Ice meets fire

Time is an unstoppable force, that affects all. It can be bent, though. It flows differently for objects in the universe. A hundred years, too much for a man, is nothing for a stone. Stone remembers thousands, millions, billions of years, that passed since it was born.

One day, I was laying in a hot spring bath on Iceland. The water was calm and pleasantly warm. Few people were there. And those who were there were almost stoic. Hot water was both empowering us and draining energy at the same time. Everyone was calmly laying and enjoying the warmth of earth filling our bodies. It was impossible to do anything. Every move was tiring. Perfect place for silent contemplation. The bath was elementary. Roughly rectangular in shape. Made of igneous rock. The ledge of stones was running along the edge, to sit on. Around the perimeter were small hot springs and tiny geysers constantly filling the bath with hot water and wooden walkway around them.

The water was comfortable for few minutes until your body filled with warmth. The warmth got unbearable. The cold air, just a few degrees above the freezing point, felt so good. When you got out of the water you had few minutes, when you could just walk around until you got cold again. All that just to dip your skin in hot water again. And the circle continued.

Time was incredibly slow there. It felt like I was there the whole day, however, it was only three hours. Soaked in hot water, one had time to think. Perfect place.

The showers and changing rooms were basic as well. Bare concrete walls, exposed services, towel hanger made of rebars. A corrugated metal sheeting roof on metal frame construction, typical for Iceland. Floor heating straight from the earth itself. Land of ice and fire.

Great architecture sometimes does not have to be expensive or big. Sometimes, the only thing you need is the touch of nature. Nature makes the place great.

Cheers