Dalslaug: A visit to Iceland’s newest swimming pool
Þýðing: Hallberg Brynjar Guðmundsson
Last December Iceland’s newest swimming pool opened. The pool, called Dalslaug, is located in Úlfarsárdalur in Reykjavík. It was Reykjavík’s mayor, Dagur B. Eggertsson who took the first dive into the pool on December 11th. Since then thousands of people have visited Dalslaug. Among them is this representative of the Student Paper, accompanied by Hekla, his 9-year-old sister, who reviewed whether the pool is kid-friendly or not.
The Adventurous Quest to Dalslaug
Dalslaug’s location, Úlfarsárdalur, is quite far from downtown Reykjavík and the neighbourhood is still going through constructions. Due to that this reporter and his sister got lost along the way. However, Hekla saw a silver lining and said: “Us getting lost is a good thing, it means other people have also gotten lost and then there will be more room in the pool for us!” Hekla’s excitement was palpable. It does not happen often that her older brother has free time to spend with her. We found a parking spot in the distance of the pool and decided to take an adventure hike to the pool, there was excitement in the air. When one arrives at Dalslaug one will notice a Dog-library on their right-hand side. The Dog-library loans out branches and toys for canine outdoor activities. On the left is another branch of Reykjavík City Library that has a wonderful selection of young adult novels, both in Icelandic and English and is open until 10 p.m. during the week. This reporter did not have a chance to explore the book section in any more detail as Hekla ran straight to the locker rooms, screaming: “I’ll see you in the pool!”
Photo: From Birgisson’s Facebook
The Swimming Pool
It was clear that the inside swimming pool was shallow, intended both for beginner swimmers and swimming-pool regulars. This reporter waited a while for his sister and when she arrived the games began. We played various swimming pool games together that involved a ball; catch, piggie in the middle (which surprisingly, does not work with only two participants) and finally ‘throwing the ball at the head of big brother’. All of these games involved splashing, loud noises, and other shenanigans.
After the games this reporter and Hekla decided that it was time to check out the outdoor swimming pool. The pool itself is 25 meters across and there are 6 different lanes for swimming. It turned out that Hekla was right, as there were few people at the pool. This reporter and Hekla spent a good time in the outdoor pool. However, Hekla was disappointed to find out that there were no proper water slides. There will be a 7 meter slide that will bring joy to the younger swimmers.
The Hot Tubs
In the name of journalism it was decided to end the trip by trying out all the hot tubs at Dalslaug. The trip did not last long as Hekla dragged this reporter back into the indoor pool to play “just one more time”. Due to these unforeseen circumstances this reporter was not able to review the sauna. After two hours filled with fun and games Hekla was convinced to get out of the pool, to this tired reporter's joy. After we had finished showering we headed home for post-swim ice cream. All’s well that ends well, especially with ice cream.