• Thursday-What'sUP January 18 - 06:58 pm

If you're feeling the chill of winter settling into your bones, then it's time to take the lead of Frank Anderson's little "poikka". Get yourself in the sauna, toss some water on the rocks and get the place steamy! If you're of Finnish descent you know what "poikka" means and you also know the benefits of a good sauna. If you aren't, then the two key words today are pronounced "poyka" and "sowna" and if you've never enjoyed the latter, then you're missing a relaxing way to cleanse your pores.

Hope he doesn't touch the rocks/grate! I hate saunas. They're way too hot for me. They're good if you want to jump into an icy Lake Superior afterwards though.

Morning All.
Feeling a bit envious of the young lad. Hey DEB S. tell us how you really feel. Saunas only get as hot as the individual makes them. If you sit close to the floor it is actually rather cool. Enjoy the day everyone.

What a cute little guy! Saunas have many health related benefits, not just for the skin but also for the heart.

Oh, I love the sauna! The hotter, the better. I never jumped in the snow afterward, but we used to have our sauna outdoors and the dressing room was not heated. That was plenty cold for me...Brrrr. When my sister and daughter visited Finland, the sauna they used was built right on a lake and they jumped in afterward. Sitting in a tub full of hot water is just not the same...sigh.

I didn't like saunas when I was young, but now I'd give most anything to be in one! Nothing, nothing matches how good you feel after one!

Ya, and have a cold one (beer) afterwards.

Hello Frank and all friends! Little "poikka" (son) in FINNISH PIENI POIKA or PIKKU POIKA ..
POIKA is SON and LITTLE is PIENI or PIKKU or PIKKUINEN or PIENOINEN.. .e.t.. .Good sauna is HYVÄ SAUNA..

I don't need a sauna. From mid June through September I practically live in one called Houston, Texas!!! ;-)

Yeah, but Capt Paul, you have to wear clothes in that kind of sauna.

I once read that the Finns originally developed saunas because when they were carving their country out of the swamp (Suomi means swamp) the only way they could get the bugs and ticks out was by steaming them out. Somewhere I have a sauna certificate Ed Eklin gave me that said the temperature in this one sauna was 180 degrees, but my memory isn't what it used to be. And Garrison Keillor has a poem/story about the Finn who didn't like saunas, except he pronounces it sonna. And yes, Houston in August is like a sauna with your clothes on, Capt. Paul.

Here is a link to the page with Garrison Keillor's poem. http://www.geocities.com/Krishna_kunchith/humor/poetry.html
Enjoy. ;-)

I want a real sauna sooo bad, my kids love it too. I can only take it up to 190 with just a little steam. My Brother likes it HOT with lots of steam. So if any of you saw a naked girl hanging out a Sauna window trying to get air on Paradise Rd in the 80's that was me and he was trying to cook me. Nice to meet you.

Brooke,
I like it like your brother does. Here in Florida we always have hot and steamy but somehow it is just not the same.

Aren't you supposed to cook sausages over a fire and drink beer after a sauna?

I wonder if you could clean out your pores and cook the sausages at the same time..

I have never understood saunas. Why would you want to get all hot and sweaty? Just go outside on an August day in NE Illinois and you're in a sauna. I don't get it. At least when it's cold out I can always PUT MORE CLOTHES ON.

The idea is to get all hot and sweaty and then wash it all off, not stay all hot and sweaty. It's very refreshing, except after you have been throwing around pokey hay bales all day. Then it hurts when you start to sweat. But you'll never feel cleaner.

Sauna is a poor man's drugstore the old saying used to go.It is a healthy thing to do,gets out all of the Earths inpurity's from your head on down to your toes.That poikka reminds me of myself,pictures of me doing that in my scrapbook from back in the 50's.Uncle Hank Kiltinen had a cabin up behind $Bay,between Kangas and Kemppianen on Torch Lake.(Put this in there incase some of us may have played together as kid's from other Camps.)Each camp had a Sauna not far from the lake where as kids we got hot & full of soap suds ran out to the dock & jumped in numerours times a day that the shoreline all along the lake had suds washed up with the seaweed.There is a Finnish Family Sauna in Southfield MI.off of 8 mile Rd.& Beech where we used to go once a week,since i don't live there any more it's been years and i can say for sure i do not look younger for my age no more.I am sure a good hot Sauna often will keep you looking and feeling young. Enjoy one if you can without warning labels on them.Lake Superior rocks never crack when used on a hot wood burning Sauna stove.Why would be a question for Capt.Paul because Lifino?

