mikajava

Sauna Scents

Some use sauna for aromatherapy and some just like to add some scents there. Just out of curiosity, I have spent a lot of time to test different scents. Incense I generally like burning incense and I brought a few of those to the sauna. It turned out that the scent is too weak soContinue reading “Sauna Scents”

Sauna Hats

I never wore a hat in sauna in my childhood and I actually had to check if anyone wore one in the pictures featured in the Unesco’s presentation of Finnish sauna culture. It turns out that Finns wear hats in sauna but my believe is that this tradition might be more popular in Russia. InContinue reading “Sauna Hats”

The “Ovi Kii” Rule

An essential sauna rule not to break is the so called “Ovi kii!” rule. As you might guess, we burn decent amount of fuel of some kind to heat up the sauna and the sauna stones. You generate steam, aka löyly, by slowly pouring water on hot stones. This very inefficient, yet traditional way ofContinue reading “The “Ovi Kii” Rule”

Ararat Rail

Ararat rail is somewhat spontaneous sauna gadget that me and Mo decided to build. As mentioned in the Sauna-Jallu post, some people may consume adult beverages in sauna. This is highly discouraged, of course. While jallu has some heritage value, the king of brandy-based beverages is Armenian Ararat. This product is sold in most countriesContinue reading “Ararat Rail”

Sauna-Jallu

Sauna-Jallu tradition was introduced to me as late as 2019. Jallu, aka jaloviina aka cut brandy is an iconic adult beverage in Finland. It is not a Finnish invention as such but a very Finnish drink indeed: a mixture of brandy, grain liquor and water. What makes it so Finnish then? According my knowledge, FinnishContinue reading “Sauna-Jallu”

Pöllä 3 Sauna

I have always enjoyed going to a sauna and when I lived in Finland, I didn’t really think about all that so much: you just go to sauna very often. Like many Finns, I was also quite opinionated about sauna. We tend to comment on bad sauna builds and often rage when hotels abroad won’tContinue reading “Pöllä 3 Sauna”