Suddenly it was May 17th 2021 and we were still on Iceland. We travelled to Iceland a week before Easter (March 19th ), and the plan was to stay for 3 weeks: First a week in quarantine (away office), then a week of Easter vacation travelling around, and finally a week in Reykjavík on ‘away office’ when we were here anyway (and ordered to work at ‘home office’). Now we had been in Iceland for 7 weeks – and we did not have a Norwegian flag for the Norwegian constitution day: May 17th!
Coffee, ice cream and spurningar (quiz) at Flateyri May the 17th 2021.
Here our habit of quiz really payed off. During these weeks we had struggled through a number of questions like this:
‘Hvaða þjóðfáni er blár með hvítum krossi og rauðum krossi innan í þeim hvíta?’ (Correct answer at the bottom of the article)
c) Smiðja is a place where you make things (smith).
And there – in Ísafjörður – on May the 17th (!) we suddenly saw a sign we had never seen before: Fánasmiðjan. A flag factory!
As is written in the ‘Heimskringla’: ‘Betre byrdi du ber ‘kje i bakken enn mannavit mykje.’ (heimskringla.no) ‘Better burden you don’t carry uphill than a lot of wisdom.’
Fánasmiðjan in Ísafjörður.
So all there was to do was open the door, go one floor up and browse the huge selection of flags from around the world. Once you have obtained a Norwegian flag, time is perfect for a bath. We went down to the city beach and had a bath with the super sailing ship ‘A1’ in the background. Hipp Hipp Hooray!
Bathing the 17th of May in Ísafjörður.
After a bath in Ísafjörður bay, a trip to Tjöruhúsið is a good idea. There you get the very very very best fish buffet in all of Iceland. Try it! The fish is served newly made at certain times, so here you have to be on time, book a table in advance and not eat too much of the phantastic fish soup you get as a starter!
The fish buffet in Tjöruhúsið
Correct answer to the Icelandic question: the Icelandic flag
South of the peninsula Reykjarnes there are not many good harbors. There are no fjords here, and the coast is heavily exposed by the ocean. There are some skerries, though, and you can see the waves over the reefs. Occasionally there are calm waters and something resembling lagoons.
Strandakirkja lagoon in winter time.
By Strandakirkja there is such a small lagoon where we have bathed several times – once together with seals!
Knut and 3 seals (100m behind the thumb) are having a bath.
Strandakirkja has been a church site for a long time, the first church here is said to have been built by order of king Olav Tryggvasson, before the year 1000. The place is mentioned in the church register made by the bishop at Skálholt, Pál Jónsson, around the year 1200.
Strandakirkja exterior.
There are many stories connected to Strandakirkja. For instance, there was a young farmer who found himself in terrible weather on the way back after buying timber in Norway. In desperation, he decided to donate the timber to the construction of a church – if he survived. Suddenly he saw a luminous angel, who showed him the way to the port. A memorial – a woman holding a shiny cross, was erected outside the church in 1950. The statue was made by sculptor Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir.
Strandakirkja interior.
Strandakirkja is therefore considered to be all seamens church and is one of the richest churches in Iceland, because it still receives donations from sailors.
Different types of superstition living side by side: elves and christianity.
At Strandakirkja lagoon time is always right for a bath!
… by the game of – spurningarleikurinn (quiz)! In any cafè, pub or restaurant near you.
Spurningar = questions.
Learning a language can be very tedious. To ease the training – do quiz games! We have successfully played ‘New Amigos’ and ‘Trivial Pursuit’ (TP) in various more or less unknown languages. It is important to do it with a smile. Sometimes you understand the question, and then the problem is only to find the answer. Other times it turns out to be impossible to understand the question – even with a dictionary. In that case, it often helps to check the answer, then you may understand the question afterwards. Sometimes you do not understand neither questions nor answers, not even with a dictionary! That’s when humor is needed. Geography and science issues are normally the easiest to understand. Entertainment can be completely impossible to answer (TV shows from the 80’s in a country where you haven’t lived …). No more to say about that, really.
Idun is watching ESC, Flatey 2021. The Spurningaleikurinn book has been replaced with mobile streaming for a while.
When it came to Icelandic, we struggled terribly before we realized that TP in Icelandic was unavailable, it is sold out from the publisher (2021). We therefore ended up buying a second hand quiz book for children (!). And yes, that was hard enough for us. But fun! An alternative is of course comic books in Icelandic, Donald Duck for instance. We have bought the whole Valhalla series in Icelandic, and there’s still a lot remaining.
