I've had many unpleasant moments in Sweden in the past but this tops everything. As I was going to swim for the first time in Gothenburgs biggest swimming hall, I noticed something awfully strange. There was this big sign in the sauna forbidding anyone to talk or throw water in the stow. I was horrified and confused when the local people walked in to the sauna with their towels wrapped around them. After taking a few gasps of air into my lungs I saw even more incredible things happen: the sweeds were reading newspapers in the sauna while the temperature meter was showing only 50 celsius.
My explanation to this incident is coincidence, lack of knowledge and bad luck.
Somehow the swedish ancestors never really found out what a real sauna is like. Maybe thats why it's one of the few countries that call sauna "bastu" instead. I interviewed a few locals about this bastu culture in Sweden, and they told me that being naked in a boiling hot sauna feels wrong and to sexual for them.
I think it's just pure bad luck that there's not enough finnish people living in Sweden who can educate about the great possibilities of a tradtitional finnish sauna where you throw a lot water in the stow and spank each other backs with some birch branches.
Probably for the first time in my life I felt a little bit ashamed because of the sauna and hopefully for the last. If I were a sweed and would encounter a finn in sauna, I would most likely bow and show somekinda respect. Afterall, it's one of the best relaxing inventions that has come from Finland.
Cheers,
Jon Selin
I was the same situation when I went to Finnish sauna for the first time . It was so strange fo me but now everything has changed . I like Finnish sauna the most in Finland.
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