It is Sunday afternoon and Helsinki, seen from the taxi that brings me from the airport, is enveloped in the universal torpor of the holiday. When
checking in
at the iconic Grand Central Hotel, the receptionist informs me that the restaurant is closed for dinner today, but the sauna is open. This, in Finland, far from being a simple anecdote, is a declaration of principles. A country that has about 5.5 million inhabitants and 3.3 million saunas is clear about its priorities.
Here the sauna is a religion practiced daily by millions of parishioners, who find their sacred place in these chapels. In saunas, deals are closed, friendships are forged and family ties are cemented. Two generations ago, births took place in the saunas of houses, because it was the most hygienic room, and even the last farewell to the dead was said in them, because it was considered the entrance to life and the exit to life. death. A lot of information to digest while I get naked in the cute little wooden house at Furuvik Beach Sauna, on the edge of the sea.
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My introduction to the universe of the Finnish sauna comes from Anna, a woman dressed in a raw linen dress, a headdress and some freshly cut birch twigs. She is part of Terhen, a community that has elevated the traditional concept of the sauna to a holistic experience. In the intimate space, the only light is natural light that comes in through a small window. The hot stones in the center come to life with each ladle of water that Anna gently pours. “The steam created is called löyly and it is the spirit of the sauna that embraces you and becomes part of you,” she says.
Saija Silen, promoter of the Sauna Village, takes a shower after the sauna. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
The birch and juniper bouquet, called vasta or vihta, will later be used to give light massages, imbuing the skin with a comforting forest aroma. After an experience like this I wonder if I haven't started too high. Yes, and no, because although the experience with Terhen is sublime, the world of the sauna is also enjoyed in another way in the neighborhoods, in public saunas packed with sweaty bodies, with a beer in hand and lively. conversations. Helsinki, as if it were a Kaurismäki film, has a lot of that. At the beginning of the century there were 40 of these saunas and, currently, the one that best represents that communal spirit is Kotiharjun Sauna, opened in 1928 in the old working-class neighborhood of Kallio, today the bohemian place par excellence.
Pumice stone in Furuvick's Beach Sauna, Finland. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
The giant letters Finland
In these bathrooms, deals are closed, friendships are forged and family ties are cemented in red neon with the word sauna and the group of naked men chatting and drinking, covering their parts only with a towel in the freezing night, making it clear that one has arrived. In the old locker room with wooden lockers, two men play chess naked. Behind the door, the sauna itself is a cement room with a large boiler where wood burns. In the small wooden stands we are crammed shoulder to shoulder, while a volunteer sprays the boiler with water, producing steam that envelops the room and suddenly raises the temperature. It is striking that people so jealous of personal space enjoy the proximity of other bodies as naked and sweaty as theirs.
Finland, Sitting in the fresh air at Rauhaniemi Folk Spa. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
Modernize tradition
In contrast to tradition, a new batch of saunas in modern buildings, with outdoor pools, jacuzzis and restaurants, such as the spectacular Löyly, are the guarantee that sauna culture remains alive in new generations. In another of these, Allas Sea Pool, in the heart of Helsinki, after the sauna session a toning swim in the outdoor pool with water from the Baltic Sea awaits. In this same complex, the Original SkySauna is inside the cabin of an immense Ferris wheel, where you can have a session with views.
Rauhaniemi Folk Spa, Finland. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
It's time to continue exploring other regions following the vapor trail. The next stop is Tampere, considered the sauna capital of the world and about 180 kilometers from the capital. The gray day and overcast skies come in handy to accentuate its industrial pedigree with huge red brick factories and warehouses and defiant chimneys pointing to the sky. Also known as “the Manchester of Finland”, it proudly displays its proletarian past.
In the heart of the city, the mammoth former Finlayson cotton factory houses museums, art galleries, restaurants, cafes and shops in its warehouses. As far as saunas are concerned, there are 50 spread throughout the city. Here is Rajaportti, the oldest public sauna in use in the country, from 1906. On the outskirts is Rauhaniemi Folk Spa, on the shores of Lake Näsijärvi. Under the storm of rain and wind, the lake disguises itself as the sea, beating powerful waves against a small dock to which the users cling, who with their skin reddened by the heat and oozing steam, dive into the icy water to return at a trot. to the comforting heat of the sauna.
Sauna Rajaportti, the oldest public sauna in use in Finland. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
This journey continues in the Jyväskylä region, just two hours away by train. Another compelling reason to come here is the recently inaugurated Aalto2 museum center, dedicated to the work of the architect Alvar Aalto and his two wives (not at the same time), the architects Aino Aalto and Elissa Aalto, father and mothers of Finnish modernism. . With the idea of beauty in my head, I approach the incredible old church of Petäjävesi. Built entirely of wood, it is one of the few that has survived fires during its almost three centuries of history and UNESCO heritage since 1994.
Finland, Yes, the modern Oodi library in Helsinki, also has a sauna inside. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
The next stop is Kivitasku, a farm workshop that looks like something out of Hansel and Gretel. Here it is possible to stay or just come to the workshop where the endearing Mella makes traditional sauna hats by hand made with wool from her own sheep. Another must-see is the Sauna Village, a family project born from the tenacity of sisters Saija and Elissa Silen, who have recovered 20 historic wooden saunas throughout the country, creating a kind of living open-air museum for lovers. of heat with history.
The afternoon falls and we arrive at Hankasalmi. The lake at this time is a festival of ocher and reddish colors of the trees reflected in its waters. At the Revontuli Northern Lights Resort awaits the last sauna circuit of the trip, alternating steam in a yurt, dry heat in a cabin and a glass igloo sauna facing the lake. At night, lying in the wooden cabin with a transparent roof, I recline my bed, activate the device that defogs the windows and wait for the sky to turn colorful from a privileged viewpoint of the northern lights.
Finland, Waiting for the Northern Lights from bed at the Revontuli Northern Lights Resort. Photography: RAFAEL ESTEFANÍARAFAEL ESTEFANÍA
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