The apples of Iðun are stolen. Strange thing; that Idun is allergic to apples.
Then to the quiz – why not warm up with these 3 (From ‘Spurningaleikurinn’ ISBN 9979-1-0001-X):
Question 1.Question 2.Question 3.
Before asking all these questions, a swimming exercise is a good idea. You can do it in Ásvallalaug, Hafnarfjörður. This is a new and great facility, with an indoor 50 m basin, a phenomenal children’s pool and everything else you could possibly need, including a finnish sauna. In Ásvallalaug most things take place indoors, but they have dug a couple of hot pots into the ground outside. You’re welcome!
Heita potta, Ásvallalaug. Foto: sundlaugar.is
To exercise and relax in Ásvallalaug; both are just right. We at least enjoyed it there.
Røros, with almost 4000 inhabitants, was basically uninhabited highland until the copper mine was founded in 1644. The town is therefore called Bergstaden (The Mountain City), or just Sta’a (City) in the local dialect.
Absolutely beautiful it is, at Røros!
In the 17th century, the Danish king Christian IV was broke, and he sold away his crown estates. The largest sale went to Joachim Irgens and consisted of all crown estates in Helgeland, Salten, Lofoten, Vesterålen, Andenes, Senja, Troms and most of the Norwegian mining business. The value was equivalent to a barrel of gold (100,000 riksdaler). In 1646, Joachim Irgens traveled to Trondheim, and there he was referred to as a ‘man who found great taste in mines‘.
Kjerkgata in Røros (the main street).
In the hope of solving the money problem once and for all – with fixed income – King Christian IV sent out a scriptum in 1644. The letter promised rewards to those who could find any metal ore, but also harsh punishments to those who did not report their findings. From 1630, there was a mining business at Kvikne. People from Kvikne later started up in Røros, under the direction of the farmer and reindeer hunter Hans Olsen Aasen. In the beginning, when the mine was run in ‘Rauhåmmåren’ mountain, it did not pay off. But the income increased a lot with the discovery of what is today called Gamle Storwartz / Auf die Fortuna mine. The copper mines at Røros were considered among the richest in Europe at the time.
Røros city center.
King Christian IV wrote a letter of privilege in 1646, which gave Røros copper mines (i.e. Joachim Irgens) exclusive rights to minerals, forests and waterfalls within a circle in a radius of 45.2 km from the center Old Storwartz. Inside the circle, all farmers could be ordered to sell their products and perform transport tasks for the copper plant. But this also meant revenue for the locals.
Charming wooden houses in Røros (except the church, it is made of stone).
The first smeltery was built in 1646 by Hitterelva river, less than a mile from ‘Gamle Storwartz’, and the city (Bergstaden) startet to grow there. Irgens wanted to name Røros after himself and renamed the city ‘Irgenstal’, but it did not work out. Sta’a was named Røraas, which at the end of the 19th century was changed to Røros (possibly meaning the outlet of the river Røra). The city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage. Røros is southern Norway’s champion in coldness, with a low temperature record of -50.4°C from 1914. There is quite a need of firewood in the winter!
Bergstadens Ziir.
Røros church from 1780 is also called Bergstadens Ziir (beauty). With 1800 seats, it is one of Norway’s largest churches. The size implies that it should provide service to one of the richest copper mines in Europe.
Røros church. No actual need for 1800 seats on a regular Sunday in April.
When searching for bathing facilities in the Røros municipality, we learned that Gjettjønna (the Goat lake) could be a relevant place. Very close to the city center, too – this was promising!
In search of Lake Goat by Røros city.
In the implementation phase, doubts began to arise. Was this the right pond? Including all this industry at the south end?
Charming industry, no goats.
But swim – of course!
Yes. We did bathe.
… which made us even more in doubt. Did they actually float timber in this pond? … And was this actually timber? It seemed to be from a log house. In a pond?
Log house timber floated (?) In Gjettjønna (?).
Subsequent investigations suggest that we might have made several of the following errors:
Relying on Google Maps (which consistently refers to Hitterelva as Glomma (the longest river in Norway, which Hitterelva runs into))
We noticed currents in the lake, which indicates that it was a river (Håelva) and not a lake
There is a lake called Gjettjønna further away, by Glåmos. Maybe that’s where the great bathing spot is?
Check at which end of the lake the bathing area actually is
The latter applies to Gjettjønna on the other side of the road of the river Håelva. It seems to be shallow and not very idyllic in the northernmost end, but there might be a paradise on the other end, who knows? We did not investigate the southern end..
