It is about time I write a little something about one of my weekly activities: the sauna.  I was first inducted into the German sauna scene a few years ago.  Normally, sitting around naked with strangers and sweating a lot does not sound like my idea of a good time, but I tell you, when it is cold out, it is absolutely wonderful.

The Basics

We visit a sauna in our neighborhood that is over 125 years old.  It is located in a gorgeous and gigantic building along with two swimming pools, and gives you a sense of how important water is to German culture.  There are two dry sauna rooms here, so you can choose from the “hot” sauna at 95 degrees Celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit) or the “warm” sauna at 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit).

When I first started going, I struggled to stay in the warm sauna for about 10 minutes at a time, sitting on the lowest bench, where the temperature is slightly cooler.  After slowly building my tolerance over the past few months, I can now spend about 15 minutes-a-go in the hot sauna, though I am still sitting on the lowest bench.

Aufguss

Oh, and how can I forget the Aufguss?  About once an hour, a sauna employee pours water “flavored” with different aromatic oils (such as orange-mint or hibiscus) on the hot coals, bathing us in steam.  The employee then uses a towel to waft the aromatic steam throughout the sauna, making the heat feel much more intense.  It is definitely against the rules to come into the sauna room once the Aufguss has begun, and is considered bad style to leave in the middle of it (lest you should let the heat escape).

Relaxing

In between stints in the sauna room, you can take a cool shower, sit with your feet in cool water, lounge outside, or jump into a cold pool.  One of my favorite parts though, is relaxing with a good book while I cool down and prepare for my next stint.  There is also a small cafe, where I love to eat fried potatoes and drink my fizzy apple juice (Apfelschorle).

Culture Shock?

And as open-minded as I like to think I am, being naked in a mixed-sex environment (even the locker rooms are co-ed) took my American sensibilities a little bit of getting used to.  But, you are usually only  in the nude while sweating in the sauna room, and wrapped in towels or a robe everywhere else.  This is not so hard when everyone else is naked and is clearly comfortable with it.  Still, it is one thing to see nude strangers, and would be a whole other thing to see, say, my supervisor or coworkers (I am SO crossing my fingers that that won’t happen).

I have to say that I enjoy this part of German culture.  The importance of water for wellness and the comfort with the human body.  Not to mention being so warm while it is freezing outside.  It is truly an attempt to fight off the depression that could easily take over with the cold and dark weather.  Which is why I will be continuing my weekly sauna visits this winter!

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Have you ever visited a sauna?  In the U.S. or another country?  What do think the benefits of sauna going are?