Blog – Page 16 – ToBatheOrNotToBathe

Normandie

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!

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!

Art bath

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!

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.

Sky Lagoon

Iceland was strongly affected by the economic crisis 2008-2011. The banks had been privatized in the early 2000s, and the debt burden was very high when the crisis hit. Beyond the 2000s, the situation has improved. The tourism in particular, has increased a lot, and great efforts are made for the visitors to spend more money in the country. When a tourist is taking pictures by a waterfall, it doesn’t provide much income… Investments are needed!

Sky Lagoon, which opened in 2021, is an ambitious facility. The spa is located at the peninsula Karsnes to the south of Reykjavík. The view is spectacular! From the pool you can spot Reykjavík to the north, Bessastaðir (the presidental residence) to the west and Reykjanes peninsula in the south. The latter might be sending smoke signals to you, if the volcano in Geldingadalur is still having outbreaks. When we visited Sky Lagoon in spring 2021 (only a few weeks after the opening), we enjoyed the view of 8-10 clouds of smoke, from within the hot pool!

Panorama view: The extinct volcano Keilir and smoke from the new volcano in Geldingadalur.

The spa is absolutely beautiful, colors chosen from black, grey and brown. On the way to the basin, you descend the stairs surrounded by black lava rocks. It looks – and feels – like leaving a cave. The edges of the basins are also made of black lava rocks, and the massage shower looks like a natural waterfall – with wonderful, warm water. Gorgeous!

The southern part includes hot or cold (!) steam showers and a large sauna where one wall is nothing but panorama windows. Here you can also find a cold pot, to freshen up after the hot sauna.

Amazing design in Sky Lagoon. Sauna at the back right.

We would have appreciated the possibility to swim in the cold sea just below the spa, but that was unfortunately unquestionably not an option. Except that: Absolutely fantastic!

Leifur Heppni Eiríksson

Leifur Eiríksson was the son of Eirík Raude. After his father had been banned several times on Iceland for manslaughter, the family emigrated to Greenland and settled at Brattahlið in Vesturbygð. Around the year 1000 AD, Leifur sailed west from Greenland to search for new land.

First they found a place they called Helluland (probably Baffin in Canada). Then they sailed south and discovered a land of forests, which they named Markland (probably Labrador). Finally they found a land where wild grapes were growing, which they called Vínland (Wine land – Newfoundland). One of the expedition members was a german priest – who actually had seen grapes before (grapes normally don’t grow neither on Iceland nor Greenland…) In Vínland Leifur and his people built houses and stayed there during winter. On the way home the next spring, Leifur rescued 15 people from a reef. After this he was nicknamed Leifur Heppni in Iceland (the Lucky one). One of the shipwrecked was, according to the Grænlendinge Saga, Guðriður, later to be married to his brother, Þorstein Eiríksson.

Hallgrimskyrkja in Reykjavík. Leifur Eiríksson is leading the way.

There is a statue of Leifur Eiríksson in front of the monumental church ‘Hallgrímskirkja’ in Reykjavík. East of the church, in the street Barónsstígur, there is a rather big but quite ordinary swimming facility: Sundhöllin (actually just meaning The Basin), where the prices are very reasonable. In Sundhöllin you will find two big basins (one indoors and one outdoors), and several hot pools. We absolutely recommend Sundhöllin for swimming exercise.

Sundhöllin. Hallgrímskirkja to the far right. Photo: sundlaugar.is

… and after the training, time is just right for a relaxing hot bath. One of the hot pots is obviously mounted after the other pools, the whole room including the stairs. Drain for surplus water was not installed. That means – when someone enters the pool, the surplus water runs all the way down the stairs. It was really surprising to be met by cascades in Sundhöllin!

The Conquest

From the center of Reykjavík there is a fine hiking trail by the sea all the way to Seltjarnanes. On the way you will pass Saga Museum, which we recommend. If you have kids – bring them too! The museum has a variety of clothes you can borrow, to look like a viking. In the Saga Museum you can, among other stories, learn the story of Ingólfur Arnarson, who moved from Sunnfjord to Iceland because he had been banned in Norway.

Ingólfur was the first to settle permanent in Iceland, and the first to live in what is now Reykjavík. According to the Settlement Saga (Landnámabók), Ingólfur threw his high seat pillars in sea, to let the Gods decide where to settle. Then he sent his slaves, Karla and Vífill, to search for them. The pillars were found 3 years later, at Seltjarnanes. ‘Why should we end up here, after passing so much nice land first?’ they asked. Reykjavík’s coat of arms images Ingólfur’s two chair pillars in sea.

Reykjavík’s coat of arms. Photo: Wikipedia.

After the museum visit, it’s time for a bath, and you should do it at Seltjarnanes. There you can find a charming, shallow bay just within the lighthouse, with grey sand, and plenty of little flounders swimming away as you enter the sea. The place is a popular destination, especially in the evenings. The sunsets here are beautiful!