Not so idyllic shallow water – at the northernpart of Gjettjønna.
It’s not really necessary or right to have a bath in Håelva. But after the bath a, dinner in Kjerkgata followed by a rock concert in ‘Storstuggu’ (= the great hall). We got to experience ‘Spidergawd’ – Oh, what happiness!
Røros copper minery was established in 1644. Occasionally up to 2000 people were involved in the business. In addition to the miners, this also included many local farmers who contributed with transport and firewood. When the plant went bankrupt after 333 years of operation; some 110,000 tonnes of copper and 525,000 tonnes of pyrite had been mined.
The river ‘Hitterelva’ on the south side of Røros center.
Above Røros church you will find a lot of industrial history, including the Smeltery and Malmplassen (Ore Square) with the old weight. Røros Museum is responsible for the preservation of 80 buildings, 15,000 objects and 70,000 photos from the mining history of Røros.
Hitterelva with the dross heaps in the background.
When the Smeltery was built in 1888, it was called ‘a monster sized wooden shed’. In the Smeltery, the ore was processed into export metal through very energy-intensive processes. This quickly eradicated the forest, and the firewood had to be collected further and further away. The Smeltery was in operation every day all year round, except one month in the summer, when the workers had to take care of their farms.
The Smeltery (to the left) at Røros, from 1888, was rebuilt in 1988, after a fire in 1953.
The Smeltery dam was built in 1646, as part of the start-up of the copper mine. The dam was needed as water inlet for the wheels that run the bellows in the Smeltery. On the way down from lake Hyttdammen to the Smeltery, the water was also used to operate two grain mills and a stamp house for felting wool – very useful.
The lake Hyttdammen (Smeltery dam) revision 1947.
The work in the Smeltery was reorganized in 1887, and after 1900 Hyttdammen was no longer maintained. The dam disappeared in the 1934 flood. In 1947, a new dam was built on the same site, in concrete. The function now is as a collection dam for the loose materials in the river. After a clean-up operation in the summer of 2021, Hyttdammen has become an excellent spot for bathing!
Full speed at Hyttdammen.
In the spring of 2022, filming takes place in Røros. Parts of the historical movie ‘The Riot’, about the miner’s uprising in Sulitjelma are shot there, and Knut joined as a ‘featured extra’. An excellent opportunity for new bathing experiences!
Sterke-Knut (Knut-the-Strong) or Spoon-Lars?
Rather busy times for Knut. Filming during the day, programming work in the evening and occasional partying at night. Truly good he is strong! A bath now and then helps!
In Bordeaux, wine has been made for a very, very long time. The first mention of viticulture in this district is from Pliny the Elder, in the year 71 AD. 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine are produced per year, of which 90% is red wine.
Vineyards in Bordeaux. At the end of the rows, roses are often planted – to detect mildew before it attacks the vines.
The red Bordeaux wines are blended, the most used grapes are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes.
Knut and Ulvhild are tasting wine in Bordeaux.
The white wines are made from the grapes Sèmillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. We also got to taste orange wine! The orange color comes by maceration, i.e. the juice (including peel and seeds) is not filtered immediately. This makes a white wine with more taste and aroma, as is a common practice for red wine grapes. In our case it was perhaps mostly interesting. The orange wine we got was not particularly good. But the red wines!
When is La Linea coming?
Visits to wine castles are mandatory for Bordeaux holidays. We made it simple and took the bus to Château Pape Clément. A fantastic place!
Château Pape Clément in Bordeaux.
Surrounded by vineyards, the castle also had an absolutely magnificent garden with many different plant species. Most impressive, however, were the nearly 2,000-year-old olive trees.
Olive tree, 1872 years old.
Wine exports from Bordeaux were large throughout the Middle Ages (a great deal went to England, under the name Claret). Many of the winemakers were from the bourgeoisie and survived the French Revolution relatively unscathed. Bordeaux, however, was hit by American wine lice and mildew from the 1870’s, and production declined sharply. After the First World War, it has rised again, up in the sky. Quality wines from Bordeaux achieve extreme prices and are considered objects of speculation! However, simpler wines are overproduced, and many wineries are struggling financially.
Château Pape Clément seems to be doing very well.
