Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
together and can re-enter the steam room and repeat as necessary. Only
rarely will you feel so good. The Finnish Sauna Society's informative
website details the history of saunas and sweat baths (
www.sauna.fi
)
.
Your hostel, hotel, or the ship you came to Finland on may have a
sauna. Ask them when they heat it, and whether it's semi-public (separate
men's and women's hours, pay per person) or for private use (book and
pay for a 45- to 60-minute time slot, and save money by bringing a group
of friends, either mixed or same-sex). Public saunas are a dying breed
these days, because most Finns have private saunas in their homes or cab-
ins. But some public saunas survive in rougher, poorer neighborhoods.
For a good, traditional wood-heated sauna with a coarse and local
crowd, try the
Kotiharjun Sauna.
There are no tourists and no English
signs, but the guy at the desk speaks English and can help: Pay €12
plus €3 for a towel (cash only), find a locker, strip (keep the key on
your wrist), and head for the steam. Cooling off is nothing fancy, just a
bank of cold showers. A woman in a fish-cleaner's apron will give you a
wonderful scrub with Brillo pad-like mitts (€9, only on Tue and Fri-Sat
16:00-19:00). Regulars relax with beers on the sidewalk just outside (open
Tue-Sat 14:00-21:30, closed Sun-Mon, last entry 2 hours before closing;
men—ground floor, women—upstairs; 200 yards from Sörnäinen Metro
stop, Harjutorinkatu 1, tel. 09/753-1535,
www.kotiharjunsauna.fi
)
.
▲▲National Museum of Finland (Kansallismuseo)
—This pleasant, easy-
to-handle collection (covering Finland's story from A to Z, with good English
descriptions)isinagrandbuildingdesignedbythreeofthiscountry'sgreatest
architects—including Eliel Saarinen—in the early 1900s. The Neoclassical
furniture, folk costumes, armory, and portraits of Russia's last czars around
an impressive throne are interesting, but the highlight is Finland's largest per-
manent archaeological collection, covering the prehistory of the country. The
fine, new 20th-century exhibit bookends your visit by bringing the story up
to the present day. The interactive top-floor workshop is worth a look for its
creative teaching.
