Letter from Iceland #51

The "first rule of Iceland is thou must shower naked" edition

Hæhæ!

The other day I was at my local pool, ready to head outside after showering. I was just passing the racks where we leave our towels when I heard something drop behind me and turned around. Rolling along the floor was the little bottle of shampoo that I had wrapped inside my towel before placing it in the rack. Except my towel wasn’t in the rack. My towel was in the hands of some woman who had already begun drying herself with it.

Predictably I was a little taken aback. I went over to the woman and asked what she was doing with my towel. She looked at me blankly. I repeated my question in English. At this she mumbled something that sounded like “sorry” and handed me the towel before trudging off (half-wet) into the locker room.

This woman was clearly not Icelandic, and it occurred to me (because I was feeling generous) that perhaps she hadn’t been aware of our swimming pool etiquette here in Iceland, and thought that maybe the towels in the racks next to the showers were there for anybody to use. (To eliminate all misconception: they are not.)

And so, I thought it might be an idea to do a quick post about our swimming pool etiquette to clear up some things for anyone who might need it.

Photo by Benjamin R. on Unsplash. Yes, it is of the Blue Lagoon, where the shower rule is DOUBLE important because, welp, you can’t really clean it

First of all, know this: we Icelanders take our swimming pool culture and etiquette very seriously. Our swimming pools are what pubs are to the British, cafés to the French, tea houses to the Turks. To us they are not only about bathing and exercise. It’s where we go to socialize, to meet with friends, to catch some rays, to relax. There are groups that meet at the pool at the same time every day to sit in the hot tub and discuss anything from the latest political scandals to the weather. Some of those groups have been meeting for decades.

There are certain rules that must be followed for anyone visiting the pools. For us Icelanders, these are programmed into us from early childhood. We all know the drill. For those who come from outside, not so much.

And so …

Rule number one, and this one is absolutely non-negotiable: you must shower naked before going into the pool. That means without your swimsuit. No exceptions. There are signs with helpful illustrations posted in the shower areas of all Icelandic pools, removing any doubt as to what needs to be washed before you enter a communal pool. They will look something like this:

(Evidently you also need to wash the bottom of your shampoo bottle … 🤷‍♀️)

We Icelanders have no issue with this. We’re raised from infancy to shower with other (same-sex) people at the pool. Heck, we can easily have conversations with acquaintances in the shower while lathering up and rinsing our bits. No problem. That is not to say you have to, mind. In most cases there is an unspoken rule that you don’t watch other people washing … and yet, if you don’t wash, make no mistake that the Icelanders in the crowd will notice and may a) alert the shower police (yes, there is staff on hand that makes sure you wash) or b) take you to task themselves.

So from start to finish, the procedure at the pools is generally as follows.

1. Pay your admission fee at the front counter

2. Take off your shoes at the entrance to the locker room and either leave them there or put them in a bag and take them with you to your locker (recommended)

3. Pick a locker and get fully undressed

4. Wrap your shampoo/conditioner in your towel and proceed to the shower area with your swimsuit (having, of course, locked up the rest of your stuff)

5. Put your towel in one the racks provided next to the showers

6. Go into the shower and wash as per instructions above

7. Put on your swimsuit

8. Proceed out to the pool area and enjoy swimming, sitting the steam room, lounging in the various hot tubs/jacuzzis, immersing yourself in the cold tub, etc.

9. When you are done, return to the shower/locker room area, strip off your swimsuit, shower to remove any chlorine (side note: Icelandic pools use very little chlorine, hence the double importance on showering well beforehand) and then dry off before entering the locker area. This is very important, so you’re not stepping on wet puddles on the floor. (This, of course, is why you take your towel with you to the showers and leave it on the rack, rather than leave it in your locker.)

10. Get dressed and leave locker room, putting your shoes on at the entrance/exit

There is also one final rule, which I have kept until last to emphasize its importance:

No using your phone in the locker room

This should be a no-brainer, yet it is unbelievable how many people ignore this rule. Locker rooms are no-phone zones because they contain naked people. Sure, we Icelanders can shower with other naked people, but we don’t like the idea of pictures of our naked selves getting blasted all over the internet. I do not care that you are “not using the camera” but rather talking to your mother, texting your boyfriend/girlfriend, watching a hilarious video on TikTok, or whatever. PUT IT AWAY.

Sadly, you will probably see lots of Icelanders using their damn phones in the locker room regardless of the copious number of signs banning this because people are addicted to their goddamn phones and get really tetchy when you tell them they can’t use them. (This is a subject close to my heart and gets me fired up and furious every time, can you tell? 😤)

Anyway! There you have it. The essentials to keep in mind when enjoying a visit to an Icelandic swimming pool. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments if so.

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Want to know more about the Icelanders and their rules and quirks, written and unwritten? You might enjoy …

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