Before the wine tasting, a bath is a good idea. After wine tasting – no swimming! Swimming and alcohol is not a good match – and we don’t believe that our readers spit out the wine when they are at a wine tasting – do you? We therefore recommend a morning trip with picnic and swimming to ‘Le Lac’ north of Bordeaux center, and wine tasting afterwards.
Place de la Bourse with the ‘trois grâces’. Ready for picnic.
Take the tram from Place de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Square), and after 20 minutes you are by a very nice lake which is simply called The Lake (Le Lac).
Le Lac, Boreaux.
We flinched a bit when we saw this sign – is it really not allowed to swim here after all?
Dangerous riverbank at Le Lac.
But nope, the sign warns against steep riverbanks and we were going to the beach. At Le Lac you will find the nicest, family-friendly beach you could wish for. Not very crowded either – at Easter time.
Le Lac invites to beach life.
It turned out to be a terrific bath. Fresh and nice water, with a temperature like a summer day in Norway. A little too much seagrass in the water, though. We observed a local hero wearing a full wetsuit for the occasion. In our opinion, it was completely unnecessary, with active swimming you could keep warm in April.
Active swimming: the butterfly is coming!
After the bath, a pique-nique is just the right thing to do. And yes, we took the trouble to look up the word picnic, since our groups frenchman had some not child friendly interpretations. ‘Pique’ comes from ‘snacking’, while ‘nique’ means ‘of little value’. Food sharing! Considering that this was a family tour, it usually means that Mom and Dad set up a menu and bring it with them. However, we had messed it up with the order that each individual brings what they want themselves (our family consists of various varieties of carnivores, seafood eaters and vegetarians). So then some of us brought food for themselves – as the agreement was, while others had food to share. It’s never easy! But a good and cozy event, it was.
Pique-nique by Le Lac, Bordeaux.
It’s just right to share food and have a bath at Le Lac. This time a claim that has been tested – and verified – by 4 youngsters.
Bourdeaux is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and has over a million inhabitants, if you include the suburbs. The name comes from ‘border’ and ‘eau’ = water, ie the border of the water. And if you have a somewhat wider perspective, this is actually a port city, even though it is located as much as 100 km from the coast. La Garonne is navigable all the way up, and there are 9 km of quays along the river.
The river façade in Bordeaux, from the 18th century.
In the Middle Ages, there was a large slum in Bordeaux. To make the city presentable for the foreign wine traders, it was decided to create ‘Port de la Lune’ = Port of the Moon; large, beautiful buildings facing the harbor – with the slums neatly hidden behind. Clever! The area is inscribed at UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Bordeaux is an ancient city, from pre-roman times, originally Celtic. The region for a long time was subject to England, e.g. during the Hundred Years’ Wars, but there are not many traces of this in the center of Bordeaux today.
Beautiful streets in Bordeaux. Photo: Ulvhild Hunstad Løwø
There are many magnificent churches in Bordeaux, the city has been an archbishop’s seat since 300 AD. After spending an entire morning trying to find the St. Peter’s Church (and the rest of the company), Idun had to admit that the beautiful church she was looking for was the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux, and not the Eglise Saint-Pierre. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. He helt a speech here to collect support for the first crusade. But even though St. Andrew’s Cathedral is great, we think that the bell tower’s 20th century statue of The Holy Mother was too much for our taste.
Slightly too much? Tour Pey Berland.
After the city walk, a bath is just the right thing to do, but we really would not recommend La Garonne. And not because of this sign!
The main problem was actualy not this sign.
Swimming can be dangerous if you can’t swim, yes, we definitely knew that already. The problem was the water in the river. In La Garonne we found the brownest water we have seen in a long time. Mud bath, it was!
La Garonne, and the bridge ‘Pont de Pierre’ in the background.
We have heard that mud baths are healthy, but think maybe not this kind. Alternatives had to be found, and that was super easy in Bordeaux. We recommend a foot bath in front of La Bourse!
By La Bourse. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
‘Bourse’ = Stock exchange. The bathtub is called “Miroir d’eau” = the Water mirror, and we were not the only adult bathers here, just almost… Since we couldn’t do a full entry, we also dropped the full undressing. Kids and dogs enjoyed the almost 4000 Sq mt of water, and a couple of youngsters actually did surfing! With a water depth of 2 cm – well done! The water depth changes in cycles. If the water disappears – just wait a few minutes, and it will return. A bath in Miroir d’eau is just right!
Foot bath in Bordeaux. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø.
