Molly Young

From the terrace, it was possible to walk down a set of stairs to the sea, where someone had carved a mushy circular hole through the top layer of ice, allowing visitors to dip in the frigid water. Avanto Oni is the word for this tradition, as I had learned from Finnish influencers on YouTube. I watched the sea dippers from inside and outside the sauna, knowing what lay ahead of me.

From the terrace, it was possible to walk down a set of stairs to the sea, where someone had carved a mushy circular hole through the top layer of ice, allowing visitors to dip in the frigid water. Avanto Oni is the word for this tradition, as I had learned from Finnish influencers on YouTube. I watched the sea dippers from inside and outside the sauna, knowing what lay ahead of me.

It was necessary to submerge. If I did not, the next two hours would be ruined by wondering whether or not I was capable of it. The evening air was 32 degrees Fahrenheit. What was the temperature of the sea? I don't know, but aside from the sauna-dug glory hole, it plateaued as solid ice into the near distance.

It was necessary to submerge. If I did not, the next two hours would be ruined by wondering whether or not I was capable of it. The evening air was 32 degrees Fahrenheit. What was the temperature of the sea? I don't know, but aside from the sauna-dug glory hole, it plateaued as solid ice into the near distance.

Some people leaped from the stairs without hesitation and abided for 20 or 30 seconds, giggling and gasping and treading water. Others lowered themselves from a ladder, wincing all the way. Padding down the stairs, I manually shut off my brain and jumped. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, as though I'd been struck by lightning, followed by a sense that my cells were being rearranged.

Some people leaped from the stairs without hesitation and abided for 20 or 30 seconds, giggling and gasping and treading water. Others lowered themselves from a ladder, wincing all the way. Padding down the stairs, I manually shut off my brain and jumped. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, as though I'd been struck by lightning, followed by a sense that my cells were being rearranged.

A sauna-goer down the deck clapped. The lone note of approval inflated me with enough pride that I floated a few seconds before climbing back up the ladder. Upon ascending the stairs, I passed a man edging his way down, and we grinned at each other, one person emerging from pointless triumph, one on his way there.

A sauna-goer down the deck clapped. The lone note of approval inflated me with enough pride that I floated a few seconds before climbing back up the ladder. Upon ascending the stairs, I passed a man edging his way down, and we grinned at each other, one person emerging from pointless triumph, one on his way there.

I watched the man dunk and gave a clap in turn, then hurried back indoors to the hot sauna, which made my skin feel as though it were outlined in a neon pen. There's a line in Martin Amis' novel London Fields where the narrator reflects that we are all poets or babies in the middle of the night, struggling with being. So too in a frozen sea.

I watched the man dunk and gave a clap in turn, then hurried back indoors to the hot sauna, which made my skin feel as though it were outlined in a neon pen. There's a line in Martin Amis' novel London Fields where the narrator reflects that we are all poets or babies in the middle of the night, struggling with being. So too in a frozen sea.

But warmed to the core in the sauna, you relax and have piercing thoughts such as how wonderful it is to be hot, then cold, then hot, then cold again. The day after lowly, I visited a more typical sauna called Koti Harayun, which had a neon red sign and two plastic chairs out front, one of them empty and the other occupied by a melancholy-seeming man in a towel.

But warmed to the core in the sauna, you relax and have piercing thoughts such as how wonderful it is to be hot, then cold, then hot, then cold again. The day after lowly, I visited a more typical sauna called Koti Harayun, which had a neon red sign and two plastic chairs out front, one of them empty and the other occupied by a melancholy-seeming man in a towel.

The man gleamed in silence, emitting heat. Through the door was a cramped vestibule with a communal freezer for guests to store beer. An employee collected the entry fee, 16 euros, and pointed up a creaky staircase that led to the women's locker room, which a friend had described to me as a scene. It was, if quietly.

The man gleamed in silence, emitting heat. Through the door was a cramped vestibule with a communal freezer for guests to store beer. An employee collected the entry fee, 16 euros, and pointed up a creaky staircase that led to the women's locker room, which a friend had described to me as a scene. It was, if quietly.

A dozen women, recently or imminently cleansed, talked softly and retrieved items from wooden lockers beside windows with sheer burgundy curtains, There were tables and board games and a fake orchid and copies of a magazine called Sauna and industrial-sized tubs of hand sanitizer. Kotiharyun had an air of utility, like a car wash or dry cleaning service, and a faded charm.

A dozen women, recently or imminently cleansed, talked softly and retrieved items from wooden lockers beside windows with sheer burgundy curtains, There were tables and board games and a fake orchid and copies of a magazine called Sauna and industrial-sized tubs of hand sanitizer. Kotiharyun had an air of utility, like a car wash or dry cleaning service, and a faded charm.

The only sign of touristic infiltration was a sauna etiquette plaque mounted on the locker room wall, outlining the basics. Bathe before entering. Stay hydrated. Don't wear perfume. Don't have loud conversations. Don't compete to see who can stay in the sauna longest. Feel free to whisk yourself and others with bundles of leafy twigs.

The only sign of touristic infiltration was a sauna etiquette plaque mounted on the locker room wall, outlining the basics. Bathe before entering. Stay hydrated. Don't wear perfume. Don't have loud conversations. Don't compete to see who can stay in the sauna longest. Feel free to whisk yourself and others with bundles of leafy twigs.

No other foreigners were visible in the locker room, yet everyone who knew I was going to Finland had urged me to visit Koti Harjun. With its beer freezer and neon sign, the sauna sat on a knife's edge between authentic and authentic.

No other foreigners were visible in the locker room, yet everyone who knew I was going to Finland had urged me to visit Koti Harjun. With its beer freezer and neon sign, the sauna sat on a knife's edge between authentic and authentic.