Any discussion about Finland eventually turns to sauna. So of course we had sauna a couple of times while at my in-laws. Here are some photos of their well-used sauna. The silver tube behind the sauna stove in the third photo is meant to act as a chimney to suck the cool air from the floor to heat it so there are no cool spots in the sauna.
With sauna sometimes comes the sauna vihta, which is a flogger made of birth branches.
One of the best parts of a sauna session is the vasta or vihta. The vihta is a whisk made of a bunch of early summer birch twigs. It is used to pamper the skin by gently or briskly swatting the body from head to foot. It may sound strange and many non-Finns make jokes about it, but the practise is very healthy. It helps the dirt to come out of the open pores and stimulates circulation. - Secrets of the Finnish Sauna
Whatever. I have done it and I think the summary above about it being healthy is B.S. However, this midsummer I made my first vihta. Here it is:
1 comment:
"The silver tube behind the sauna stove in the third photo is meant to act as a chimney to suck the cool air from the floor to heat it so there are no cool spots in the sauna."
It looks a pretty strange construction, but I would say that the meaning of the tube is to bring more fresh air under the KIUAS, which is the "heating plant." The best place to bring air to wood heating KIUAS is on the floor. The tube is ment to be used for that. It looks ugly. Normally there is 1- 2 inches open space under the sauna door, from where the air comes inside the SAUNA.
How ever, your vihta is really a VIHTA! Vasta looks like little different, it has only a couple of tight rounds bound around it. Vasta comes from the east and Vihta from the west side of Finland.
Post a Comment