Aare Sauna 🧖‍♂️

#sauna #mobilesauna #aare

Vörå goes Basel or When the village brings the sauna to ESC
Special issue

I am just telling this story because it is so much fun. As mentioned in my previous posts Jan Philip Scheibe and I are currently realizing a long term project in the small Finnish-Swedish community Vörå in Ostrobothnia (Finland). The project deals with the importance of rye for the Finnish identity and we are cooperating with the people of the village to make the project happen. The last time we were in Vörå, the entire village had been upside down for weeks because a local band from Vörå had just won the Swedish Melodfestivalen to be send to the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel 2025. The name of the band is KAJ and they call themselves humorgruppen" (comedy band). They usually sing about tractors, the village life and how to spend your Saturday evening in the country side. And now they represent Sweden with a song about the Finnish sauna culture interpreted in their local dialect. On top of that the hosts of our project, Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge (Abramsgården) came up with the idea to bring a mobile sauna to Basel to support the band. An idea which then came to life with the help of Vörå kommun, the city of Tampere, Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH (gemeinnützig) and many others. With stops in Stockholm, Kopenhagen and Berlin they made it to Basel and are now in town supporting KAJ. Two days ago the band won the semifinals and made it to the finals. We keep our fingers crossed for more!

Yksi kaksi kolme sauna
Bara bada bastu

Fotos: Abramsgården

#esc #eurovisionsongcontest #basel2025 #basel #schweiz #switzerland #kaj #humogruppen #barabadabastu #vörå #vöråkommun #tampere #sweden #finlandsweden #finland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #abramsgården #finnlandinstitut #stockholm #copenhagen #berlin #nordicembassys #sauna #bastu #saunaculture #mobilesauna

Though I grew up in Minnesota, I hadn’t experienced sauna until we moved back from California in 2019. I have always liked taking hot baths and using hot tubs, and I thought sauna might be nice to try.

My Morzh tent sauna set up on my deck.

My Morzh tent sauna set up on my deck. My Morzh tent sauna set up on my deck.

I dipped my toes in with a Morzh tent sauna. The tent enabled me to experiment without spending too much money, which helped me determine how much I would like sauna and which aspects of the experience were most important to me. I had it set up on my deck the last few winters as a nice little retreat for myself.

I found that I enjoy sauna as a way to relax and be kind to my body, and a way to make the Minnesota winters more enjoyable. I also discovered a lovely community of sauna-lovers, which sparked the idea that sauna could be a vehicle for building community in my own backyard. More community is something I’ve been looking for since moving to a new town immediately before the pandemic kicked off.

My friend Darin Mays recently started building saunas, which was perfect timing for me as I considered taking things to the next level. After a wind storm damaged my tent last winter, I decided to go all in and order one of his NorthUp ultralight mobile saunas. It arrived yesterday and I could not be more excited.

My view from the upper bench in the Urban Wing NorthUp sauna.

My view from the upper bench in the Urban Wing NorthUp sauna. My view from the upper bench in the Urban Wing NorthUp sauna.

Since starting my sauna adventure, I have had the luxury of trying out many different kinds of amazing sauna experiences. Some of my favorites have been Archimedes Banya in San Francisco, and all of the great folks at Banya Fest 2023 here in Minnesota. I can safely say that the NorthUp sauna has some really amazing and unique characteristics that help to set it apart, especially at its price point.

The most noticeable feature is its transparent body, which lets a ton of natural light in. This is excellent in the dead of winter, when I am really craving more sunlight. But also, this helps the sauna start warmer thanks to the heat of the sun—I’m warmer as I try to get the fire started, and I spend less time waiting for it to come up to temp and more time sitting on the bench and smiling.

I do not yet have a way to tow it to new places, but I imagine I will eventually be interested in bringing it next to some water at some point, or up north for Christmas with the family.

I’ve already had a couple of very nice sessions and I’m seriously looking forward to sharing this with friends and family in the coming months and years.

https://joelencioni.com/journal/you-can-find-me-in-the-sauna/

#DarinMays #Minnesota #MobileSauna #Morzh #sauna #TentSauna #thermaculture #UrbanWing #winter