The Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach

Close to the Perlan building, and directly underneath the path of roaring planes landing in at the nearby Reykjavík airport, is Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach: one of the city’s favorite hangouts.

Among the things we immediately learned about Icelanders: they love bathing. Really love it. They’ll drive far out of their way to reach a hot spring; natural or artificial, it doesn’t matter. Almost every town has a pool, and they’re always busy. Point out a puddle of lukewarm water to an Icelander an...