Monday, January 4, 2016
No, this is not a piece about some pervert peep show that we Icelander’s love to attend. The topic for this post is public showers. Yes, you read correctly. And yes, you have to shower naked.
You see, in Iceland there are separate showers for men and women in swimming pools. And we have some strict rules about personal hygiene at these places because we want to keep our pools clean and nice. That’s the short answer for why you have to shower naked before you go swimming.
We demand you shower and wash your whole body WITHOUT your bathing suit on before you enter the pool area. Don’t be shy – everyone has to do it. Sure, it might seem weird at first, even absurd. But just get over yourself. It’s liberating being naked and nobody’s wondering about your body and how it looks like in the nude. Enjoy the shower. Enjoy the thought of bathing in a clean pool because everyone before you has cleansed themselves before jumping in. Sounds good, right?
And if you’re confused by what we mean when we say wash you whole body there is a nice little diagram in every public shower. We’ve even made a funny little video to explain our fascination with personal hygiene and how you should wash yourself:
Don’t hesitate – just shower naked
Now you must be thinking that this is quite strange. Who are these Icelanders to tell me how I should shower? Well, we get really pissed off when you don’t follow these simple rules and we get a bit grossed out to be completely honest.
So can you please extend us the courtesy of following our bathing guidelines? Then we can sleep easy.
Check out Must See’s favorite pools in the capital area here, here and here. Have fun!
