Vesturbæjarlaug

This guide to Vesturbæjarlaug opens with the five spiral hot pots on its deck, shaped like snail shells, and the question of whether that odd form really reaches back to the saga age. It traces the pool to its 1961 opening, Iceland's first built for leisure rather than swimming lessons, and follows designer Gísli Halldórsson to a small stone bathing pool in Reykholt once used by the chieftain and historian Snorri Sturluson. Along the way it touches on wall paintings by artist Bárbara Árnason that once lined the reception, showing scenes from an old outlaw saga. Slide into the warm water and see if you can picture the medieval original.