Laugardalslaug pools

Iceland is well known for their many thermal pools.  Everyone swims here.  In fact, kids can't graduate from school without being able to swim (or so I've heard). 

They have very strict pool rules too.  Not about running or splashing.  But rather, about bathing naked with soap and then drying yourself off, getting your suit on, and then walking to the pool.  They have "locker room police" to make sure these rules are followed.  And once wet, you may not walk back in the locker room without fully drying off.  As a result, the locker room floors are dry and clean.  And the pool water is clean (or at least cleaner).  They do not, however, have lifeguards. 

Today, although it was COLD, we decided to go to the outdoor Laugardalslaug pools.  It was wild.  To give you a sense of the day (because it was nothing like the pool picture below; that's from the internet), at one point Ridgely said:  "Hey Mommy.  It's not hailing anymore.  Just really heavy wind!"  Argh!  Very cold.  But the pool water was warm.  And the hot tubs next to the pools were even hotter.  :)  Kids were welcome to go anywhere, so the three of us hopped back and forth between the hottest hot tub and the kids pool.  I finally said it was time to go when huge gusts began lifting large kick board-type rafts and throwing them around.  Yikes!

Coming home, I had trouble finding the right bus stop (Way to go, Mom!) and we couldn't possibly stand waiting very long at a bus stop anyway, so....  we walked the 22 minutes home.  At least that's how long Google maps said it would take.  The wind was so strong, sometimes it was pushing us along.  Haughton started running for a minute on a sidewalk, and I called for him to walk with me.  He said he wasn't trying to run - he was pushed!  The trip home also took us longer because we all needed breaks.  First, we stopped in a Subway (yes, the sandwich shop is even in Iceland) to warm our fingers.  Then we stopped in a toy store to warm ourselves.  And then a small grocery store.  We could never have made the journey without taking shelter!  I can even feel one ear now (8 hours later) where sleet shot into my ear each time I turned to look at a kid.  When we got home, I decided that I know how Iceland got it's name!  After eating, talking with Daddy, cuddling up in our pjs and watching part of Episode I of Star Wars, we felt cozy and exhausted....

Below are pictures of the kids playing around at the bus station in the morning and at the pool before we entered the locker room.  There is also an internet photo of some of the pools on a sunny day.  :)