Iceland’s problems are regularly solved in its public pool hot tubs. Getting anyone outside the pool to adopt the solutions is another matter. If you’re a history buff, the hot tubs are the Areopagus of Iceland, the one place where everyone is free to express their opinion…almost naked!
Conversation is part of Iceland’s bathing culture. A soak can turn into a debate about politics, the neighbours, the price of everything, or whatever has happened that morning. Our feature Pooling Together explored how these public spaces bring people together and give them somewhere to talk.
They can also be a place to find your way into Icelandic life. As one visitor discovered, a conversation in the hot tub can be the beginning of a friendship.
We’re opening up a little space for those conversations at Iceland Review.
HOT TUB is our new Wednesday reader-opinion column, open to people who live in Iceland or are here visiting. We want to hear what you’ve been discussing, complaining about, defending, or trying to understand.
Perhaps something about life here deserves more attention. Perhaps a much-loved Icelandic habit drives you mad. Perhaps you’ve arrived as a visitor and noticed something the rest of us have stopped seeing.
Send us your opinion
Send us a short opinion on one subject you care about. Tell us what you think and what prompted it. Write as yourself, in the language you’d use to make your case across the hot pot.
Email [email protected] with “HOT TUB” in the subject line. Include your name and tell us whether you live in Iceland or are visiting.
We’ll select contributions for publication and may edit them for clarity and length.