Reykjavík
Swim, sauna, late dinner
The most Icelandic date you can go on. Hot pots at Sundhöllin, then small plates at Skál.
More about this plan
Icelanders date at the pool. That sounds wrong until you do it — an hour in the hot pots of Sundhöllin (the oldest pool in Reykjavík, a Guðjón Samúelsson building from 1937) does more for a conversation than any dinner table. You alternate between the heitir pottar, the steam room, and the icy plunge. By the time you get out your face is pink, you're relaxed, and the awkward phase is long gone.
It's a ten-minute walk through 101 to Hlemmur Mathöll. Grab a booth at Skál! and order small plates and natural wine. You've already seen each other half-undressed; ordering the lamb heart feels like nothing.
The plan, stop by stop
- 1
Sundhöllin pool and hot pots
Reykjavík's oldest public pool — a 1937 Guðjón Samúelsson building with indoor lap pool, outdoor hot pots, and a steam room on the roof.
- 2
Dinner at Skál! (Hlemmur Mathöll)
New-Nordic small plates and natural wine inside the Hlemmur food hall. Order a few things; the lamb tartare is famous.