Hotspring(break)
Another lengthy posting on the European soaking and saunaing scene, topical and all.
Totally on-topic to start off with.
Bert from 23b~log hotspring has been visiting a number of free Bulgarian soaks.
- Bedenski Bana, Smolyan (Apr. 25), this time round the highest score from Bert:
'This would gain perfect score if not for the closeness to the main road and slight trashiness'.
- Estestven izvor, Hisarya (Apr. 27):
'Low temperature but very appealing surroundings: Come visit in summertime picknick'n'dip'.
- Topilsata, Velingrad (Apr. 27):
'Maybe the low key environment makes this not the most conducive of options in Velingrad. Solid option nonetheless'.
- Toplata Voda, Shistov (Apr. 30):
'... if you don't mind sulfurous hot springs, this is well worth a small detour especially if you're planing on using the ferry in Svishtov'.
Also on the visited menu (May 25), Strand Livada de Bihor, Oradea (Romania), a thermal pool / campsite :
'An excellent and affordable option caravan travelers looking for hot spring relaxation time. Wonderfully accommodating hosts and neighbors'.
Wanderlush yet again updates (Apr. 15) her article on Tbilisi's sulfur baths, all hot spring sourced.
Hide_onsen_packer has posted a spate of entries on Europe, in Japanese. Hungary, Slovakia, Spain and Germany.
Already slightly shifting away from hot springs, we need to mention Wandering Carol again (Mar. 25), this time while visiting Vichy, central France. And her experience:
'If you do want to travel to Vichy, France, and are interested in the wonderful culture of the old-fashioned French spa, what you need are tips about the Vichy springs. The spring water is the raison d’être for this gracious, slightly-faded town in the Auvergne region of France....Out of 12 Vichy springs altogether, 6 are available at the Halls des Source for drinking (the other 6 have been closed or lost), and it’s here where the social status lines of Vichy spa-goers are firmly drawn.On one hand you have the Serious Spa Goer who comes to Vichy to cure. On the other hand is the dreaded category of fly-by-night water drinkers, the Spa Tourist....The next day we skipped happily (okay, Mark wasn’t skipping) over to the Hall des Sources only to learn that without a special key card you can’t enter the serious side of the Vichy springs drinking hall, the side for professional drinkers....Luckily, French spa rules are no match for two people with very long arms, so Mark and I learned to enter the public side where the tourists go and simply reach around the barrier to fill our cups with the heavy duty thermal springs such as Hôpital, Chomel or Grande Grille....I sidled around Mark, reached around the barrier and filled my plastic cup with some comforting Grande Grille spring water. And I got caught.A Frenchman hustled up to me and started shouting non! non! non! non! and rubbing his stomach, miming that without a doctor’s prescription I was about to a) either have a baby immediately or b) become dramatically and violently ill'.
It's quite odd how French hot spring and wellness culture seems so outdated. With these standards of hospitality, it's no wonder foreigners are hardly interested, nor do these appeal to the younger generations, French or otherwise.
Sip
Sauna culture then. In the traditional sense.
BBC head over to Estonia (May 16) to look into the local smoke sauna culture:
'After almost nine years in Estonia, I've been to more saunas than I can count, though never to a smoke sauna. I wasn't worried about the heat or the nudity. Even the idea of a cold plunge in between sweating sessions was exhilarating. It was this "soul" of the smoke sauna that made me feel a bit nervous....Between sweating sessions, I relax in the cosy break room in front of a wood-burning stove. In what can only be described as half history lesson, half guided meditation, Veeroja talks about Võromaa's smoke sauna traditions while I sip hot tea and cold maple sap harvested from the trees tapped outside. As I have not once glanced at my phone, I have lost all sense of time'.
