I think I am the last person in Lund to discover that there are saunas in Gerdahallen (IN THE SHOWER ROOMS!!!). But, to use an old cliche, better late than never. I went the other day, and it felt fantastic, even the burning in my nose when I inhaled deeply. Although it was a little weird that the skin around my knee scabs stung a little too… I’d like to think that’s its any germs burning to death but it was probably just the salt from my sweat. I love watching the individual beats of sweat appearing on my skin, it’s so cool!
I’ve been in saunas before, but they’re not as common in the US as in Scandinavia. When I was WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms; a worldwide volunteer network, http://www.wwoof.org/) in Sweden last year, one of my hosts had one, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it smells really good when you pour beer on the hot coals. Although not too much, don’t worry, it’s nothing like the brats pouring champagne in sinks for kicks. A friend was telling me also about a sauna in Malmo, Kallbadhus Ribersborg (http://www.ribersborgskallbadhus.se/), though I have yet to try it. I think I still have a way to go to get used to public nudity…
