After a long 18-month wait, I was finally able to fly back to Finland in June 2021. This trip felt a bit special after such a long wait: I normally go to Finland a few times a year. I decided to make the most of it and bring back some sauna stuff. Almost everything canContinue reading “Sauna Maestro”
Author Archives: mikajava
Cold Plunge
I always like to associate winter sauna with ice swimming (polar plunge in the U.S.). There are some published studies on the subject of health benefits of jumping to a frozen lake. Some studies suggest that the body produces more adrealine which then gives you that euphoric feeling of accomplishment. Other studies suggest that coldContinue reading “Cold Plunge”
Saunas at Finnish Summer Places
Finns like their summer places and villas. They call them summer cottages or summer cabins (kesämökki), or just cabins if the place can ve used during cold winter months. There are about 500,000 such places in the country of 175,000 lakes and 5.6 million people. Some of these cabins are fancier with all amenities whereasContinue reading “Saunas at Finnish Summer Places”
Always On Sauna in an Apartment
Depending on the source, there are probably between 2-3 million saunas in Finland. The population is about 5.6 million and there are about 2.6 million household-dwelling units. So there are many saunas there. Saunas are quite typical even in condos and apartments. Many of those saunas are rather small and most if not all haveContinue reading “Always On Sauna in an Apartment”
Thermo Physics 101 – Sweating in Löyly
I always wanted to know how much do I actually sweat in Sauna. Instead of Googling some generic answer, this mystery called for a science project. Why do we sweat in sauna? Very simple – the air temperature in a sauna is significantly higher than your body temperature. The air heats up your skin andContinue reading “Thermo Physics 101 – Sweating in Löyly”
About Sauna Temperature and Humidity
First of all, I did not study physics after high school and I am by no means an expert in physics. However, the discussion of sauna temperature and humidity has been bothering me so I thought I try to explain a few basic things in a semi scientific way. This blog mentions the word löylyContinue reading “About Sauna Temperature and Humidity”
Generating Perfect Löyly
Disclaimer: it really is not my fault if you burn yourself in sauna, if your sauna heater does not like water or if whatever happens in your sauna or outside of your sauna. Consider this page more like a place to read stories. In the U.S., Finnish saunas are often referred to as dry saunas.Continue reading “Generating Perfect Löyly”
(Russian) Sauna Tea
This tradition is probably quite obvious to the millions of Russian readers of this blog but I actually heard about this first time in my thirties when I visited Russian Banya in Carrollton for the first time and saw some Russian customers pouring tea from a samovar. A Finnish man should never show any signContinue reading “(Russian) Sauna Tea”
Kiuasmakkara
Let’s all admit, there’s something about cooking your sausage in a hot sauna. Kiuasmakkara (stove sausage) or saunamakkara is probably the most iconic food to cook in a sauna at least in Finland. Koreans have their famous sauna eggs. However, they are usually not cooked in a sauna. So let’s just say that kiuasmakkara isContinue reading “Kiuasmakkara”
The Saunavasta (sauna whisk) Tradition
This article is about the saunavasta (sauna whisk) tradition. See also the Different types of sauna whisks post. A popular tradition in Finnish sauna culture is to beat the sh*t out of your friend with birch branches called sauna whisks, or saunavihta (Western Finland) or saunavasta (Eastern Finland) in Finnish. In addition to relieving yourContinue reading “The Saunavasta (sauna whisk) Tradition”
Hakka-Sauna 