Stunned

anskupo

Ehkä yksi maailman upeimmista paikoista. Näin talvella ei ketään muita missään.🤍

Lilluttiin kuumassa kuopassa, erämaassa keskellä ei mitään, vuorien ympäröimänä.

L O V E L O V E!

Islanti vaan on.🇮🇸🤍

A very brief overview of just a wee bit of soaking info from Iceland. Maybe a shorter read for a change. To start off the year so to say.

Almostthereadventures has a list (May 14) of 22 Icelandic hot springs :

'Hot springs in Iceland are where strangers meet. The people of Iceland have a deep connection with geothermal activity that is centuries old, so it’s no wonder there are so many geothermal pools in Iceland. Hot springs are a part of Icelandic culture and provide a place to connect or meet friends and family all year long. When you have amazing Icelandic scenery paired with a natural hot water source it makes for a perfect match for relaxing'.

Most though of the commercial kind.

The Reykjavik Grapevine reports (Dec. 13) on the first fully publically accesible hot tub:

'The new hot tub will feature a ramp, allowing wheelchair users to roll directly into the water'.

in_sain_i

Don't know what Eva was telling but it was funny, I guess :-D

Pic by @blende_eins_zwei_photography

Funny girl @evalilienthal

Doing a break from the fantastic costumes and photoshootings we take in iceland :-D

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Fault

Totaliceland has updated (Nov. 29) their piece on birthday suit swimming on the island. Change?

'Anyone visiting Iceland ten years ago could have enjoyed many Icelandic steam baths and geothermally heated pools and lakes without difficulty in their birthday suit. Not any more.

...

You can no longer bathe naked anywhere here without difficulty; loud screams from Japanese tourists and constant pointing and whispering among people from the United States. And some fancy places as the very expensive Blue Lagoon or Fontana steam baths in Laugarvatn explicitly forbid any kind of nudity.

This is a shame indeed and entirely the fault of the growing number of foreign tourists making demands about civility.

However, there are loads of places available for nude bathing but these are far away from the popular tourist destinations in or around Reykjavik area. In the highlands you can still do very much as you please and there are places and times where nudity will bother no one but those places are far off the beaten tourist track'.

icelandic.naturist

Hotspring trips are always refreshing for the soul. This is also a good place to enjoy the sun when she comes out to play.

#naturism #befree #skinnydipping #secretplace #hotspringsiceland #bodyfreedom #nakedinnature #nudeisnotlewd #naked #freespirit #enjoyinglife #hotsprings #lovetheskinyourin #befree #gonaked #feelthefreedom #daretobare #friendship #enjoythemoment #enjoylife #capturethemoment #freedom #freethebody #friends #soakingspirit #soaking #soak #hotspringsiceland #hotspring #iceland #icelandicnature

TravelerTina visits (May 21) the Netherlands (most), but this blog entry also deals with Iceland:

'Nude bathing in Iceland, on the other hand [to the Netherlands], is a bit more challenging. While nudism in Iceland is legal, you generally don’t do it when there are other people around. All of the local spas and pools require that you wear a bathing suit (though single-sex nude showers are required beforehand). Much though you might want to, you cannot be naked at places like the Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, or the fabulous Hvammsvik Hot Springs.Nude bathing in Iceland, on the other hand, is a bit more challenging. While nudism in Iceland is legal, you generally don’t do it when there are other people around. All of the local spas and pools require that you wear a bathing suit (though single-sex nude showers are required beforehand). Much though you might want to, you cannot be naked at places like the Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, or the fabulous Hvammsvik Hot Spring'.

kittenimsmitten

i know instagram is forcing us all to make reels or our posts aren’t seen

i’m trying for sure

but i’m not very good at it

anyway here are just a couple regular old photos of me (and one of mathias) in a hot spring we found in iceland

it was a very long drive to get there, we didn’t really know where we were even going or what we would find

but i mean there were sheep

and rainbows (hi sissy)

and rolling hills

it was really pretty

and i just feel like it’s worth sharing 🌈

Heave

The end of the year visit went to the sauna complex under the name of Asanti, just outside of the city of Gent, Belgiums province of East Flanders.

This was our second visit here; the prior visit was in 2019, noting that back then the visit was ok-ish. But not really worthwhile heading this way? Possibly only if you are in the neighbourhood.

Had a visit to a museum in Gent prior, so it was really really really on our way.

Anyway, I understand Asanti are under new management. 

Facilities (3-4 sauna's, indoor / outdoor swimming pool, steam bath, smaller jacuzzi) are still the same, plus a bit of wear and tear, restaurant service back then was better.

What I noticed: management are very keen on keeping the silence: it's not working. They also actively seek out visitors drinking water from their own water bottles: apparently a big no-no. Money is the answer.

Btw.: the entrance fee was €35.

Five years ago the Aufguss sessions were ok. This time round there were excellent sessions: I'm loving these equalizers ever more. Everyone comes in with their own (mis-)conceptions, but during the Aufguss we all become one as we heave under the ever increasing heat.

The reviews.

Google: 4.3 stars (239 reviews) back in 2019, now a slight downward change: 4.2 (327 reviews).

Tripadvisor: 3.5 stars (28 reviews) in 2019, now still 3.5 (from 41 reviews). Though based on solely the past year, it would be nearer 4.5 stars

The Facebook page doesn't do reviews anymore, but back in 2019 it was 4.4 stars (from 139 reviews).

Back in 2019 it was awarded a personal 7.

I'll stick with this, purely because the Aufguss sessions were good / excellent. But the drinking water affair and the complete lack of choice for vegetarians and the steering towards more expensive choices are undercutting this mark.

Asanti now also has it's own Instagram page to communicate.

As standard there's very little news forthcoming on particular sauna's. My own site has this from earlier 2024 (Mar. 17):

'Creating a storm. On Facebook.

Asanti (one of Belgiums older wellness destinations) has announced (Feb. 17) the possibility to come on over, but in bathers (if needy), though only on the Tuesdays. Forthcoming, the Tuesday will be clothing optional.

The storm: 175 reactions.

Nudity is the equalizer. Shifting from this opens up voyeurism potentials, possibly resulting in lower body confidence to the non-bathers users. And using the facilities is about being zen.

Owners see it differently: possible new clientele can find their way here and get used to sauna's and take a next step towards the unclothed usage.

My point would be: if we agree that bathers are unhygienic, how then does this play out? Are the sauna's scrubbed more, does the added chlorine (from bathing close / possible inceased use in water) shoot up?

Anyway, the owners are looking for ways to attract more and possibly more satisfied clients. As from the discussion that may mean losing others.

Maybe owners have learnt a thing or two in the process'.