Sauna culture is a big deal in Finland. Almost everyone has a sauna in their home (John went to a work off-site last week and had a sauna in his hotel room). There are estimated to be 3 million saunas in a country of just over 5 million people.
Unfortunately, our apartment complex sauna isn’t available to short-term tenants. I get it, but it would have been incredibly convenient to access the one in our building. Still, I didn’t feel like I could leave Finland without trying at least one quasi-authentic sauna experience.
I say “quasi” because I think most Finns would argue a truly authentic sauna experience is done in the nude. This is completely normal in Finland, and there’s nothing sexual about sauna culture to Finns. (In general, Europeans have a much more relaxed attitude toward nudity and body image.)
The “mainstream” public saunas tend to be mixed gender. The two best-known options in Helsinki are Allas Sea Pool and Löyly, and both require swimsuits. If you don’t bring one, you’ll have to rent one.
John has been to saunas multiple times for work, so I decided this could be a fun mother-daughter outing for Belle and me. I decided to go to Löyly which, translated literally, is Finnish for steam. In 2018 it was named one of TIME’s 100 Greatest Places in the World.
While the sauna itself is clothed, the dressing rooms are not and the ones at Löyly are narrow. I found them cramped, and being surrounded by women in various states of undress felt awkward from a North American perspective. There was one private bathroom, and that’s where Belle chose to change. (We wore our swimsuits under our clothes to arrive, but obviously didn’t want to leave in soaking wet suits.)
Once we got past the locker-room nudity situation, though, it was a great experience.
I left my phone in the locker for most of our two-hour sauna session and only grabbed it at the end to snap a few photos before we left.
It was a lovely evening (our 2-hour slot was from 7:30-9:30; you have to book your visit in advance as they limit the total number of people at any given time).
The saunas get hot, but I never found the heat oppressive. That said, as much as I usually hate cold water, it actually felt good to dip into the Baltic Sea.
Well, maybe not good. But definitely refreshing!
The water was freezing, and I can’t imagine doing this in the winter. (I overheard a Finn in one of the saunas telling a tourist that they break holes in the ice in the colder months. Brrr!) Still, I braved the water at least four times. I wanted to swim, but couldn’t convince my brain to commit to it. I did put my head under twice, though, which took a tremendous amount of willpower. And going into the sea definitely made the whole experience feel more authentic.
The good news is that after a few minutes back in the sauna, you’re thawed right to your core.
I think the most surprising thing about a Finnish sauna is how incredibly hot it gets. When someone throws water onto the coals (or, in the case of the wood-fired saunas, adds more wood and water), the steam singes your nostrils. It’s hard to describe because there’s really nothing else like it. I happened to love the sensation, but I can see how it could feel overwhelming.
Of course, with Finland’s famously good tap water, there was free drinking water readily available, and staying hydrated helped offset the heat.
Sometimes, instead of heading back into the Baltic, we just lounged outside in the cool air.
While it’s not something I feel particularly drawn to do regularly, I’m so glad I experienced a Finnish sauna. It was a uniquely Finnish experience.
(A couple of practical notes: At Löyly, your entry fee includes a towel and a seat cover. At Allas Sea Pool, you either need to bring your own towel or rent one. Both places require swimsuits, the locker rooms are gender-separated, and the saunas themselves are mixed gender. At Löyly, the showers have shampoo and body wash, and the changing rooms have hair products and a hairdryer.)
En route home, while sitting on the tram, Belle and I came across a receipt from someone who had to pay a fine for travelling on public transit without a ticket! We talked about it, almost joking about how awful that would be, when I realized that I had never put our transit passes into the bag we brought to the sauna.
My blood ran cold! I had spent so much money on the transit passes and if we got checked, I would NOT HAVE THEM. (It’s a €100 fine, so for two of us, that would be €200, which is about $320 CAD. OUCH!!!!)
As soon as I realized my oversight, we got off at the next stop and walked the rest of the way home, which wasn’t such a bad thing, because the evening views were lovely.
At 10 pm.
This is how light it is at 10 pm in Helsinki these days!
Ironically, we haven’t had our transit tickets checked a SINGLE time on public transit since arriving in Europe in early March. (I am still loving the honour system here.) You know where this is going, right?
Two days after our trip to Löyly… John and I were checked! Thankfully, we had our passes with us and all was well.
Your turn.
- Have you ever been to a traditional sauna?
- Cold-water swimming: yes or no?
- How comfortable are you with public nudity? My answer: NOT COMFORTABLE! I still remember years ago walking along the harbour in Denmark and seeing old ladies walking around in the buff on the swimming platform with full confidence and being wildly impressed with their confidence.
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