After a wonderful week in Tallinn, we took a luxurious ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. This was my first time to Finland and to Helsinki.
Adventure
When I was living in Ocean Beach, California, I created a monthly, new moon, sunset ocean swim club. This was in an effort to try out cold swimming. It was also a great way to see all my friends and do something adventurous together. Plus, the water in San Diego in the winter is about the same temperature as the air, 50 F / 10 C. I am not one for ice bucket baths (I prefer a real dip in nature), but since forming this club I read a lot about the benefits of cold swimming for your mental and physical health. I knew that the mecca of cold swimming was in Finland.
Before coming to Helsinki, I read the magazine “Fare - Helsinki,” in which writer Petri Burtsov explains the importance of the sauna in Finnish culture. He writes that most Finnish homes come equipped with a sauna. Traditionally, Finns have used the sauna not just as a place for relaxation, but also historically for curing meat, birthing babies, and embalming bodies. It can be used as a moment of internal reflection and spirituality, or to “meet as equals” - as everyone is equal when they meet in the sauna. Finnish diplomacy has even happened during state visits in the sauna!
I was so glad I got to experience sauna culture at a public sauna called Allas Sea Pool. This time, instead of cold dipping at 50 F / 10 C in San Diego, I was freeze dipping between tiny glaciers in Helsinki at 33 F / 1 C.
We walked barefoot in -5 C across the floating dock, my toes freezing in the snow, and entered into the mixed sauna. We sat quietly and observed the vibe. Almost immediately, we started to sweat from the heat. There was a young couple who was going back and forth between the ocean pool and the sauna. They were quiet, and had a peaceful air to them. I told them it was my first time going into the cold sea and asked them if they had any tips (I am not sure if I broke any Finnish laws by striking up conversation in the sauna, but they didn’t seem to mind). They told me to keep my hands above water. So, I dutifully ran from the sauna to the cold pool, and took the plunge. I would not say it was painful, more so a feeling of discomfort, as if your body was trying to gasp for air. Two to three minutes is all it takes to send your body into a huge hormonal response. As I came back into the sauna to warm up, the young man asked me how it was. After I told him it wasn’t too bad, he replied “Now just wait, and feel the happiness run through your blood”. He was right. I looked out to the sea and felt a rush of melting calm.
As we continued going back and force between cold and hot, we got into an rhythm and symbiosis with the water. In our final sauna before we left, an older Finnish woman came confidently into the sauna in a string bikini. I knew we were in trouble. She grabbed the bucked and with a ferocious effort slapped the water onto the stones. Each time the water hit the stones, a hiss would scream back at us, and smoke filled the room. I learned that there is a specific word in Finnish for the water that comes off the stones, called, “löyly”. According to Petri Burtsov, “[this] is an ancient Finno-Urgic word that also means the soul. The spirituality of the sauna does not manifest itself in an idealogy or a belief system, but through ritualized behavior, through acts”. After spending the day at the sauna I did feel the Finnish spirituality in this ritual.
Coffee and a Pastry
I am generally very averse to fine dining. My favorite kind of restaurants are mom and pop, hole in the wall, byob restaurants with great food and zero pretension. My partner loves eating at fancy places, so I set aside my fears and we decided to splurge for our first wedding anniversary at Grön Restaurant.
From the moment we walked into this tiny five table restaurant, to the moment we left, we felt special. The wait staff greeting us with a Finnish hello, taking off our heavy coats and bringing us a glass of champagne helped us to settle into this experience. Every dish we were presented with was a piece of art; congee, delicately decorated with three slices of perfectly peeled radish adorning the minuscule mushroom and berry bowl. Or lobster and caviar served on top of a bed of river rocks. There were seven dessert courses. Seven. Dessert was served with coffee from Helsinki Coffee company, which they recommended to drink black, but they had milk “if we needed a little help”. My favorite dessert was a lemon ice cream - a total palate cleanser. The most amazing was this caramel miso truffle, hidden in a bowel of acorns. I was in a stupor over this.
When we left, they gave us a paper copy of the menu (perfect for our first anniversary) as well as two sealed bags of herbal tea. It was such a treat to drink this upon return in Napoli, where we could feel cozy and remember how nice it is to be taken care of.
Culture
We went to a funky museum in downtown Helsinki called Aamos Rex. There was only two exhibitions, and the main artist was stand-out. For those who might be art averse, this was the perfect blend of science and art. The artist Rjoyi Ikeda uses big data (a corporate buzzword) to create beautiful imagery. His large scale installations allow viewers to sit and ponder the bigger meaning and sense of the world.
What about you? Have you ever tried cold dipping or saunas? Let me know in the comments below! If you’re hunkering for more, here is an article interviewing two women who traveled 10,000 miles in the Nordics to visit the most beautiful saunas in the world.
Seven !!!!!!! Desserts 🤠
I did the same trip, from Tallin to Helsinki. I didn't try the sauna in Finland but I did the same cold dipping sauna in Russia, I loved the experience.