After the bath, some food is just right. In Bordeaux you will find typical French cafès and restaurants, as well as many more or less Italian varieties. Idun was very excited about the cheese and ham plates, preferably mixed. Knut is very fond of seafood, and often ordered seafood platter. These have a somewhat wider selection of species than the similar Norwegian dishes, as periwinkles and common whelk are common ingredients. Our eldest daughter Ulvhild, who is otherwise very enthusiastic about mussels (e.g. Moules-frites or Spaghetti Vongole), was somewhat doubtful, but wanted to try. Then it turned out that actually pulling the animals out of their houses was too much for the youths. Maybe it’s better with a bloody steak?
Victor and Ulvhild are enjoying gourmet food in Bordeaux.
… which made a kind of puzzle for us: Isn’t seafood in Bordeaux just right?
After more than a year of preparations, Allied forces landed on the coast of Normandy on the morning of June 6, 1944. Germany expected an invasion and was well prepared. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had fortified the coast with bunkers and physical obstacles. The actual landing, however, was expected to take place at Calais, where the English Channel is at its narrowest, and the fortifications therefore were strongest there. Even long after D-Day, Hitler believed that the landing was a decoy maneuver. Consequently, no massive reinforcements were sent immediately. The landing was given the name Operation Neptune and it was part of the larger Operation Overlord, whose goal was the liberation of France.
D-Day celebration in Bayeux, June 2019.
The landing is the largest amphibious operation ever, and lasted until June 30, 1944, when Allied forces liberated Cherbourg in western Normandy. About 7,000 ships transported 156,000 infantry troops to the five D-Day beaches: Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.
Memorial from WWI. The French soldier was removed during WWII, and reinstated after the liberation in 1944.
One village that was liberated in the morning hours of June 6th, was Saint-Marie-du-Mont, which changed hands several times during the day. The village was occupied by 60 German soldiers, who used the church tower as an observation post. On a clear day you can see all the way to the sea from the church tower.
Église Notre-Dame de Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
In the hours before the actual landing, paratroopers were released within the D-Day beaches, to prepare for the thousands of soldiers and vehicles that were to be landed. However, dense fog and heavy flak, led to only 1/3 of the paratroopers actually being released, and many ended up in the wrong place. The two German soldiers who were on duty at the bell tower fired at paratroopers before they suddenly disappeared.
Our Ladies Church in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. There were shootings here on D-Day.
When the priest came for the morning mass on D-Day, he found the two soldiers in the church, and they asked to be locked into the sacristy. “We promise not to touch anything!”, the soldiers said. ‘Not even the altar wine?’, the priest replied, before turning his back on them. The Allied paratroopers wanted to occupy the bell tower, and there were battles inside the church. Later, bullet holes and blood were found in front of the confessional. On the evening of June 6th, when everything had calmed down, the sexton went into the church and started the clean-up. Sweeping up the rubble in the church nave, dust swirled up. Suddenly he heard a sneeze, and he found two German soldiers who had been hiding inside the confessional.
In Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, as many other places in Normandy, there is a shop that exclusively sells goods from the war universe. Here you can, among other things, buy this charming little sign:
From the war shop in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
4 miles from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont lies Utah Beach, the westernmost of the D-Day beaches. Here you can find a memorial in honor of Andrew Jackson Higgins, who designed the American LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel) used during Operation Neptune. According to D.D. Eisenhower (who led the entire operation): ‘The man who won the war for us’.
Idun runs LCVP at Utah Beach.
Utah Beach was worth a bath. The water was fresh and clear with fun waves to jump through. And here we could not see any signs warning of strong currents.
Utah Beach to be bathed! Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø.
There are fewer people here than on Omaha Beach, but they had horses on the beach.
Normandy is named after the Vikings (Danish and Norwegian). The Norwegian Viking Gange-Rolv was according to tradition appointed Duke Rollo of Normandy in 911, to end the Norse looting. A descendant of Rollo, Wilhelm the Conqueror, started the construction of a large castle in the city of Caen in 1060. The city experienced an economic rise based on Wilhelm’s invasion of England in 1066. The castle is still large in extent, but not so high anymore, partly due to the bombings during World War II.
Wilhelm the Conqueror’s castle is still relatively large.
We spent the Easter holiday 2022 in Caen to visit our youngest daughter, Une, who is studying there. Could there be swimming opportunities in Caen? The town is about 20 km from shore, but the river Orne is navigable all the way up, so it was worth a try. Wearing French bérets, we went to the old port – La Quai – but no, that water was too unappetizing, even for bathoholics like us. But the water photo turned out to be quite nice!
