Page 144 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

Considering some of the other competitions
the Finns have – a Mobile-phone throwing con-
test in Nokia, a wife-carrying contest in eastern
Finland, and a Mosquito swatting contest in La-
pland -- the idea of competing to heat the meat
isn’t so unusual. But I’m not being warmed, I’m
being broiled alive because Leena keeps throw-
ing water on the hot stones. It’s so steamy I
can’t see my toes. Any second now, I’ll melt like
the Wicked Witch.
It’s customary to jump into water or roll in
the snow as part of the sauna experience. Leena
has already jumped into the lake once and plans
to do it again, but I have no intention of doing
that. Wearing only your bathing suit, a small
towel, and a pair of woolen socks, you’re sup-

posed to run down a path through the snow to a know something because there are over two
washing-machine-sized hole cut into the frozen million saunas in the country, at least one per
ice, drop the towel, climb down a ladder, sub- household. Even the Parliament building has a
merge yourself to your neck, then scramble sauna because, says Leena, “they need it to re-
back up and race to the sauna to get warm lax.” So far, in two of the hotels where I’ve
again. stayed, there was a private sauna in my room.
It doesn’t sound like fun, but the Finns must There isn’t one here at the Kakslauttanen Igloo

144 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022