I just want to swim
I've been researching fitness clubs in Kyiv, hoping to find one with the exercise equipment I like, a good swimming pool, and a sauna. So far, I have yet to find one with the right combination. Incidentally, all of the fitness clubs offer regular weekly sessions in "strip dancing" for their members, in addition to the usual lineup of yoga, pilates, and step aerobics. I'm sure it's a good workout.
In the meantime, I thought I'd start going to a swimming pool on the weekends to tide me over until I find the right club and purchase a full membership. My friend Igor offered to show me a nice big swimming pool "very near" my apartment. A 30-minute walk later, we arrived at a large, old Soviet-era building, which Igor told me is part of the university where he studied.
The place was deserted on a Saturday afternoon. We went upstairs to a small office occupied by the pool administrator, who was very irritated that we interrupted his TV-watching. He told us to read the sign. The sign explained that in order to swim, I needed an official note from a doctor certifying that I was healthy. I would also be required to wear a rubber swimmer's cap and "plavki", which are the short, tight swimming trunks popular in this part of the world (not the typical large American swimsuit). In addition, I would need to purchase 8 sessions at a time, and I must decide in advance when I wanted to swim for the month, according to a complicated schedule filled with hour-long slots at various times during the week. Finally, in order to pay, I needed to go to a certain bank with a certain form, pay, and then bring the form back with an official stamp from the bank.
I told Igor this was crazy. He told me it was normal, and would be the same at all pools in Kyiv. He also didn't believe me when I told him it was illegal for American men to wear plavki. I think I'll keep looking.
In the meantime, I thought I'd start going to a swimming pool on the weekends to tide me over until I find the right club and purchase a full membership. My friend Igor offered to show me a nice big swimming pool "very near" my apartment. A 30-minute walk later, we arrived at a large, old Soviet-era building, which Igor told me is part of the university where he studied.
The place was deserted on a Saturday afternoon. We went upstairs to a small office occupied by the pool administrator, who was very irritated that we interrupted his TV-watching. He told us to read the sign. The sign explained that in order to swim, I needed an official note from a doctor certifying that I was healthy. I would also be required to wear a rubber swimmer's cap and "plavki", which are the short, tight swimming trunks popular in this part of the world (not the typical large American swimsuit). In addition, I would need to purchase 8 sessions at a time, and I must decide in advance when I wanted to swim for the month, according to a complicated schedule filled with hour-long slots at various times during the week. Finally, in order to pay, I needed to go to a certain bank with a certain form, pay, and then bring the form back with an official stamp from the bank.
I told Igor this was crazy. He told me it was normal, and would be the same at all pools in Kyiv. He also didn't believe me when I told him it was illegal for American men to wear plavki. I think I'll keep looking.
posted by Cosmic Stan at 4:38 PM
<< Home