Scandinavia is one of those places so vast that it is quite impossible to thoroughly visit without a few weeks and a rental car! Only hitting the southern cities this time.
There is nothing more Finnish than sauna. Finns think you cannot grasp the culture of Finland without bathing in one. Bathing in a sauna with people is somewhat of a bonding process – When you are totally naked (not even a towel) in front of each other, you are sure not to hide anything. It is said that in Finland, more important decisions get made in sauna rooms than in meeting rooms; Finns go to sauna totally naked even with strangers (men and women go to different rooms) – They have seen their fair share of naked human bodies and it is not a “thing” for them.
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Since I got a few days in Finland, I decided to give Finnish sauna a try: After exploring the Suomenlinna island in the morning, I got nothing planned for the rest of the day and decided to walk to a sauna nearby in Helsinki. I arrived right when they opened at 3pm and was the 2nd customer of the day (will introduce the “1st customer” in a bit). It was my first time visiting a Finnish sauna, so I had absolutely no clue what was going on and what I was supposed to do. I paid my entry fee and was given two towels: A big one and a small one (This part I know because I did onsen in Japan before and the towel etiquette seems to be the same in Finland: Big towel for shower afterwards and small towel for covering your body, if you choose to, in the locker room). I then walked into the locker room, which had about 20 lockers on the side, a bunch of old posters and magazines, and a long wooden table at the center of the room. After stripping down in the locker room and walking past the shower room, I opened the wooden door and walked into this steamy, dim sauna room. As I entered, I saw this old gentleman, probably in his 90’s, sitting on a wooden sauna bench totally naked. The sauna room wasn’t even that big – Probably around 15’ x 5’ and fits 10 people max; I wanted to give him enough space so I chose to sit at the other end of the bench.
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So there it was: Two strangers, born more than half a century apart, sitting naked in a sauna room lit by nothing but a small candle (how romantic!). You might think that it must be awkward – Surprisingly, it wasn’t: I wasn’t too self-conscious as we were sitting a few feet apart on the same bench without facing each other. He, being Finn, has seen a good amount of naked people in sauna rooms all his life so he was totally comfortable. At the corner of the room there was a stone stove, with a bucket of water next to it. Whenever the old man felt like another wave of steam, he threw water on the stove; after half an hour of intense sweating, he felt he had enough sauna for the day so he walked out to take a shower. I did the same shortly after.
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After getting dressed, we were both sitting in the locker room chilling and watching TV. I wasn’t sure if he spoke English or not, but I started a conversation with him anyway. Turned out he was a 90-year-old retired home designer who has lived in Finland all his life (except living in Denmark for 20 years when he was younger). He spoke Finnish and decent English. He told me that he has been coming here once a week for many years. He also opened up and told me that he has a daughter who lives in the US, and explained to me why he chose to smoke pipe rather than cigarettes!
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I am glad that I tried out Finnish sauna and met a local Finn. One thing I totally forgot though: I should have taken a picture with him (with clothes on)!
@Helsinki @Finland
Finnish Karelian pie.
@Helsinki @Finland
Uspenski Cathedral.
@Helsinki @Finland
Helsinki Cathedral.
@Helsinki @Finland
Suomenlinna, a sea fortress just 15-minute ferry ride from Helsinki.
@Helsinki @Finland
