Sauna
Sauna (sao-nah). A Finnish invention, a must-have for Finnish homes. Normally used as a family gathering spot. A sauna is normally a small room in which there are wooden walls and benches within. A (electric?) stove sits in the centre of the room or at one corner and this is used to heat some stones (not sure if they are special stones or normal stones you see anywhere else) to a very high temperature. A pail of water is always brought into the sauna and its use will be explained later.
Today I went to the sauna at Yliopistokatu 18 (with Manu, my second time*). The blocks are normally referred to by their numbers. Hence my block is just 16. Yup just a block away from 18. (There're no odd numbered blocks here, for some reason.) Since it was so nearby, I put on 1 T shirt and my jacket and a towel and off we went.
*forgot to blog about it the first time round. Hee..
The sauna's opening hours are from 4pm to 9pm. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (4-9pm) and Saturday (7-9pm) are for men and Tuesdays, Thursdays (4-9pm), Saturdays (4-7pm) are for women. The reason why there are different sessions for men (miehet) and women (naiset) is because you have to be naked in the sauna. Weet! OK you don't have to if you don't want to, but without a towel on is the best way to experience the sauna. Of course there are mixed sessions with both men and women, but I haven't been to one yet. Anyway there's always 4 more months ahead. There'll surely be a chance.
So once in the sauna room, there're 3 different sections (usually). One is the changing room , where you strip. The next is the bathroom where you wet yourself. And of course the last is the sauna proper. The hot room. The heat hits you in the face once you enter. Poof! You can't breathe properly. You feel hot. very hot. You start to sweat. Then someone pours water onto the stones. AHHHH, you think? More bearable? Nope. It starts to get hotter! Cos the water gets evaporated off the stones and makes the air more humid and hot.
The sauna is always the hottest when the water first gets poured onto the stones. There is sort of a heat wave which hits you straight in the face when water is pssssttt onto the stones. In Singlish, sibei song. Actually, depends on how you see it. The first time I went to the sauna, I couldn't take the heat and crawled out of the place every few minutes to get a shower and come back in. But today, I actually was in there for like 15 minutes at 80degC! BBQ human meat! HAHA!
So the correct way to have a sauna session is to strip, shower, get into sauna and steam for some minutes (depends on how hot you can take), come out and shower (cold or hot, up to you), then come out to the changing room, open the window and let the cold wind hit you in the face. After sauna, you become invincible. The coldest wind won't make you shiver. Not one bit. At least for one minute. Then back into sauna and repeat until you get tired of it. Today I had a one hour session. Time passed amazingly fast.
I feel so good after one session. It will be a regular thing for me from now on. I heard it could help me lose weight too.
=)
No pictures now. maybe some other time when there are no naked people inside. Today there was a couple who came in at around 9pm. Naked, naturally.
Today I went to the sauna at Yliopistokatu 18 (with Manu, my second time*). The blocks are normally referred to by their numbers. Hence my block is just 16. Yup just a block away from 18. (There're no odd numbered blocks here, for some reason.) Since it was so nearby, I put on 1 T shirt and my jacket and a towel and off we went.
*forgot to blog about it the first time round. Hee..
The sauna's opening hours are from 4pm to 9pm. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (4-9pm) and Saturday (7-9pm) are for men and Tuesdays, Thursdays (4-9pm), Saturdays (4-7pm) are for women. The reason why there are different sessions for men (miehet) and women (naiset) is because you have to be naked in the sauna. Weet! OK you don't have to if you don't want to, but without a towel on is the best way to experience the sauna. Of course there are mixed sessions with both men and women, but I haven't been to one yet. Anyway there's always 4 more months ahead. There'll surely be a chance.
So once in the sauna room, there're 3 different sections (usually). One is the changing room , where you strip. The next is the bathroom where you wet yourself. And of course the last is the sauna proper. The hot room. The heat hits you in the face once you enter. Poof! You can't breathe properly. You feel hot. very hot. You start to sweat. Then someone pours water onto the stones. AHHHH, you think? More bearable? Nope. It starts to get hotter! Cos the water gets evaporated off the stones and makes the air more humid and hot.
The sauna is always the hottest when the water first gets poured onto the stones. There is sort of a heat wave which hits you straight in the face when water is pssssttt onto the stones. In Singlish, sibei song. Actually, depends on how you see it. The first time I went to the sauna, I couldn't take the heat and crawled out of the place every few minutes to get a shower and come back in. But today, I actually was in there for like 15 minutes at 80degC! BBQ human meat! HAHA!
So the correct way to have a sauna session is to strip, shower, get into sauna and steam for some minutes (depends on how hot you can take), come out and shower (cold or hot, up to you), then come out to the changing room, open the window and let the cold wind hit you in the face. After sauna, you become invincible. The coldest wind won't make you shiver. Not one bit. At least for one minute. Then back into sauna and repeat until you get tired of it. Today I had a one hour session. Time passed amazingly fast.
I feel so good after one session. It will be a regular thing for me from now on. I heard it could help me lose weight too.
=)
No pictures now. maybe some other time when there are no naked people inside. Today there was a couple who came in at around 9pm. Naked, naturally.
Greetings from Finland @ 3:59 am
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