ public transport app. It kept referring me to my banking app to verify my purchase when I tried to buy our tickets. Eventually, I won that battle and after this, it worked pretty well. One thing I really liked is that you can merge multiple tickets under on QR code if you are travelling with other people. This made using them so much easier. With the tickets sorted, we headed out to the bus stop, which was just around the corner from the hotel. When we got there, our bus was due about a minute later.
One thing that Iceland is famous for is its geothermal springs. Like many tourists heading for Iceland, we were considering a visit to the Blue Lagoon. Technically, the Blue Lagoon is not fed by a geothermal spring, but by the runoff of a nearby geothermal power plant. It is very touristy. At some point, we were also looking at the Sky Lagoon, which is actually fed by a geothermal spring. It is also much closer to Reykjavik and easily accessible by public transport. It is still pretty expensive and touristy. While doing my research, I came across multiple articles, reviews and blog posts that all suggested that if you want an authentic geothermal bathing experience with true local flavour, to head to one of the many public swimming pools in the Reykjavik area. This seemed strange advice, but I figured it was worth a more in depth look. It turned out that all public swimming pools in Reykjavik are fed by geothermal springs. It is also a cheap pleasure at ISK1380, which is around £8/ $10. We figured; this is worth a try. We still had what essentially was a spare day and if this was not quite doing it for us, we could still head to the Sky Lagoon.
One of the pools that got very good reviews was Árbæjarlaug Pool, which is in one of the suburbs of Reykjavik. This is a relatively modern pool, which was built in 1994 and had some major upgrades between 2013 and 2015. By our standards, this is the Rolls Royce of public swimming pools. Most of the facilities are outdoors. There is a 25-metre pool, an infrared sauna, steam room, waterslide, hot tubs of various temperatures, a cold plunge pool and a children’s pool. All water in showers, pools, and tubs is thermal spring water. The pH of the water is controlled by the use of carbon dioxide and therefore has a pH of about 7.5, which makes it possible to limit the use of chlorine. Purification of the water in the pool takes place through sand filters, up to 100 times a day in the tubs. The whole set up is utterly fascinating.
We decided to check this out. There was a direct bus that took just over 20 minutes. From the closest bus stop, it was only a short walk downhill to the pool. The have real-time occupancy information on the website and when I checked this before we left, there were 18 people using the complex. It has a capacity of 240. They do rent out towels and even swimwear for a modest fee. We had our own swimwear, but did rent some towels.
Swimming pool etiquette is very different in Iceland. Street shoes are not permitted in the locker rooms. Before you get to the locker room, there are shoe racks where you leave your shoes. There are then lockers and benches. The next area are cubbyholes for towels and swimwear just outside the showers. Part of the rules is that you have a hot shower using soap without wearing your swimsuit. I wondered if this would feel awkward, but everybody was in the same boat, and it actually felt strangely liberating. With this done, you then put your swimwear on before heading to the pool area. Cameras and phones are strictly forbidden, and all photos are from their website.
We decided to try out the indoor pool first. This is meant to be a family pool. It is quite shallow and nice and warm. There is a swim through area to the outdoor area, but at this time, this was closed by a shutter. The outdoor temperature was about 6 degrees centigrade. Now, I do not do cold as a rule. However, the hot tubs were really tempting. I plotted the shortest route to a hot tub and headed outside. I don’t think Graham quite believed his eyes when I headed out into the cold with just my swimsuit on. Stepping outside was definitely a shock to the system, but the first hot tub is just steps from the closest door. Soon I was luxuriating in gorgeous warm water. The hot tubs are on a sliding scaled for temperature and the first one I tried was the middle one for heat. This turned out to be my favourite.
Graham started with the swimming pool. When I spotted that he had got out of the main pool, I went to join him. He was in the area that is the children’s pool. The water was a lovely temperature, but as the area is quite shallow, I soon started to feel cold. We made the rounds of the hot tubs together. One of the hot tubs on this side was the same temperature as the first hot tub I had been into, but had the addition of massage jets at one end. The hottest hot tub was too hot for both of us, and we did not stay in there very long. In a way, this was a shame as this hot tub had a gorgeous view. There is a beautiful valley at that end of the pool complex.