Over the past week I have been deeply immersed in Finnish sauna culture. Living in a beautiful log cabin beside the frozen Lake Näsijärvi, drinking in the silence and snowy views.My cabin had its own sauna, in fact there were more saunas than cabins to sleep in, a beautiful if a little exuberant ratio. The smoke sauna was less than 50 meters away that when fired up, offered such a deeply penetrating warmth I really could have stayed forever, or at least until I needed the next round of avanto… before repeating, repeating and repeating.Sauna culture is more than just a tradition—it’s a tightly knit community where everyone is connected. I decided sauna on this level is perhaps not the usual 6 degrees of separation but perhaps 1, or 2 at the most. From my Scottish shoreline home I’ve been inspired through the lens of social media, and for once I find this world is truly real, which feels more than a little magical. I met sauna shamans, sauna healers, sauna hosts, sauna builders, sauna geeks, stove builders, fire starters and many, many, many sauna lovers, saunavores and saunapaths!I almost lost count of how sauna benches I sat on (it was 18 btw) but its not really about the number, its about the love and enthusiasm for learning and sharing that I found on these benches. A huge thank you to Wendy & Mika of @SaunaWave and @niktorrens for organising such enriching experiences.As I continue to learn and grow, I’m excited to share more insights from my journey with you all.I will share more over the next few weeks, there is so much more to share as I learn more and develop. As always there is so much more behind the little sauna that sits on Edinburghs shoreline, but it all started with a girl, a big dream and a whole lot of love - lets do this!Sauna on, my friends! Let’s keep the love for sauna culture alive and thriving. Are you ready to join me on this journey?📷 mainly supreme capture queen @wendinwonderland#SaunaCulture #SaunaLife #SaunaTradition #SaunaShaman #SaunaHealer #SaunaAvanto #Avanto #SaunaGeek #SaunaScotland #SaunaEdinburgh
Nudeblog.ru publishes (Apr. 4) a Russian language overview of Aremenian banya's, twelve listed if I counted correctly. And two hot springs, Ankavan and Azrakan. Translated snippet or two:
'The list was compiled by Maria Slutskaya.Bath comrade.An experienced resident of Armenia, now Georgia.Marie conducts women's baths, does rebozo and swaddling, but if necessary, she will play cards....[On Noyland:] There may be dissatisfaction with naked bodies while swimming in Sevan, because there are houses nearby where you can spend the night'.
Бесконечная любовь к @moonfleur_ и @hoja.place [also listed]
Permitted
The evolving sauna culture. Part I.
As reported tirelessly here the Isles British see taking sauna as an upwards trend.
British Sauna Society shares a post (May 21) on their Sauna Summit Awards 2024, complete with links to the winners in the 9 categories:
Best Design @thesaltwatersaunaBest Urban Sauna @rooftopsaunasBest Nature Sauna @haar.saunaBest Waterside Sauna @driftwood_saunasBest Social Prescribing Sauna @communitysaunabathsBest Community Sauna @kilnsaunaBest Rituals Programme @beachboxbtnBest New Sauna @fallenwillowsaunaBest Sauna Practitioner @janewittfireandice
Note, apparently Ireland counts as British.
Also note that the British sauna culture is umm British ...?
'WriterIn the post
Sauna fan
Freelance journalist
Author of The Sauna, The Power of Deep Heat'
'Strip or not to Strip?there are some comments which seek to answer and or explain to some extent the Britishness:
'emmaeokelly@jkfrej I agree with you. It took me a while to be comfortable being naked as it’s not my cultural norm - it IS much more healthy and hygienic but it’s a big mindset shift for Brits....For me, I sauna without swimwear whenever I can. Most often here in the UK that means a wrapped towel. From my experience in Germany, the important thing is that the textile free zone starts before the sauna room itself - everyone can shower their full body. This is the greatest downside of many seaside saunas - there isn’t anywhere you can shower naked. Often there’s not even a place to change so people are wearing a swimsuit they’ve travelled in. Even in indoor venues it’s rare to see a cubicle shower near to the sauna. Permitted nudity is just so practical!
A recap of the Sauna Summit day can be found here.
saunawave (in London):
(2+2)x(2+2). 02. 2022 was a special day, we celebrated @mesq birthday with steam and sweat! 🔥♨️🧖🏻♀️🧖More saunas please! Reduce tension in our bodies and boundaries between countries.We celebrate at the bath house @russianbathhouse with steams and the classic honey cake. Pictures of us in the sauna was during a special photoshoot event with @mikkel.aaland for his photo project “Naked Sweat” which is coming out later this year. Mikkel’s @perfect.sweat TV series is also out very soon! Stay tune. 🤩🔥💦Thanks @russianbathhouse for continuing support to the bathing culture and the @britishsaunasociety.Thanks @lanhamjp for the cake pic 🙏Group pics make possible by @manfrottoimaginemore#saunabirthday #sauna #mentalhealth #wellness #wellbeing #saunawave #britishsaunasociety #nakedsweat #perfectsweat #russianbathhouse #londonsaunahotspot #saunahotspot#meandmymonfrotto
Even Germany signals a changing sauna culture.
From Welt.de (May 3) a German language article on how sauna / wellness culture in Germany is getting ever so popular especially with the younger generations:
'Zum Abschalten zu zweit, zum Quatschen mit Freunden, sogar für Flirts treffen sich junge Großstädter vermehrt in Thermen. Woher kommt die Begeisterung, stundenlang in einer handyfreien Zone zu entspannen? Versuch einer Erklärung'.
