Three times more guests in Laugardalslaug swimming pool this morning

"The attendance was triple for us, roughly estimated, this morning compared to an average day, so we take this very seriously," says Drífa Magnúsdóttir, director of the Laugardalslaugin, in an interview with mbl.is about the number of visitors this morning due to the lack of hot water, adding that some people visited this beloved energy source of Reykjavík just to take a shower.

"People just pay their entrance and of course get access to what they need to use," says the director, adding that a lot of calls are made to ask if the pool is open. "The weather is such that I expect it will be crowded in all places today," says Drífa.

Showers at workplaces used

"It's a bit unfortunate that a long time ago we planned a maintenance closure at Vesturbærlaug swimming pool, so it's closed but could have been open, there's warm water," Magnúsdóttir says and lists the swimming pools that are open by the city, Sundhöllin, Laugardalslaug , Dalslaug in Úlfarsárdal, Grafarvogslaug and Klébergslaug.

"I also assume that there is a lot of pressure on showers in various workplaces," says the director playfully now that the supply of hot water in the capital area is less than normal.

Magnúsdóttir used to work at the Sundhöllin swimming pool, the ancient Reykvík pool in the house of architect Guðjón Samúelsson, and says that the attendance there has increased significantly after the outdoor pool opened in 2017. However, the rule of habit is always there for some, "there is a large group of women who do not want to see the outdoor pool and leave just the indoor pool and the old tubs on the balcony, they have a certain charm and many people want to keep them and it will be just like that. However, the increased use of the pool came after the outdoor pool opened, people want to sit outside and sunbathe", she says in parting about the pool which will soon celebrate nine decades of operation.