When the lakes freeze over, many Finns revive their passion for ice swimming. The golden combination of a Finnish winter is an icy plunge and a hot sauna. If you don’t have your own lakeside cottage, chances are you’ll head to a shared ice-swimming spot, where locals gather to enjoy the icy water and the sauna together. In the sauna, social barriers seem to disappear for a while. People come and go, stepping outside to cool off before returning to warm up again. The relaxed atmosphere makes it easy to strike up conversations, whether with friends or complete strangers.
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