Seltjarnanes. Idun can’t wait to have a bath.

South of Seltjarnanes you can see the old volcano Keilir, or maybe smoke from the new volcano in Geldingadalir/Fagradalsfjall. North-westwards you can see all the way to Snæfellsjökull if the weather is good.

Knut puts on his wet suit at Seltjarnanes bay. Far left: The old volcano Keilir.

We have had several very nice baths at Seltjarnanes. Always crystal clear water and beautiful ocean views. In the bay, however, one must expect to wade through mounds of semi-dry seaweed at low tide. And after a storm – yuk! Yes, we did.

Diving in Silfra

At Þingvellir it is easy see to that the North American and the European continental plates are drifting away from each other, because there are ravines and gills everywhere. Some of them are filled with water.

Knut is absolutely ready to dive in Silfra.

The most beautiful of them all is Silfrugjá (the Silver Gill), also called Silfra.

Free diving between two continental plates. Photo: Birgir Skulason

This is a narrow gill, filled with unbelievably clear water. If possible – do book a free diving tour here, it’s fabulous! You can choose between scuba diving, snorkeling and free diving. We chose the latter, as there is nothing you do in Silfra by scuba diving that you can’t do free diving. And the sense of freedom is higher with a wetsuit than a drysuit and without air tanks. We even let the tour guide do most of the photographing, so we could just concentrate on enjoying. The swim takes about half an hour, and goes through 3 different zones: The brown, the blue and the green. The brown zone is the narrowest, hence the color (because of the least light flux).

Not all of us dived deep down. Next time there will be more lead for Idun! Photo: Birgir Skulason

Here you can touch both continents at the same time. It’s fascinating! The blue zone is where Silfra is deepest, with a stunning beauty. The depth goes down to 63 meters.

The green zone is the shallow one, but beautiful as well. The water is pretty cold, only about 2 degrees C, but that will be soon forgotten. Free diving in Silfra is absolutely fantastic!

Diving in Silfra is just right! Photo: Birgir Skulason

Alþingi

If you have the opportunity – spend one full day at Þingvellir! Preferably a nice day, but that is hard to achieve because of the predictably unpredictable Icelandic weather (as was written on a T-shirt: ‘Welcome to Iceland! If you don’t like the weather – just wait 15 minutes!’. Þingvellir is a grandiose place where you find a splendid geology and it is of invaluable importance to the Icelanders.

The river Öxará and Þingvallavatn (lake).

Alþingi (the Icelandic parliament) was founded in the year 930 AD, due to the liberation from Norway and the Norwegian king. All free men could meet at Alþingi every spring. It is the oldest parliament in the world still running, and the meetings were held at Þingvellir every year until 1798, thereafter to be held in Reykjavík.

Þingvellir. A place where the Icelandic flag is hoisted every day (not in the evenings, though).

The Norwegian law ‘Gulatingsloven’ was the foundation of the Icelandic laws. There were one ‘Þing’ in every region, and Alþingi for the country as a whole. The Icelanders spent a lot of resources on the ‘Þing business’, as most of the time during spring and early summer were used for the long trip to and from as well as the Þing itself. One of the first decisions at Alþingi was not to have a king.

Behind the fence Snorrabúð was located, Snorri Sturlusons cabin.

Alþingi did not have executive power, and that might be the underlying cause for centuries of clan wars and vendettas. After years of civil war state, Iceland lost its independence and came under the Norwegian king in 1262. It was at Þingvellir Iceland declared independence from Denmark 17^th of June 1944.

Þingvellir is a national park, lying in between the North American and the European continental plates. This is clearly visible as you are walking around; there are ravines and gills everywhere. Where the parliament meetings were held, there are nice hiking trails today.

The ‘þing men’ built cabins where they could meet and sleep. Remains from 50 of these places are excavated by archaeologists, and many objects have been found. A little further down, by Þingvalla lake, you can find several ravines ‘between continents’ filled with water.

The most famous of these is Silfra, but to swim there you have to book a guided tour (see next bath). We have done that, and finished the free diving tour with a short swim without the wet suits. Yes, it’s quite cold (around 2 degrees C), but lovely!

By the way, this is a good place to drink the bathing water, there is no better drinking water anywhere!

Golden Mini Circle

If you have some time in Iceland, we would recommend you to spend more than one day at ‘The Golden Circle’. Þingvellir including (free) diving in Silfra should be a separate trip. The first day it is great to visit Gullfoss and Geysir Area. The waterfall Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, it is unbelievably beautiful in its power. Gullfoss has a large water flow and 32 meters height, divided into two falls. The waterfall was protected after a public action started by Sigríður Tómasdóttir, and a statue of her has been erected at the waterfall.

