It was a grey February Saturday afternoon when my sister told me that we were going to go for sauna and a swim at Tohlopin tynnyrisauna. Going in the middle of winter for sauna, OK — but also for a swim? For a Finn, swimming in ice-cold water shouldn’t be a big deal, but I personally hate cold water!

Off we went to the beach of Tohloppi lake. And there it was, a huge barrel built to be a sauna. And of course it was located on the beach, just next to the (freezing) water.

The sauna itself is extremely relaxing. This particular sauna was very humid and the temperature was just right, at least for me. Somewhere +65 to +70 Celsius. After enjoying the heat and humidity for about 10 minutes, it was time to go for a swim. My first words out of my mouth were that “I’m not gonna go into the freezing water”. But then it just happened — after a few words from my sister’s mouth: I also went and dipped myself up to my neck into the +4 degrees Celsius water.

I was a first-timer, but I can tell you that it felt just amazing afterwords. The blood circulation in my whole body “exploded” and I felt so relaxed back in the warm sauna again.

It’s definitely worth trying, at least it’s an experience and afterwards you can be really proud of yourself!