Centralbadet Again

Okay, I just got back from the pool and it was so great it deserves a follow-up post. First of all, just throw every notion you have of a public swimming pool out the door. You walk into Centralbadet, and the first thing you see is a chic little cafe, with candles lighting every table. Then you walk down to the reception desk and pay your $30 (!!!!) to get in (but we have free passes from Bonnier for the month of October). Before you actually hit the pool, you have to go through a wood-paneled bar that serves cocktails and elegant small plates, past two hot tubs and a sauna. Then, finally, you get to the pool, which is centered in a hall with a cathedral ceiling, ringed by cabanas housing massage rooms and tanning beds.

The pool is actually oblong, with no lanes, and all the people "swimming" in it are slowly following each other around the perimeter of the pool, in a leisurely counterclockwise breaststroke with their heads above water. I just started cracking up. "Niklas, is this just what you do? You have to go around in a loop behind all these people, breaststroking really slowly?" He was like, "Yeah, you noticed there were no Swedes on the Olympic swimming podium, right?"

So, I continued to crack up while I swam along in a breaststroke with the rest of the Swedes. There were actually signs on the wall saying "please respect the calm" (meaning don't talk too loud or splash around) and instructing us to swim counterclockwise. We chatted and paddled around and looked at the amazing frescos painted on the wall, and then we got in a hot tub for a little while. That's my idea of a lunchtime workout!