Gullfoss in the river Hvítá was worth protecting.

At Gullfoss you will find a big shop with a large selection of souvenirs and Icelandic clothes. And, strangely enough (since it looks like a typical tourist trap), also a very good lamb soup (kjötsúpa).

After some blowouts from Strokkur in Geysir Area, it’s a good time for a bath – but not in Strokkur, and not in Gullfoss!

We recommend going to Laugarvatn (Lake Laugar). There you have to visit Fontana spa. It is gorgeous, but be aware that this is a natural spa, including a distinct smell of sulfur. Especially the saunas require some overcoming, but what can you expect when you are ‘sitting on top of a Geysir’?

The pools are made of ordinary pool tiles, which is a fine contrast to the rough stones and drift timber that frames them.

What lifts the Fontana experience the most, is the possibility to switch between hot and cold baths. From a luxury ‘heitur pottir’ (hot pot) you can take a fresh swim in Laugarvatn. NB! Don’t even consider diving in! Laugarvatn is extremely shallow. The maximum depth is only 2 meters – even though the area is 2 km², and you actually risk to get abrasions on your knees when swimming!

But that feeling… To cool down in Laugarvatn before reentering a beautiful 42 degree pool from where you can contemplate the volcano Hekla far far away! If you swim along the shore to the right, though, the water in the lake itself is warm, there is warm water coming up from the lake bottom everywhere!

Laugarvatn. The volcano Hekla in the background.

Then we say like the Icelanders: Allt fint (everything’s fine)!

The white feathers

Höfn is located in the region Austurland, by Hornafjörður. Here you can find several guesthouses and good restaurants.

From Höfn you have a splendid view westwards to Vatnajökull’s plentiful extensions.

Höfn. Idun reminisces about growing up on Svalbard, Spitsbergen.

At the western side of Höfn, by the seaside, there is a nice hiking trail. The starting point is by the harbor, and the theme is astronomy. The solar planets are located along the path, sizes and distances are made to scale. Fascinating! By a small headland you will find an outdoor exhibition, with beautiful pictures of Vatnajökull, local happenings, and also a stone exhibition.

Gabbro exhibition by the hiking trail along Hornafjörður.

Arriving Höfn one late evening in September, we went to this headland to have a bath. It was perfect. A cliff hanger to be used as a natural wardrobe – it couldn’t be better!

What wasn’t perfect was the weather – gale. It was a rather cool experience. Because of the wind, we were freezing cold long before entering the water, and the bay of Hornafjörður is affected by melting water from the glaciers. Besides the cold, the Höfn ‘beach’ consisted of small, pointed stones… Not the best bathing experience, really. But we were contended (and no, we have never regretted a bath). After the bath we went straight to a restaurant for a wonderful dinner.

Evening panorama from the wardrobe. Idun struggles a bit with the word ‘horizontal’.

Back in Höfn in March, we wanted to give our favorite wardrobe another chance, calm seas were a promising start. Knut was ready to enter the fjord first – wearing swimming shoes this time. But he didn’t throw himself into the water right away. Halfway out he stopped, wondering, looking around. ‘Strange. There are a lot of feathers here. Plenty!’ Then he was silent for a while, until he suddenly shouted: ‘We shall not swim here! Those are not feathers, but toilet paper!’

The conclusion was basically that a bath in Höfn is not right. At least not right there, right then.

The abandoned houses

When driving around Iceland, it’s impossible not to notice all the abandoned farms.

Guesthouse and rusty but not abandoned barn at Rauðaberg.

If you add all that you don’t see as well – the number is high! Abandoned houses and barns built in turf (before the use of concrete took over), surrender to nature to such an extent that after a few years they are not visible except as small piles of grass.

Flatey. The shed practicing to become earth.

However, the concrete structures are visible many many years. A lot of them are ugly, but some are actually quite beautiful in all their decay. By Highway 1, west of Höfn, not far from Rauðaberg, there are some ancient houses decorated with new and modern graffiti.

Decorated old concrete with a view eastwards to Höfn.

Iceland has undergone a period of heavy urbanization, and when it comes to the capital area – to the extreme. Of Iceland’s 350,000 inhabitants, 65% lived in Reykjavik and the surrounding area in 2021.

In the heart of Haukadalen, not far from Rauðaberg, we had our coldest bath to date, in March, only a few days after a nice bath at the same place in beautiful spring weather. This time minus 4 degrees and a fresh gale, so we were freezing long before we started to undress. Knut was first ready, and plowed the ice towards the pool while Idun took pictures.

Yes, it is also time for a bath in minus four degrees. But admittedly, the idea of a hot pot was clearly also rather present in our brains.

A rather fresh bath in the ‘Nameless’ waterfall

Getting dressed afterwards was a rather cumbersome affair, since the fingers had trouble cooperating. But regrets? We have a few! But any baths are not among them.