Seemingly beautiful water in Caen.
Other possible activities in Caen are church visits – there are several beautiful churches here, in a mixed Romanesque-Gothic style. And if the congregation grows out of the church, just build a new church nave in parallel with the old one, in a new and different style.
Two parallel church naves in l’Église Saint-Sauveur, Caen.
Anyway – what to do in Caen is to memorise the World War II. Many of the churches in Normandy, for example, lack a few floors, if you look closely. It became too strenuous to rebuild them to their original height after the war, so they put a roof over the lower floor instead and let it be.
And if you are (by chance) looking for a food tour, you will find excursions out of Caen with World War II as the theme. Caen itself has basically very few excursions for itself. So then you just have to go into the world of war. With the war in Ukraine simultaneously unfolding in the theater of reality, this became rather gloomy. A bus ride out of the city center you can find the Mémorial de Caen, which covers most aspects of World War II.
Mémorial de Caen, Easter 2022. The flag of Ukraine has been given a central place.
The center of Caen was bombed several times during the war, but the Allied bombing during Operation Neptune (D-day) was probably the worst.
Caen after Allied bombing in the spring of 1944. From the exhibition in the Caen Mémorial.
With World War II as a backdrop, however, there are up to several bathing opportunities in Normandy, namely the D-Day beaches of Juno, Gold, Sword, Omaha and Utah, where the Allies carried out the largest landing operation in world history on June 6, 1944. In France, this is not just a memorial day of the losses, it’s about liberation from Nazism, and this is a real celebration.
The D-Day parade in Bayeux, Normandie, June 2019.
During the D-Day festivities, the atmosphere is rather tense at the beaches, with many tourists, especially Americans, who are there to remember the fallen soldiers. At the beginning of June we would not really recommend these as bathing spots, but the rest of the year it is fine.
Omaha Beach with the memorial in the background.
Omaha Beach is 8 miles long, with the finest golden sand. It was here that the landing forces experienced the greatest losses. In the course of one day, about 1,000 American soldiers died here, most of them during the morning hours, and they were on the verge of ending this landing. The first 20 minutes of the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ describe these scenes as well (horribly) as can be done.
Omaha Beach. Is it okay to swim here, you think? Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
We concluded that ‘yes’ we can have a bathe here. But be careful! We saw a sign warning of strong currents, so do not swim too far out!
Parts of the landing structures are still present on Omaha Beach. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
And yes, this was a great bath. Fresh and nice water, big and fun waves on the way out. A bath on Omaha Beach is just right – when there is no D-Day celebration!
In the middle of Reykjavík you will find a pond, Tjörnin. It is said that a long time ago, two women lived on opposite sides of the water. One day the ladies met while they were rinsing off their socks. They started arguing about fishing in the pond, which they both wanted to have for themselves. It ended with curses, and all the trout in the pond were turned into insects. Since then, there has never been fishing in Tjörnin. Constructed with the ‘feet’ in this water, you will find Ráðhús Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Town Hall). Tjörnin is home to many birds, and feeding them is a popular activity, so popular that Tjörnin is called ‘The thickest bread soup in the world’. We did not bathe there!
Ráðhús Reykjavíkur. The excavator shows the construction of the new parliament on Iceland, Alþingi.
Northeast of the town hall you will find the Icelandic Art Center (Kynningarmiðstöð íslenskrar myndlistar). If you are a little interested in art – spend some time there, it is recommended.
More art options? At Krafla (northern Iceland) you can take an art shower!
After the art, time is just right for a bath. We suggest a good walk along the promenade to Seltjarnanes, if the weather is nice. Just before you reach the pier of the lighthouse (Grótta viti), you can see a small building on the right. Go down to the shore and there you will find Kvika foot bath (Kvika means Magma).
Kvika foot bath. Grótta lighthouse back to the left.
The artwork is made by Ólöf Nordal and consists of a hollowed out stone that is lit and filled with hot water (39 degrees). Four adults can bathe their feet at the same time. An absolutely wonderful experience!
Kvika foot bath at Reykjavík.
Imagine a hot foot bath in a winter night by Reykjavik with the northern lights dancing in the background! ‘Take off your socks and shoes and let yourself be linked with nature on the beach. You become a participant in the notion of settlement, nature, land, sea, sky and earth. When the feet are warm, the blood flows through the body. Physical and mental health flow together, sensitivity to the environment awakens and a connection is formed with the forces of nature‘. Quotation: The artist Ólöf.