Some years ago when in Finland on a lake near Tampere we took a sauna in a smoke sauna. Right off the sauna was a sort of dock into the lake. Probably not 20 feet long. We were with a group of students and the gals went first. We guys were at the house and on our honor not to go peek. The gals jumped into the lake naked. My wife daughter among them. Sadly, by the time us guys could use the sauna most of the heat was lost. We did the best we could but I could not jump into the lake. I waded knee deep then the cold got to me. I was out in a flash. Sadly, over the years I have become the butt of the story. My non-Finnish wife loves to lord it over me in this story.

Hi
Dick fl thanks for the poetry link.

I have never been in a sauna, however I have used hot tubs---nothing better for sore muscles after a long day of cross-country skiing. One bed & breakfast I stayed at had the hot tub in a room with one wall mostly glass. Sitting there watching it snow while all warm and relaxed--perfect end to a great day.

I agree lake superior rocks are the best, we learned at an early age to find the best ones on the beach (both size and texture). Nothing beats the smell of a woodburning sauna either, people may think i'm crazy but it smells different than a fireplace.

toivo the pasty says : nothing can come close to a good sauna

The Pasty should know!

hot sweaty humid southern air is called a sauna--but it ain't!!

Nothin like a hot sauna in mid November and then a run to lake superior for a quick dive, just to see if the ol ticker can take it. Usually the first few steps ya hit a slippery rock and it ain't nothin but knees and elbows in the lake but it's worth it, it's a REAL GOOD LOOK TOO!lol

Sweltering is known as sheding unwanted pounds in hot sweaty humid southern air. Sauna is like entering into Purgitory. (sp)

Sauna lover, I am.
If you have not had one, you do not know the heavenly joy of one
that you are missing.
Relaxation, Rest, equal real pleasure.
Summer, winter,
Spring and Fall
They are all the best of all.

I guess I'll have to reserve judgement until I try a sauna. If I ever do. Can't swim, so I won't be able to jump in the lake after.

kj, as usual, I'm with you! I don't mind a short one in the summer if you can get out and jump right in Lake Superior. By short I mean about 5 minutes.

k j (Kathiscc):
"Can't swim, so I won't be able to jump in the lake after."

Well, at least you can roll in the snow in the winter then!

and it sure bugs me bad when people pronounce it "SAWNA" instead of "SOWNA"

How about Da Yoopers song ... Guess Who's Coming to Sauna !! good one

What a wonderful sauna picture. I love the sauna my father built
out at our cottage. When people talk about "finding their happy
place", I can never decide whether mine is the loft at the cottage or
sitting on the top bench of the sauna. Oh how I wish...

What a great picture! Even during the hot,humid,hazy days of summer,ours is cookin'. After a refreshing sauna,the bug bites don't itch,the sunburn doesn't burn and our frowns are turned upside down. It doesn't have to be 200° or more. If it's too hot when I hop in,I just open the doors and let some of the heat drift outside. There is NOTHING better than throwing water on the cedar branches on the rocks,then lying back to take it all in. All you need is a washcloth and some fresh water,to dunk and wring and dab the sweat. Just when I'm about to drift off to dreamland,I realize I have to suds up and rinse off!
Whenever our kids and nephews are able to come home,the first question is "Will someone fire up the sauna?" SAUNA ROCKS!

It sure does, Joyce!

I remember taking s aunas at the Suvanto cottage and at our cottage , Keskitalos, jumping into the lake and cleang up. We just loved the sauna. I also had taken saunas at the Sanford farm which was a real treat. Mrs. Sanford was a great cook who cooked on a wood fired stove all her life. She would treat the guys to pie afetr the sauna. and we would relax eating pie after the sauna. His sauna ,as was the Suvunto sauna, all built out of logs. Mrs Sanford also made rugs on a large loom. Boy , what memories. Yes Little Toerch lake had quite a few bathing beauties on Saturday nights .

You can't compare a real Sauna to hot, humid weather.

Theres is no feeling like sitting in a sauna, the hot smell of the cedar as the temperature steadily rises higher and higher. The anticipation, and then instant pleasure when that fresh water hits those hot U.P. rocks. The steam offers temporary relief to the cedar, as it surrounds you. The sensation of absolute, total relaxation as you sit soaking up the heat.

It truely is a wonderful thing our Norse friends have brought to the world.

A sauna is like a day at the beach... only without the dangerous rays of the sun, the sun burn, the sand you clean up after, hauling half the house down to the water so you can have convenient cold drinks and a place to sit, driving cross country TO the beach, frisbee's in your face, and parking lot full of cars! A sauna gives you true relaxation, peace, comfort, health, and pleasure... all in the privacy of your own home!

Sorry, although a hot tub can feel good... it just can't beat a sauna! And if you don't like jumping in the lake - a good roll in the snow will "do" it!