The last hot tub was a two-part affair. At the far end, it was a whirlpool and connected to this was a normal hot tub with a fountain. The fountain was not operating though. I loved the design of this pool complex. For the most part, you could get from one area to the other without ever leaving the water. At the end of this hot tub were stairs up to a narrow ledge and at the other side, there was another set of stairs that let into a small pool from which you could swim through to the main swimming pool. Graham got his second surprise of the day when I decided to try out the main swimming pool. I have to be honest that if I had to leave the water for any length of time, I probably would not have bothered. However, the pool did look tempting. It was a lovely temperature, too.
Once I had swum a few length, I swam back to the indoor pool. We enjoyed this for a while and then I decided I wanted one last dip in my favourite hot tub. This time, I swam to the outside area, and I just had to get up some stairs to reach the hot tub. When I came back to the indoor pool, we stayed there a few minutes longer and then we headed back to the showers.
This is where we had to contend with Icelandic swimming pool etiquette part two. You need to dry off completely before entering the locker room. I had a shower and got dried off. Then I went back to my locker to get dressed. I figured that swimming outside when the air temperature was a chilly 6 degrees centigrade makes me honorary Icelandic. Joking aside, this was an amazing experience and one of the highlights of this trip.
We headed up to the bus stop. This time we had a slightly longer wait. However, the bus arrived soon enough, and we were back on our way into the centre of Reykjavik.
We got off the bus just round the corner from the bottom of Laugavegur. I figured it was time to cement our honorary Icelandic status with having one of the favourite treats of the Icelandic people, which is ice cream. This seems somewhat bizarre considering that Iceland is relatively cold year-round. When we had gone for a wander our first evening in Reykjavik, it felt like there was an ice cream parlour around every corner. However, as it is so often the case, when you are actually looking for one, there is none to be found.
Graham found us an ice cream parlour in the end at where the road that we had taken down from Hallgrimskirkja intersects with Laugavegur. They had all kinds of interesting flavours. We both decided to try their ryebread flavour, which was absolutely delicious. Graham chose peanut and caramel for this second scoop, and I had Toblerone ice cream. Everything was delicious.
We slowly ambled back towards the hotel. On the way, something caught our eye. There was a restaurant that offered soup in bread bowls. This is a very clever business model, Every day, they offer two different soups, one vegetarian and one with meat. The offerings change on a daily basis. We both had the meat option. This contained lamb, but the liberal use of herbs and spices covered up the taste of lamb. This was absolutely delicious. I knew that meat soup is an Icelandic speciality, and I asked our host about this. Apparently, the traditional version is based on a broth whereas their soups are all cream based as a broth-based soup would soak through the bread bowl very quickly. I had the lid of the bread bowl with the butter that we were given and some of the inside of the bread bowl kind of melted into the soup, but I did not have enough room to have the crust of the bread bowl. I suppose I can now say that I had a meal where I had dessert first.
We continued our wander back towards the hotel. A little shop caught my eye. They had all kinds of different items made from glass. I would happily have bought half the things in the shop, but they were all kind of fragile. They did however have some gorgeous necklaces. I was torn between two of them. I went for a blue one. They were however really inexpensive, and I did not rule out that I would come back for the other one before the trip was over.
I stopped by one of the local supermarkets to pick up some soft drinks. I had found out on the plane about Collab, which is an energy drink with collagen and caffeine from green coffee beans. I wanted to give this a try. I got one can of this and a bottle of a local orange soda.
In the basement of the hotel, there is an indoor beer garden. They had happy hour when we got back to the hotel. We decided to check this out. I asked for a local craft beer. Our server suggested First Lady, which is a fruity IPA that is brewed by a women’s cooperative. I rather liked this. Graham had the same and he liked it, too.
After this, we headed back to the room to just relax. Fortunately, I had set an alarm for when I needed to take my tablets. It was still quite early, and I had every intention to read for a couple of hours, but soon my eyes fell shut. When the alarm went off, I quickly got up to take my tablets and then I went back to bed.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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