Winter is cold and wet in Denmark, making the prospect of doing any sort of exercise outside, such as walking or running, very easy to resist. Sitting at home is not good for anyone’s health, so we have decided on swimming as an alternative form of exercise during these cold winter months.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I would say swimming pools are not my natural habitat. I grew up swimming in the sea, and probably graced the depths of a swimming pool not more than 5-10 times in my life, none of which I distinctly remember. I also grew up in quite a conservative Catholic country.So imagine my surprise when I turned up at the pool first time!
- You need to shower with your clothes off. No idea WHY wearing a swimming suit while bathing is bad, but it is. Very bad. Or so I have been told.
- Shoes stay next to the door. Take them off as soon as you get in and don’t wear them until just before you leave.
- Wash yourself properly before entering the pool. With the given soap. Yeps, there’s even pictures of how you should wash in case you are confused.
So far, these are the rules I have gleaned from looking at others. All signs are in Danish, so it is a bit of a challenge to figure them out, especially since I don’t wear glasses when in water so cannot see anything much around me! Oh, and did I mention that Michael didn’t think of enlightening me beforehand? He left me to walk into a room full of Danes glaring at me with no information. Thanks huh!
Other than that I am enjoying swimming ‘for exercise’. I have always seen swimming as a leisurely activity to do with friends in summer, so it is a bit of a change. Couple this with me never having learnt how to swim besides being plonked in the sea as a kid and floating, and everyone around me being super swimmers with all the right technique, and I can say it has been an interesting experience.
Have I missed any rules or norms? Have you found any rules surprising yourself?