Marathon à la Tampere

When I entered a dimly lit sauna I first saw a woman with black arms and legs but white face and blond hair. "What on earth .." I wondered in my mind, but then it hit me: peat. She was covered with peat. I looked around and saw six more women. They made space for me, and I climbed up on the bench between them. I grabbed my yellow tupperware bowl, and hesitantly put my hand in it. Something felt soft between my fingers. I filled my palm with it, and started carefully spread it on my arms. Smooth, thick, black mud. Welcome to the peat sauna at the Telakka Restaurant!

Peat, or turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation. Peat sauna is a sauna, where you rub peat on your skin. Very simple. When I heard about this sauna opportunity earlier that day, I was immediately excited for three reasons: a) I can't say no to a sauna b) Telakka was one of my favourite restaurants when I studied in Tampere c) I had never tried a peat sauna before. As I was booking my spot for the 4.30 pm shift, I was advised to drink lots of water, because the treatment accelerates the metabolism and "will make you feel like you've run a 10K". I was also asked to bring a towel, a sponge and a comb. In my Canadianized mind I had a question about a swim suit, but I didn't say anything.

So there I was now, sitting on the bench with seven other women. The sauna room was beautiful and unique; due to the round shape of the giant stove the room somehow felt round too. As if I was sitting in a tower of a medieval castle. I kept spreading the peat on my arms, and then legs. I smeared my face and hair with it. I was surprised that the peat didn't smell bad - I had once played swamp volleyball, and I wanted to burn my stinky shoes after that. But now I was enjoying the feeling of the peat and my slick skin. My peated hair felt thicker than ever before.

When my bowl was empty, I sat still and enjoyed the moment. Some 15 min had passed, and the other women started to leave. I saw a wide stream of muddy water going down on the drain, when they were having showers. I wasn't feeling yet that I had run a 10K, or even a 5K, but the second shift was soon coming in, so I had a shower too. It was surprisingly easy to rinse off the peat, and soon I was peat free.

Afterwards I stayed for a while in the resting room, slowly swinging in a hammock. I sat cross-legged, my soles were against each other. I could feel the energy pulsating in my soles. I felt relaxed, rested and energized. Purified with Finnish mud. Couldn't get more Finnish than that, I was thinking.

I was wrong. Another type of those true Finnish saunas was waiting for me the next day.

- - - - -

I had sweat in the Rauhanniemi Public Sauna for the first time in my previous Tampere trip in 2011, and I had fallen in love with the experience. The yellow sauna, built in 1929, was located by a big, beautiful, cold lake Näsijärvi. I remembered how the water had felt icy cold that day, even though it had been a warm summer day, and the sauna was 100c (212F) hot. That time I hadn't tolerated the sauna heat too well, and I wondered how it would be this time.

I arrived there around 4 pm, when the sun was setting in the horizon. The area was buzzing with people, people in their swim suits sitting outside and steaming, or swimming in the lake.

I entered the sauna and was happy to notice that even though it was hot, it wasn't as hot as last time. "Maybe 90c", I thought. Some 20 people, men and women of all ages and shapes were turning red in the heat. Some were wearing funny felt sauna hats to protect their ears from the heat. I sat down, on the highest bench, like most of the others too. The air was hot, and I had to slow down the air flow when inhaling, otherwise I would feel my lips burning slightly. I looked around, and listened to the familiar Tampere dialect, where RRRRRs are rolling strong. I was enjoying it, and the heat.

Some 10-15 min later it was time to face the Näsijärvi-challenge, swim in the +4c water. I walked out and joined a line of steaming people heading towards the lake. There was no wind, and the smooth, cold boulder under my bare feet felt good. The first steps into the water didn't feel too shocking, and I plunged into swimming. Compared to my 2 seconds short ice swimming experience in Hollola, I took my time in the water now. At least 7 seven seconds, and without any panic. I stopped to wash my face before getting up from the lake.

I was feeling fantastic.

I walked towards the sauna building, but I was thirsty, so I stopped to drink some water outside. Then I had to sit down. Lie down. Suddenly I wasn't sure if I was going to faint. Should I talk to someone? Nobody knew who I was, and since I was only wearing a swim suit, my wallet and phone were in the changing room. They wouldn't know whom to call if I faint, except 911, of course. I drank some more water, inhaled deeply, and kept resting. I could feel my skin pulsating, as if my body had turned into one big heartbeat. I was lobster red. And even after swimming in the cold water, I was still steaming.

Slowly I started to feel more stable again, and the Fainting Finn -danger was over. "I guess the sauna was 100c after all", I pondered. "This is how I imagined I would feel after the peat sauna yesterday. Except this was not a 10K, this was a marathon," I said to myself, and continued resting.

I didn't go back to sauna anymore, one marathon for the day was enough. But I will come back again, next time.