Concerning the new Vabali Wellnessoase near Düsseldorf:
Appearances„Die Vielzahl junger Gäste ist wirklich auffällig, obwohl wir keine Erhebungen zu konkreten Zahlen führen. Wir treffen anscheinend einen Nerv – ganz sicher auch wegen des Ambiente“, sagt Stephan Theune [50% owner] auf Nachfrage. Schon als Jugendlicher sei er wegen des Gemeinschafts- und Freiheitsgefühls gern mit seinem Freundeskreis in die Sauna gegangen und wusste entsprechend, worauf er bei der Einrichtung Wert legt....Laut dem Deutschen Wellness-Verband zählt die Bundesrepublik rund 2000 Saunabetriebe sowie zwischen 100 und 200 Thermen. Die meisten befinden sich in öffentlicher Hand oder gehören zu Hotels und Fitnessstudios....Genau diese [textile free] Pflicht beklagen viele in den sozialen Medien: Der erzwungenen Freizügigkeit wegen käme ein Besuch für sie nicht infrage. Auch Theune zweifelte zwischenzeitlich. „In Deutschland, einem Land, in dem Nacktsein zum klassischen Saunieren dazugehört, geht nur ein Drittel der Bevölkerung in die gemischte Sauna. Entsprechend Sorge hatten wir, dass gerade die Jüngeren das gar nicht mehr machen“, bemerkt er. Und ein Mix – eine trägt Badekleidung, der nächste nicht? „Da fühlt man sich ja total unwohl, wenn man nackt in der Sauna sitzt, und dann kommen vier Angezogene in Bikini oder Badehose rein. Das hat dann direkt Freibad-Charakter.“...Aber „den jungen Leuten, die zu uns kommen, scheint es nichts auszumachen“, verteidigt Theune....Lutz Hertel, Geschäftsführer des Deutschen Wellness-Verbands, bestätigt die neue Popularität der Thermen bei jungen Menschen. „Uns liegen entsprechende Daten zwar nicht vor, und es ist auch die Frage, ob es sie überhaupt gibt“, sagt er. Aber mit dem Aufkommen von Anlagen wie dem „Vabali“ oder „MyWellness“, bei dem Gäste Räume mit Sauna und Whirlpool mieten können, öffnete sich das Fenster für ein neues Publikum, meint Hertel'.
Part II
In Belgium though the new sauna culture is still very open to fluctuation.
Belgium's Saunavereniging (Apr. 12) with a public(?) message:
'In Belgium, 'bathing suit' spa days and bathing suit areas in a public wellness centers seem to gain popularity. And, rumor has it that the same counts for the NetherlandsAlthough we love to welcome everyone who wants to spend a wonderful time in our saunas and thermal baths, with or without bathing suit, we keep encouraging without for the sauna experience itself, as it facilitates the body's ability to sweat and detoxify
Did you know that people typically wear towels or robes for personal comfort outside the sauna, such as in communal areas or during sweat session breaks? This practice helps maintain modesty and ensures everyone feels at ease while enjoying the other amenities of the spa or sauna facility
In other words: even in a nude area, most people remain covered for 90% of the time. The choice, of course, is always up to you!
The meaning of sauna rules?
In Austria a judicial case has moved forward. Kleinezeitung (Mar. 23) reports on a case before the judge concerning 3 men who entered the sauna clothed, in contradiction to the household rules of stated sauna. This then lead to a scuffle with other sauna visitors it seems and that's why a judge needs to settle the rights from the wrongs.
Finally (nearly) back to soaking, with an insta posting from Fromrusttoroadtrip (May 12):
'What we love so much about hot springs is their variety.No two are the same temperature, or have the same mineral content, or possess the same healing properties. Each one is uniquely wonderful.Some are warm, some are boiling hot and some are cold. Some are blue, or green, yellow, orange or clear. Some smell like eggs. Others smell like fresh spring water and mountain air. Some are gravelly, sandy, muddy or filled with clay. Some are natural, and some man-made.Most of them are hiding at the end of a long, exciting treasure hunt.But this one in the south of Spain was a true stunner, although more well-known than most we visit. Bubbling up from the bed of a vast dried-up lake is the largest pool of thermal water we’ve ever had the pleasure to swim in....A true window of wild bliss....🛑✋If you know it please don’t name it. This hot spring like many others in Spain is at risk of becoming overwhelmed with visitors. We want to share stories and post beautiful photos but we don’t want to contribute to overtourism, hence why we don’t share the exact location. As always bathe, enjoy and share responsibly 💙'
Not naming, but hinting. It's not Iceland (post upcoming?):
The best way to start your day 💙🤍 good morning everyone, everywhere..
