In the winter time I love to go ice swimming almost weekly. Especially in calm weather the experience is almost meditative. There is something about going to the literally ice cold water that cools you down starting from the surface of your skin, and getting a warm feeling again when coming out of the water.

The atmosphere in public saunas is on average at least good. People usually are attentive and kind towards each other. Especially in a sauna it is completely normal to start conversation and small talk with people you don’t know, even though there is no intention of getting to know the other person. Sauna is a natural place to have small talk with strangers.

Sauna is strongly associated with finnishness and finnish culture and for a good reason – there are millions of saunas in Finland and Tampere even is called the sauna capital of Finland because of its large number of public saunas. Although not every one of them offers the possibility to swim in a lake, sauna itself can be a hobby for some people.

I really appreciate the four seasons in Finland and how they offer the opportunity to enjoy saunas in different ways. In summer time sauna rafts are popular. After a dark winter, ice swimming is especially wonderful on a sunny spring day, and after a warm summer the

After all, no matter how hot the day is, Finnish people are always ready to warm up the sauna in the summer cottage. And for many people it’s hard to refuse an invitation to the sauna.