Culture

Video: Icelanders take swimming pool etiquette VERY seriously!

By Magnús Sveinn Helgason

Before entering the pool Wash without swimsuit or you might go through the same experience as the guy in the video below.

One of the surest ways to offend and annoy Icelanders is to go into the geothermal baths or public pools without first showering and bathing. Why? Because it’s unhygienic, that‘s why! So: You should shower and soap without your swimsuit before entering the pool.

Read more: Wash Thoroughly Without Swimsuit – Or How to Behave at the Geothermal Swimming Pools

But if the knowledge that every single Icelander is watching you, thinking very unkind things about your rude and unhygienic behaviour, is not enough to dissuade you from going into the pool without first showering with soap and without your swimsuit, then perhaps the shower warden will.

You do NOT want to encounter this guy, because an encounter is guaranteed to leave you scarred for life. (Please notice in some countries this might be borderline suitable for watching at work).

The video is an outtake from the popular comedy show Fóstbræður and is one of the most popular and memorable sketches of the show. It features the actors Hilmir Snær Guðnason as the shower warden and Benedikt Erlingsson as the swimmer. We also see Sigurjón Kjartansson and Jón Gnarr as fellow swimmers. The comedian Jón Gnarr later went on to lead the Best Party to victory in the 2010 Reykjavík municipal elections, becoming the Mayor of Reykjavík in 2010-2014.